On Monday, state leaders shared that the Providence Public School District could return to local control by summer 2026. Gov. Dan McKee and leaders from the Rhode Island Department of Education, PPSD and Rhode Island Board of Education announced the timeline alongside a list of goals for the city to meet in order to facilitate the return.
PPSD has been under state control since 2019, and state leaders extended the takeover until 2027 this past August.
“Some people have asked us to return Providence Public Schools to local control immediately,” said McKee at a Monday meeting. “That would be a disservice to the community of students, families and educators who count on us to make positive change that lasts.”
But although he expressed reservations about an immediate restoration of local control, McKee shared that the state is now “comfortable accelerating” the timeline.
Department of Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green emphasized that an accelerated return is dependent on the city meeting RIDE’s outlined goals. “Not one stakeholder wants to see our progress wiped away,” she said.
Providence Press Secretary Anthony Vega wrote in an email to The Herald that Mayor Brett Smiley still believes that PPSD should return to local control by July 1.
In a press release, RIDE shared nine key goals PPSD needs to meet in order for schools to return to local control. These include increasing the productivity and effectiveness of the Providence school board, guaranteeing that the city will meet previously discussed funding goals and improving construction and custodial services.
RIDE also said that the city must collaborate with community and education professionals as they work on a transition plan that shares the city’s vision for pre-kindergarten through high school education.
When asked what the state would do to help improve the PPSD before the takeover, Infante-Green referred to the Turnaround Action Plan.
“We have not seen the transition plan or vision from the city yet, but it is our hope that local leaders will review this framework and make the commitment needed to continue to move Providence Public Schools in the right direction,” said Chair of the Rhode Island Board of Education Mike Grey.
Vega wrote that the Smiley administration has been collaborating with the state for two years on a plan for a return to local control. He added that “most of the conditions that RIDE unveiled at today’s announcement were sent to the city in September” and that the city has since updated the state twice on their progress toward meeting those goals.
In a November letter to RIDE leadership, City Council President Rachel Miller and Smiley wrote that many of RIDE’s outlined next steps align with the work of the city’s Return to Local Control Cabinet, which was established in November 2023.
The Return to Local Control Cabinet highlighted eight specific metrics the city should prioritize from the Turnaround Action Plan. They also outlined responses to RIDE’s “action items” in the areas of funding, facilities, school board capacity, communication and Turnaround Action Plan progress.
In a December letter to RIDE leadership, local leaders reported on the department’s previously outlined goals and shared that their aim is “to finalize a comprehensive transition plan and timeline for PPSD by April of 2025, ensuring a smooth and community-informed return to local control.”
McKee emphasized the importance of having the city agree to RIDE’s nine outlined goals. But he was not firm when asked if the schools could still return to local control in 2026 if the goals were not fully met. “I think that everything’s up for negotiation,” he said.
McKee, Gray, Infante-Green and PPSD Superintendent Javier Montañez also shared some of the victories that the PPSD has seen since the beginning of the takeover.
Gray said “there’s an old and persistent narrative that PPSD is not moving forward and it is false.”
While Montañez celebrated the PPSD’s strides, he acknowledged that “there is a lot more work ahead of us” in engaging students and families with school improvements and in supporting English learners and students with disabilities.
According to a city press release, city officials were not invited to the Monday meeting.
“The city has repeatedly extended our hand to RIDE — ready, eager, and committed to work in partnership to ensure the best path for Providence students,” Miller said in a press release. “They have repeatedly refused to take it.”
Miller added that the “state’s failure to engage directly with city leaders further affirms the Council’s position that Providence Public Schools must return to local control in July 2025.”
Brandi Tucker, a teacher at Webster Avenue Elementary School, said she was not surprised that RIDE gave 2026 as a possible start date for the return. Tucker has taught in the PPSD for three years, all of which occurred under the state takeover.
Tucker said she would like to see the steps the district is taking to implement school improvements. She would also like a plan for the return to local control to include measures for “accountability at the district level” rather than simply trying “to hold teachers accountable for all the things going wrong in the school.”
Tucker said teachers would like to “have input on our school budgets” and to “make choices in curriculum based on what our students need” rather than relying entirely on district mandates.
Ciara Meyer is a section editor from Saratoga Springs, New York. She plans on concentrating in Statistics and English Nonfiction. In her free time, she loves scrapbooking and building lego flowers.
