Rhode Island General Laws

R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-9.3-1 (2026)

Declaration of policy — Purpose

✓ current as of July 2026
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(a) In pursuance of the duty imposed upon it by the constitution to promote public schools and to adopt all means necessary and proper to secure to the people the advantages and opportunities of education, the general assembly declares that it recognizes teaching as a profession that requires special educational qualifications and that to achieve high quality education it is indispensable that good relations exist between teaching personnel and school committees.

(b) It is declared to be the public policy of this state to accord to certified public school teachers the right to organize, to be represented, to negotiate professionally, and to bargain on a collective basis with school committees covering hours, salary, working conditions, and other terms of professional employment; provided, that nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to accord to certified public school teachers the right to strike.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 8 cases, 1970–1992 · leading case: Belanger v. Matteson, 346 A.2d 124 (R.I. 1975).
Belanger v. Matteson, 346 A.2d 124 (R.I. 1975). · cites it 6× “1956 (1968 Reenactment) § 28-9.3-1 et seq. entitled Arbitration of School Teacher Disputes.”
Berthiaume v. Sch. Com. of City of Woonsocket, 397 A.2d 889 (R.I. 1979). · cites it 3× “1956 (1968 Reenactment) §§28-9.3-1 to 16, the School Teachers’ Arbitration Act, had by implication repealed §16-7-29.”
Exeter-West Greenwich Reg'l Sch. Dist. v. Exeter-West Greenwich Teachers' Ass'n, 489 A.2d 1010 (R.I. 1985). · cites it 2× “1956 (1979 Reenactment) § 28-9.3-1, and has authorized teachers to organize and bargain collectively, § 28-9.”
Warwick Sch. Comm. v. Warwick Teachers' Union Local 915, 613 A.2d 1273 (R.I. 1992). “1956 (1986 Reenactment) § 28-9.3-1. The Superior Court, as a court of equity, has the power to issue injunctive relief to a school committee in order to prevent strikes or illegal work stoppages from impeding or preventing the operation of schools in any community.”
Ricciotti v. Warwick Sch. Comm., 319 F. Supp. 1006 (D.R.I. 1970). · cites it 2× “Laws, § 28-9.3-1 et seq. (1969), entitled “School Teachers’ Arbitration Act.”
Pawtucket Sch. Comm. v. Pawtucket Teachers All., 610 A.2d 1104 (R.I. 1992). “1956 (1986 Reenactment) § 28-9.3-1. Clearly the Legislature intended this statutory right of collective bargaining to be limited to terms of employment.”
Audet v. Bd. of Regents for Elementary & Secondary Educ., 606 F. Supp. 423 (D.R.I. 1985). · cites it 2× “See R.I.Gen.Laws § 28-9.3-1. The Cumberland Teachers’ Association is “the sole and exclusive negotiating or bargaining agent for all of the .”
Audet v. Bd. of Regents for Elem. & Sec. Educ., 606 F. Supp. 423 (D.R.I. 1985). · cites it 2× “See R.I.Gen.Laws § 28-9.3-1. The Cumberland Teachers' Association is "the sole and exclusive negotiating or bargaining agent for all of the .”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.