Mar 17, 2025 | Editor |||
In a show of resistance, community members packed the Chariho School Committee meeting in March to defend Title IX protections, trans and gender-diverse student rights, diversity, equity and inclusion education, and the fight against book bans.
With school committees across Rhode Island facing growing pressure to roll back inclusive policies, organizers made it clear: attacks on student rights will not go unchallenged. More than 100 community members and 30 speakers stood in firm support of the Rhode Island Department of Education policy protecting trans students, delivering personal stories, medical testimony, and legal arguments.
As a result of the community’s actions, the school committee temporarily paused its effort to strip state-mandated protections.
“The fight isn’t over,” said Jocelyn Foye of the Womxn Project. “We know these efforts to undermine bodily freedom and education equity will continue, but so will our movement. What happened in Chariho is a roadmap for action across Rhode Island and we are here to defend bodily freedom for all.”
To view video recordings of the meeting, visit mailchi.mp/thewomxnproject/march-chariho.
