Remote meeting access improves in some RI communities, slips backwards in others, ACLU report finds

Of Rhode Island’s 39 city and town councils, only 11 appeared to offer all four forms of access, according to the ACLU report. Of the state’s 34 school committees, only two offered all four forms of access from afar.

“The importance of allowing residents to follow what’s happening in their communities, and have a voice even if they cannot physically be at meetings, cannot be overstated,” Zoe Chakoian, the ACLU of RI’s spokesperson and communications associate, said in a statement announcing the report, which she drafted with her colleague Megan Khatchadourian.

“If we have learned anything since 2020, it’s that virtual access is possible for every council and committee to offer should they choose to,” Chakoian added.

The report bases its findings on reviews of municipal websites, agendas posted online and other related documents. Draft copies of the ACLU’s findings were also sent to the councils and school committees before publication to give the public bodies an opportunity for feedback and corrections.

Remote access is important, the report notes, because residents’ ability to participate in public meetings should not be dependent on whether a resident can drive at night, arrange childcare, take time off work, or be physically able to travel and enter government buildings.

“The decisions that are regularly made by city and town councils and school committees markedly affect residents’ lives every day,” Steven Brown, the ACLU of RI’s executive director, said in a statement. “At the very least, there is simply no excuse in this day and age for any of these public bodies to fail to livestream or record their meetings or post their agenda packets online.”

Brown added that constituents in places lacking some or all remote access options should “demand them from their elected representatives.”

29 of 34 school committees and 34 of 39 councils livestream

There has been some progress, the ACLU report noted, with four municipal councils and eight school committees having improved at least one of the four practices since the ACLU’s initial review in May 2023.

On the other hand, three school committees — North Providence, Tiverton and Woonsocket — have reduced remote options since the ACLU began tracking them in 2023. The report says those three committees stopped posting complete agenda packets online or otherwise increased difficulty in accessing the documents.

Representatives for those school committees had not responded to a request for comment as of late Wednesday afternoon.

Livestreaming options remain relatively common among both councils and committees after the needed infrastructure and tech was put in place during the pandemic era. The updated report notes that 34 municipal councils and 29 school committees livestream their meetings, while 36 councils and 29 school committees host archives of their recorded meetings on town websites or platforms like YouTube.

Some open meetings more open than others, new ACLU report finds

Rarer is the actual opportunity to participate remotely, with but a dozen councils and four school committees offering such an option to residents. That equates to about one-third of councils and 12% of school committees offering virtual participation, in the ACLU’s calculation.

The ACLU has repeatedly supported legislation to enhance access to public documents, including those discussed during open meetings. That includes testimonies from the organization to support comprehensive legislation that would reform Rhode Island’s Access to Public Records Act (APRA).

The legislation has been introduced and defeated multiple years in a row — including the 2026 legislative session, which ended in June. Among a smorgasbord of public records reforms, the failed legislation includes a stipulation which would require public bodies to proactively post or link relevant documents alongside agendas before meetings take place. Current open meetings law requires agendas, but not packets of discussed documents, to be posted before meetings.

Brown wrote in his May 2026 testimony when the Senate version of the APRA-reforming bill was up for a hearing that it had “been almost fifteen years since the General Assembly passed legislation updating and strengthening” Rhode Island’s public records law.

“Time has demonstrated the acute need for continued reform of the law, as the public’s critical ‘right to know’ is thwarted all too often by provisions in APRA that are ambiguous, weak or fail to address key issues that promote meaningful access to public records,” Brown wrote.

Where there are no online options

The report lists five public bodies which provide none of the four forms of access studied in the report: The Exeter and West Greenwich town councils, plus the Exeter-West Greenwich, Johnston and New Shoreham school committees.

But at least one of those public bodies — the New Shoreham School Committee — has started livestreaming and archiving meetings on its YouTube channel, labeled the Block Island School Committee. The channel’s oldest livestreamed video is from March 2026.

A representative for the school committee could not be reached immediately Wednesday, but former Superintendent Mike Convery told Rhode Island Current in February 2025 that the district was in the process of collecting bids for a vendor to install a broadcasting system at the Block Island School, which serves approximately 126 students in grades K-12.

Asked about the discrepancy, Chakoian said the organization sent the report to all councils and school committees before publication for feedback.

“We sent all the councils and committees the report in advance of publishing for feedback, and certainly accept updates going forward,” Chakoian wrote in an email Wednesday.

The ACLU website notes that at least one other public body, the Cranston School Committee, allows more remote access than the published report suggests. The school committee “does allow remote participation, however this is not indicated on the agenda or website,” the ACLU’s website notes.

The full report is available on the ACLU’s website.

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