The Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce supports the comprehensive reform of Rhode Island's K-12 education system.

We applaud the state Senate and House of Representatives for undertaking these reforms at such a critical point for Rhode Island. After the results of last year’s RICAS scores became public and allowed for a direct comparison of Rhode Island students to their Massachusetts counterparts, it became clear that serious reforms are needed to ensure that Rhode Island has a well educated workforce.

The proposed reforms, which mirror the current laws in Massachusetts, are vitally important to ensure that all educational tools are aligned throughout the state. This package of legislation creates a high-quality statewide curriculum that will align with the RICAS test as well as teacher training. Moving forward on all these fronts simultaneously will give Rhode Island students the best chance for success in our highly competitive global economy.

While we recognize that these proposed reforms will require that the Rhode Island Department of Education assume greater responsibilities, we are hopeful that a reallocation of resources will be able to help RIDE fulfill their new obligations under these reforms.

• General Assembly leaders unveil package of comprehensive education reform legislation
• WPRI: Big changes coming to K-12 in RI