§ 16-38-1 — § 16-38-1. Discrimination because of race or age.

§ 16-38-1. Discrimination because of race or age.

(a) No person shall be excluded from any public school on account of race or color, or for being over fifteen (15) years of age, nor except by force of some general regulation applicable to all persons under the same circumstances.

(b) Discrimination on the basis of race is prohibited in all public elementary and secondary schools in the state and in all schools operated by the council on elementary and secondary education. This prohibition shall apply to employment practices, admissions, curricular programs, extracurricular activities including athletics, counseling, and any and all other school functions and activities.

(c) For purposes of this section, the term:

(1) "Protective hairstyles� means and includes, but is not limited to, hair texture or hairstyles, if that hair texture or that hairstyle is commonly associated with a particular race or national origin (including a hairstyle in which hair is tightly coiled or tightly curled, locks, cornrows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, and Afros).

(2) "Race� means and includes traits historically associated with the race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles.

Legislative History

G.L. 1896, ch. 65, § 1; G.L. 1909, ch. 73, § 1; G.L. 1923, ch. 77, § 1; G.L. 1938, ch. 198, § 1; G.L. 1956, § 16-38-1; P.L. 2025, ch. 381, § 1, effective July 1, 2025; P.L. 2025, ch. 382, § 1, effective July 1, 2025.