Summary

<p><strong>Please help&nbsp;</strong>with an important effort that directly effects how Scouting and other trusted youth programs reach young people in Rhode Island.</p> <p><strong>What's happening?</strong></p> <p>Legislation has been introduced at the Rhode Island General Assembly to&nbsp;<strong>guarantee reasonable school access for congressionally chartered youth organizations,&nbsp;</strong>which includes&nbsp;<strong>Scouting America.</strong> This legislation will allow us to:</p> <ol> <li>Distribute flyers</li> <li>Share information about joining</li> <li>Promote our programs to students and families&nbsp;<strong>once a year in public schools</strong></li> </ol> <p>This legislation recognizes that organizations like Scouting America are <strong>nationally chartered and focused on youth development.</strong> This legislation gives schools a clear framework to allow access without disrupting instructional time. We have introduced this bill in partnership with other congressionally chartered youth organizations including the Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England, Big Brothers-Big Sisters of Rhode Island, and the Boys &amp; Girls Clubs.</p> <p><strong>Why is this necessary?</strong></p> <p>In many&nbsp;school&nbsp;districts today, administrators feel pressure to either say yes to every outside group&nbsp;or no to all. To avoid controversy or added workload, many&nbsp;schools choose &ldquo;no&rdquo; across the board &mdash; even to longstanding, reputable organizations like Scouting.</p> <p>As a result:</p> <ul> <li>Families often <strong>never learn that Scouting is available</strong>&nbsp;in their&nbsp;school&nbsp;or community</li> <li>Youth miss out on c<strong>haracter‑building, leadership, and service opportunities</strong></li> <li>Schools lose trusted partners that reinforce the values they teach every day</li> </ul> <p>This bill <strong>solves that problem</strong>&nbsp;by allowing&nbsp;schools to confidently say yes&nbsp;to a limited number of congressionally chartered youth development organizations, while still maintaining local control and protecting classroom time.</p> <p><strong>How you can help:</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>Legislators listen closely to their constituents</strong>&nbsp;&mdash; especially parents, volunteers, community leaders, and even Scouts.</li> <li>Please ask your Representative to support <strong>House Bill 7894</strong> and Senator to support <strong>Senate Bill 3289</strong> and guarantee school access.</li> <li>You can use the form to the right to send an email to your&nbsp;representatives</li> <li>Take <strong>5&ndash;10 minutes&nbsp;to call your Representative and Senator</strong>&nbsp;and ask them to <strong>support the bills</strong>&nbsp;(and let us know if you contact them!)</li> <li>You do <strong>not</strong>&nbsp;need to be an expert. A short, respectful call or message makes a real difference.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Suggested Talking Points:</strong></p> <p>Feel free to use your own words. The points below are provided to make it easy.&nbsp;&nbsp;For&nbsp;school&nbsp;access:</p> <ul> <li>I am a parent/volunteer involved with Scouting in Rhode Island, and I am asking you to support legislation that ensures&nbsp;school&nbsp;access&nbsp;for congressionally chartered youth organizations like Scouting America.&nbsp;&nbsp;The bill numbers are H-7894 and S-3289</li> <li>This legislation helps&nbsp;schools say yes to a small number of trusted, national organizations without opening the door to every outside group.</li> <li>There are four congressionally‑chartered youth development organizations&mdash;Girl Scouts of the USA, Boys &amp; Girls Clubs, Big Brothers-Big Sisters, and Scouting America&mdash;and they exist specifically to develop leadership, life skills, citizenship, fitness, outdoor education, and community engagement.</li> <li>Scouting provides leadership development, citizenship, service, and life skills that strongly reinforce what&nbsp;schools already teach.</li> <li>The legislation protects instructional time, respects parental choice, and places no financial&nbsp;burden on&nbsp;schools or the state.</li> <li>Many families only learn about Scouting through&nbsp;schools. Without&nbsp;school&nbsp;access, children &mdash; especially in underserved communities &mdash; miss opportunities that will benefit them for their entire lifetimes.</li> <li>Our state and our kids and families will be better if more of our children are actively involved in these proven youth development programs.</li> <li>I respectfully ask you to support this bill when it comes before the General Assembly.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Even one sentence helps:</strong></p> <p>&ldquo;As a parent/volunteer, I support legislation that guarantees reasonable&nbsp;school&nbsp;access&nbsp;for Scouting and other congressionally chartered youth organizations. Please vote yes.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Thank you!</strong></p> <p>Scouting exists to serve young people &mdash; and this legislation helps ensure that <strong>every family has the opportunity to learn about Scouting</strong>, regardless of where they live or attend&nbsp;school&nbsp;and that Scouts are provided a goal to achieve our highest rank and stay in-state.</p>

Christopher Blazejewski Speaker

Valarie Lawson President

Your State Senator and State Representative(s)