---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- AFRICAN HERITAGE HISTORY EDUCATION (Requires implementation of education courses in African American history in elementary and secondary schools in Rhode Island commencing in the 2022-2023 school year.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- AFRICAN HERITAGE HISTORY EDUCATION (Requires implementation of education courses in African American history in elementary and secondary schools in Rhode Island commencing in the 2022-2023 school year.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2021"
identifier: "HB 5697"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 5697 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Cultural", "Education", "Teachers"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Abney", "Alzate", "Barros", "Biah", "Cassar", "Giraldo", "Henries", "Hull", "Morales", "Williams"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 16
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2021-02-24"
last_action: "2021-07-09"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/8f575a4e-3e16-4b83-8880-c264406a69ee"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "f17ee8e1ccd587653ad10edde866b9d883ed849ba6bd4198d8ff5ef32c90dcf6"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ri"]
---

# Rhode Island HB 5697 (2021) — AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- AFRICAN HERITAGE HISTORY EDUCATION (Requires implementation of education courses in African American history in elementary and secondary schools in Rhode Island commencing in the 2022-2023 school year.)

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **5697 as amended** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/HouseText21/H5697aa.pdf)

## Votes

- AS AMENDED — **74–0** (pass) · lower
- AS AMENDED — **58–8** (pass) · lower
- PASSAGE OF AMENDMENT — **66–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Abney — primary (person)
- Alzate — primary (person)
- Barros — primary (person)
- Biah — primary (person)
- Cassar — primary (person)
- Giraldo — primary (person)
- Henries — primary (person)
- Hull — primary (person)
- Morales — primary (person)
- Williams — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2021-02-24** 02/24/2021 Introduced, referred to House Education `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2021-03-05** 03/05/2021 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (03/10/2021)
- **2021-03-10** 03/10/2021 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
- **2021-05-07** 05/07/2021 Scheduled for consideration (05/12/2021)
- **2021-05-12** 05/12/2021 Committee recommends passage `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-05-14** 05/14/2021 Placed on House Calendar (05/25/2021)
- **2021-05-25** 05/25/2021 House passed as amended (floor amendment) `passage`
- **2021-06-04** 06/04/2021 Referred to Senate Education `referral-committee`
- **2021-06-25** 06/25/2021 Scheduled for consideration
- **2021-06-25** 06/25/2021 Meeting postponed (06/30/2021)
- **2021-06-25** 06/25/2021 Scheduled for consideration (06/28/2021)
- **2021-06-28** 06/28/2021 Committee recommends passage as amended in concurrence `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-06-30** 06/30/2021 Placed on Senate Calendar (07/01/2021)
- **2021-07-01** 07/01/2021 Senate passed as amended in concurrence `passage`
- **2021-07-07** 07/07/2021 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2021-07-09** 07/09/2021 Signed by Governor `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/8f575a4e-3e16-4b83-8880-c264406a69ee`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).