---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES"
description: "Outlines the requirements and process for LEAs to get written parental consent before conducting an evaluation, reevaluation, making an initial placement/changes in placement/the individual education program of a student in a special education program."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2024"
identifier: "HB 7721"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 7721 (2024)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Caldwell", "Carson", "Cotter", "Cruz", "Giraldo", "Kislak", "Morales", "Shanley", "Slater", "Speakman"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 15
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2024-02-28"
last_action: "2024-06-24"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/4192e5cd-c31d-44bd-b296-2d8f48b593d6"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "786ca12d70dd94119ca2adee63a07e5a0cc98b1271cde786c5042c6e46ebd323"
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 7721 (2024) — AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

Outlines the requirements and process for LEAs to get written parental consent before conducting an evaluation, reevaluation, making an initial placement/changes in placement/the individual education program of a student in a special education program.

## Version chain

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

1. **7721 SUB A** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H7721A.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **68–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Caldwell — primary (person)
- Carson — primary (person)
- Cotter — primary (person)
- Cruz — primary (person)
- Giraldo — primary (person)
- Kislak — primary (person)
- Morales — primary (person)
- Shanley — primary (person)
- Slater — primary (person)
- Speakman — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2024-02-28** 02/28/2024 Introduced, referred to House Education `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2024-03-08** 03/08/2024 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (03/13/2024)
- **2024-03-13** 03/13/2024 Committee recommended measure be held for further study `committee-failure`
- **2024-05-17** 05/17/2024 Scheduled for consideration (05/22/2024)
- **2024-05-17** 05/17/2024 Proposed Substitute `substitution`
- **2024-05-22** 05/22/2024 Committee recommends passage of Sub A `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2024-05-24** 05/24/2024 Placed on House Calendar (05/29/2024) `reading-3`
- **2024-05-29** 05/29/2024 House passed Sub A `passage`
- **2024-05-30** 05/30/2024 Referred to Senate Education `referral-committee`
- **2024-06-04** 06/04/2024 Scheduled for consideration (06/06/2024)
- **2024-06-06** 06/06/2024 Committee recommends passage of Sub A in concurrence `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2024-06-11** 06/11/2024 Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar (06/13/2024) `reading-3`
- **2024-06-13** 06/13/2024 Senate passed Sub A in concurrence `passage`
- **2024-06-21** 06/21/2024 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2024-06-24** 06/24/2024 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/4192e5cd-c31d-44bd-b296-2d8f48b593d6`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).