The Barrington School Committee is expected to complete its “second read” of the Covid-19 policy during its meeting tonight, Thursday, July 28.

Two weeks earlier, the committee held its first read of the policy, which was first drafted nearly a year ago and is being re-adopted and re-issued. 

Barrington School Committee Chairwoman Gina Bae said the re-issuance is being fueled by the recent Rhode Island Superior Court ruling, which found that the Barrington School Committee violated the Open Meetings Act by failing to provide sufficient notice before enacting the school district’s vaccine mandate for teachers and other employees when it was first voted upon in Aug. 2021.

Bae said the court identified an error in how the policy was initially adopted … “so we’re addressing the error…” 

Bae said the move was being done to ensure the stability and validity of the policy. 

However, there are some who view the re-adoption and re-issuance of the policy as a move to reinforce the district’s decision to fire three unvaccinated teachers. The policy’s vaccine mandate served as the grounds for terminating three Barrington educators — Brittany DiOrio, Kerri Thurber and Stephanie Hines. 

“They are specifically doing it right now so we can’t be hired back,” DiOrio wrote in a message to the Barrington Times. 

The Superior Court proceedings are now in the remedy phase. 

Greg Piccirilli, the attorney for the teachers, said the judge is expected to decide multiple aspects of the remedies, including whether to declare the original policy void, and if so, whether to order the teachers’ reinstatement in Barrington Schools with back-pay. 

Piccirilli said the judge is also expected to determine who will pay lawyers fees and he could levy a fine against the school committee if he determines the violation to be “willful and knowing.” 

The second, and likely concluding session of the remedy hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 2.

Piccirilli said the judge’s ruling on whether to declare the original Covid-19 policy void is “the crux of the case.” 

“That’s the most important part,” Piccirilli said. 

Piccirilli said the school committee’s decision to re-adopt and re-issue the policy should have been done months ago. 

In fact, Piccirilli argued during the teachers’ pre-termination hearing in Oct. 2021 that the committee had erred in noticing the original meeting when the policy was first voted upon. He said the committee could have addressed the error at that time.

“In their arrogance, they didn’t,” Piccirilli said. “They waited the entire school year.”

Piccirilli said the decision to re-adopt the policy would only remain in effect for the next month or so. 

Bae confirmed that — she said the policy will expire at the conclusion of the current summer school session. It will not be in effect for the upcoming, 2022-23 school year, she said. 

Piccirilli said school officials plan to introduce the newly re-adopted policy during the Aug. 2 remedy hearing. He questioned why school attorneys planned to do so, as he did not believe the policy would be retroactive.

“I don’t think legally they can do that,” he said. “I seriously doubt that…”

What the judge ruled

Rhode Island Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Lanphear wrote in his decision, dated May 25, that “With minimal and vague notice, it is reasonable to conclude that few knew of the actions being taken. There is no evidence to prove otherwise. The teachers who would be required to be vaccinated were not advised of the proposed change directly, or through the required public notice. Students and parents were not advised. The School Committee agendas indicated that there would be changes to how COVID-19 would be handled as schools were being required to reopen by the state, but the notices were not clear or specific that mask mandates or vaccine mandates were being imposed. Barrington’s requirement of vaccinations (right or wrong) would have been particularly controversial as no other community required vaccinations for teachers.”