In accordance with a Rhode Island statute on civic education, in 2006 the Rhode Island Department of
Education developed the Rhode Island Grade Span Expectations (GSEs) for Civics &
Government and Historical Perspectives/Rhode Island History (commonly known as the Civics GSEs) for K-12
implementation in all districts.
Prior to the development of the Civics GSEs, the Standards-Based Guide for Social Studies Programs in
Rhode Island Schools was created to aid districts in developing their social studies curriculum. Since
no state standards have been adopted for social studies as a whole, districts are encouraged to use the
standards listed within the Standards-Based Guide to supplement the Civics GSEs when developing curriculum for
areas that the Civics GSEs do not cover (e.g., history, economics, psychology, geography).
***Please note: RI General Law 16-22-2 has changed since the Standards-Based Guide for Social Studies
Programs in Rhode Island was published in 2001. The statute,
now titled "Civics education," applies to the creation and implementation of the Civics GSEs, rather
than to the course of study as its title, "Courses in history and government," indicated.***
"In keeping with Rhode Island's longstanding tradition of providing wide latitude to its local school districts in curricular matters, Rhode Island's educational leadership has opted to refer RI social studies educators to a range of social studies standards, including:
- all the national social studies content standards (N.C.S.S., history, geography, civics/government, economics and psychology);
- two (2) sets of social studies standards, Certificate of Initial Mastery (CIM) and Southern Rhode Island Regional Collaborative (SORICO), developed within Rhode Island; and
- the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS)
history/social studies standards.
"The decision to recommend that teachers and school administrators use national social studies content standards rather than to support the development of Rhode Island's own state social studies standards within a (RI Board of) Regents-endorsed state curriculum frameworks was made in part to encourage local school districts to choose which standards its social studies curriculum would be based upon. The rationale underlying this decision as well as specific guidance as to how Rhode Island local school districts can develop their own standards-based curricula are set out in Education Standards in Rhode Island: State of Development, a document prepared by the RI Department of Education's Office of Instruction in the summer of 2001."
(from the Standards-Based Guide for Social Studies Programs in Rhode Island Schools)