On June 22, 2026, Defending Education filed an ethics complaint with the Rhode Island Ethics Commission against Senate President Valarie Lawson. DE claims Lawson broke the Rhode Island Code of Ethics, which bars public officials from having any interest or obligation that is “in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of his or her duties.”
Lawson is also the paid President of the National Education Association of Rhode Island (NEARI), a teachers’ union. The complaint focuses on two votes:
• On June 4, 2026, Lawson voted for Senate Bill S2787A. The bill pauses new charter public schools, permanently lowers the number of charters allowed in the state, and overrides state approval of a new charter school that was already preparing to open.
• On May 28, 2026, she voted for Senate Bill S2924, which would greatly expand public-sector union membership in Rhode Island through card-check certification and mandatory employer neutrality.
NEARI’s published legislative agenda calls for laws that mirror both bills — Lawson sets that agenda as NEARI’s President. In June 2025, the Ethics Commission had advised that she would be “required to recuse herself from participation in discussions and voting on matters for which her business associate or employer appears or presents evidence or arguments before the General Assembly or the Senate,” which Lawson has failed to do. Lawson has also used her public office to consistently advance NEARI’s priorities.
Defending Education urges the Rhode Island Ethics Commission to investigate every claim in its complaint and hold Senate President Lawson accountable.
Read the full complaint below:
