The Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island and the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center welcome the agreement reached between the Smithfield School Department and the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office regarding the antisemitic hazing attack on a Jewish student at Smithfield High School.

We commend the Attorney General's Office for their diligence and commitment to pursuing this matter fully. From the very beginning of this deeply troubling incident, the Jewish Alliance and the Holocaust Education Center have called for full accountability — for those who perpetrated this attack, and for the school administrators whose handling of this situation fell far short of what our students and community deserve.

The agreement announced yesterday — which includes a five-part plan — represents an important step toward ensuring that Jewish students, and all students, are safe and protected in Smithfield's schools.

The remediation plan requires the district to fix its policies against harassment and hazing, train all staff and administrators on those policies, mandate anti-discrimination programming for students, survey the school community to gauge the current climate and establish a formal protocol to protect and support victims going forward.

We have said from the outset that accountability and lasting, systemic change are not optional — they are necessary. Antisemitism must be met with consequences, and institutions that fail to protect their students must be held responsible. We are encouraged that this agreement reflects those principles.

The Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island and the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center will continue to monitor the implementation of this agreement closely and will remain steadfast advocates for the safety and dignity of Jewish students across Rhode Island.