Rhode Island Department of Education

What Rhode Island Department of Education does

The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), formally the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, is the state government agency responsible for overseeing public elementary and secondary education (prekindergarten through grade 12) across Rhode Island. Operating under the Rhode Island Board of Education and the Commissioner of Education (Angélica Infante-Green), RIDE sets educational standards, administers educator certification, manages federal program compliance (ESSA, IDEA, McKinney-Vento), and enforces school accountability. Its customer base consists of all Rhode Island public schools, charter schools, Local Education Agencies (LEAs), educators, students, and families within the state.

RIDE's core product suite comprises more than a dozen integrated digital platforms, including the public Report Card Platform (reportcard.ride.ri.gov), RIDE Data Center, Assessment Data Portal, Student Data Portal, Attendance Tool with the Attendance Nudge mobile app, eCert for educator certification, eRIDE for district data collection, EXCEED/ECEDS for early childhood workforce tracking, SurveyWorks for school climate surveys, Early Warning System (EWS), and a Freshdesk-powered support portal. Programs include the Attendance Matters RI campaign, LEAP Task Force learning recovery initiative, EnrollRI / All Course Network, McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance, and Back to School RI. The technology stack is government-standard web infrastructure with WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility, Section 508, and FERPA compliance.

RIDE is funded through Rhode Island state education appropriations and federal education grants, with no commercial revenue model or pricing structure. Services are delivered free-of-charge to schools, districts, families, and educators as part of the state's public education mandate. The agency's GTM motion is entirely direct-to-government, distributing funds and oversight through LEAs and serving the public through web portals, community forums, social media, and press releases.

Name

Rhode Island Department of Education

Legal name

Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Website

https://ride.ri.gov

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Rhode Island Department of Education is the state government agency that oversees all public K-12 education in Rhode Island, setting standards, administering federal programs, certifying educators, and operating accountability and data platforms for schools, districts, families, and students.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 State Education Administration

NAICS

Administration of Education Programs (923110)

akta.pro primary industry

Policy, Governance & Board Administration (EDAJAHAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

K–12 SIS & District Administration Platforms (EDAFAEAA), Attendance, Truancy & Enrollment Compliance (EDAJAHAC), Finance, Budgeting, Procurement & AP/AR (School/District Ops) (EDAJAHAL)

Keywords

• State education agency
• K-12 public education
• Education policy administration
• School district oversight
• Educator certification

Headquarters

HQ city

Providence

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. State Education Funding: RIDE operates as a state government department funded through annual state education budget appropriations and federal education grants including ESSA, IDEA, and McKinney-Vento programs
2. Federal Program Grants: Distribution of federal funds including Race to the Top grants, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) funding, and McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act funds to local education agencies

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) is the state government agency that administers Rhode Island's public K-12 education system, providing policy direction, regulatory oversight, accountability systems, educator certification, and support services to local school districts, public schools, educators, students, and families across the state.

Product overview

The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) operates a comprehensive suite of digital platforms and programs for the state's PK-12 public education system. The core infrastructure includes the main RIDE Website (ride.ri.gov) with accessibility features, the Report Card Platform for school accountability data, the RIDE Portal for authenticated data access, Assessment Data Portal, Student Data Portal, and RIDE Data Center for analytics. Supporting systems include eCert for educator certification, eRIDE for data collection, Workshop Registration for professional development, EXCEED/ECEDS for early childhood education tracking, and the Attendance Tool with mobile app. Programs include the Attendance Matters RI campaign, LEAP Task Force for learning recovery, EnrollRI/All Course Network for expanded learning, McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance, SurveyWorks climate surveys, and Back to School RI COVID resources. The RIDE Support Portal provides customer service through Freshdesk. These products work together to serve students, families, educators, and administrators across Rhode Island's public schools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Attendance Matters RI: Statewide campaign to reduce chronic absenteeism, now in its third year, having reduced chronic absenteeism by 12 percentage points since 2021-22.

Quantifiable outcome

• 12 percentage point reduction in chronic absenteeism since 2021-22, resulting in 3.7+ million hours of learning restored
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• LEAP Task Force MemberscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2021Multi-stakeholder task force convened by Commissioner Infante-Green in February 2021 to address learning recovery. Includes national researchers, practitioners, families, students, and community members. Co-chaired by Ana Riley (Deputy Commissioner) and Jim Erinakes (Exeter-West Greenwich School Department). Notable members include Dr. Kenneth Wong (Brown University), Dr. Nathan Schwartz (Brown Annenberg Institute), Dr. Jonathon Brice (Bristol-Warren), Dr. Anthony Rolle (URI), and representatives from Chiefs for Change, College Crusade, and various community organizations. Task Force focused on assessing learning loss, identifying research-based strategies, and aligning stimulus funding to recovery priorities.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: State education agency for Massachusetts with parallel oversight of PK-12 public education, accountability systems, educator certification, and district support. Directly comparable to RIDE as a New England state education authority with similar regulatory scope and digital infrastructure.
• Connecticut State Department of Education: State education agency for Connecticut overseeing public PK-12 schools, accountability, federal program administration, and educator certification. Closely comparable to RIDE in scope, New England regional context, and student population scale.
• New Hampshire Department of Education: State education agency for New Hampshire with similar regulatory authority over public schools, accountability reporting, and federal program administration. Comparable to RIDE in small-state scale and New England policy context.
• Vermont Agency of Education: State education agency for Vermont with parallel functions in PK-12 oversight, ESSA accountability, educator licensing, and federal program distribution. Comparable to RIDE as a small New England state education authority.

Broad incumbents

• New York State Education Department (NYSED): State education agency for New York with much broader scope and population. Operates equivalent functions (accountability, certification, federal programs, data systems) but at significantly larger scale than RIDE.
• New Jersey Department of Education: State education agency for New Jersey administering PK-12 public education, educator certification, and federal program oversight. Comparable in regulatory role to RIDE, though serving a much larger student population.
• Pennsylvania Department of Education: State education agency overseeing Pennsylvania's PK-12 public school system, educator preparation, and accountability systems. Comparable in regulatory scope to RIDE but operating at significantly larger scale.
• California Department of Education: Largest state education agency in the U.S., administering California's K-12 system. Comparable in regulatory authority and product portfolio (data dashboards, accountability systems) to RIDE at vastly greater scale.

Others

• U.S. Department of Education: Federal counterpart that funds RIDE's federal program administration (ESSA, IDEA, McKinney-Vento) and recognizes Rhode Island schools via Blue Ribbon and Green Ribbon awards. Sets the policy framework within which RIDE operates.
• Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO): Nonpartisan association of state education chiefs where RIDE's Commissioner participates. Relevant peer as a coordinating body for the network of state education agencies to which RIDE belongs and benchmarks against.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ridepted
• Facebookfacebook.com/RIDeptEd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/state-of-rhode-island
• Xx.com/RIDeptEd

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rhode Island Department of Education