Rhode Island teacher sues after being prohibited from serving on a public board

Providence, Rhode Island; December 16, 2025: A Rhode Island English teacher filed a lawsuit against officials with the state Department of Health after they wrongly barred her from membership on an advisory commission. Ramona Bessinger is being denied the opportunity to serve on the Rhode Island Commission for Health Advocacy & Equity based solely on her race and sex, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.

“Everyone deserves the opportunity to serve their community without discrimination based on immutable characteristics like race,” Brandon Beyer, attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, said. “Ramona is a qualified candidate for this role, and she has been unconstitutionally denied this opportunity.”

Bessinger is a veteran school teacher with more than 20 years of teaching experience in the Providence Public School District. She believes that divisive “equity” initiatives have harmed education by replacing academic fundamentals with ideology, and she wants to advocate for equality and merit-based principles in public health policy. However, despite the Commission’s current vacancies, state officials have so far denied Ramona the right to even apply for a public service position.

Represented free of charge by Pacific Legal Foundation, Bessinger is challenging the constitutionality of Rhode Island’s racial quota requirement for the Commission. A victory would allow all Rhode Island citizens an equal opportunity to serve on all public boards and commissions in the state.

The case is Ramona Bessinger v. Dr. Jerome Larkin.