Joseph McNamara

Rep. Joseph M. McNamara (D) represents District 19 in Warwick and Cranston. First elected in November 1994, he is the chair of the House Education Committee. He also serves as a member of the House Labor Committee, the House Rules Committee, and the House Conduct Committee. During the 2025 session, Representative McNamara introduced a law that makes federally mandated school 504 plans part of state law. Named after Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 — a federal civil rights law that protects against discrimination — a 504 plan is a formal plan for how a school will remove barriers so a student with a disability can learn alongside peers in general education. He also sponsored a law that allows Rhode Island to join the state dietitian licensure compact , which increases public access to dietetics services, eliminates the necessity of licenses in multiple states, and enhances the state's ability to protect the public's health and safety. In addition, he sponsored laws to create a school budget commission in Warwick, allow more students to ride passenger vans , and make it easier for homeowners' associations to purchase land that its members are currently leasing. During…