Transportation costs
What it does: Schools face limits on spending State School Fund money on transporting students. HB 3014 would add alternative transportation costs such as public transit passes, payment for crossing guards and pedestrian or bicycle group leaders and allowances for the promotion and coordination of any alternative transportation options. It would not increase the overall level of funding.
What’s next: The House Education Committee has scheduled a public hearing with possible work session Wednesday, March 29.
Personal financial education classes
What it does: HBs 3093 and 3094 would add personal financial education credits as a high school diploma requirement. “Personal financial education” would include money management, career planning and fraud prevention. Additionally, HB 3093 would reduce mathematics requirements from three to two and a half credits. HB 3094 would allow school districts to designate whether any credit earned in personal financial education would satisfy a half-credit of mathematics or, if approved by the Oregon Department of Education, for history, geography, economics or civics.
What’s next: The House Education Committee has scheduled a public hearing with possible work session Wednesday, March 29.
‘Future planning’ credit
What it does: SB 3 would add a “future planning” credit to high school diploma requirements. “Future planning” would include such things as instruction on applying for jobs, applying for admission to a post-secondary institution of education, accessing community resources and acting as a self-advocate for mental, physical and financial well-being.
What’s next: The Senate Education Committee has scheduled a public hearing with a possible work session Thursday, March 30.
Sexual conduct investigations
What it does: SB 218 would require ODE and law enforcement agencies to make records of sexual conduct investigations and investigations of child abuse available to the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission. The bill would also make modifications to TSPC complaint investigation and reporting processes.
What’s next: The Senate Education Committee has scheduled a public hearing with a possible work session Tuesday, March 28.
Workforce issues
What it does: SB 283 -3 amendments would:
- Establish a statewide workforce data system to identify school district hiring needs; provide information about graduates of educator preparation programs and persons who complete nontraditional licensure pathways; identify educator mobility, attrition and retention patterns; determine educator longevity and factors that affect longevity; evaluate school climate and culture from the educator’s perspective; and evaluate pay.
- Establish regular workforce surveys and exit surveys to gather information about educators’ working experiences.
- Make information from the workforce data system and surveys accessible on ODE’s website home page.
- Require school districts to provide a 20% pay increase to licensed educators or classified school employees who provide 75% or more of their work hours to directly teach or support students who have an individualized education program.
- Require that a classified school employee shall have the right to be dismissed, demoted or disciplined only for just cause.
- Change the pay allowed substitute teachers and consider substitute teachers as school district employees, place them under the district’s management, and provide them eligibility for PERS and district health benefit plans.
- Require ODE to establish a Task Force on Statewide Educator Salary Schedules to implement a statewide minimum salary schedule.
- Fund educator apprenticeships and mentorships programs from the Statewide Education Initiatives Account.
- Require ODE to develop and execute a public relations campaign to promote Oregon’s public education professions.
- Make additional adjustments to licensed or classified staff’s employment eligibility after retirement.
New amendments are expected that will likely build off the -3s but may have significant differences.
What’s next: The Senate Education Committee has scheduled a public hearing with a possible work session Tuesday, March 28.
Nonstandard schools and programs
What it does: In 2019, advocates for students with disabilities filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court alleging Oregon had failed to ensure that students with disabilities had access to their guaranteed educational opportunities. In 2022, the State Board of Education allowed ODE to monitor whether school districts are operating in compliance with requirements specific to programs for students with disabilities and to require corrective action. SB 923 would establish definitions for standard and nonstandard schools or programs, require school districts to designate the school or program of enrollment for each student, and provide specific criteria for school districts to be able to designate a nonstandard school or program as the official student enrollment.
What’s next: The Senate Education Committee has scheduled a public hearing with a possible work session Tuesday, March 28.
Legislative notes:
House Bill 3198 (March 13 Legislative Briefs) would establish an Early Literacy Success Initiative funded by the Statewide Education Initiatives Account. The initiative would aim to increase early literacy so that students achieve reading proficiency by the end of the third grade (for students who are English language learners, by the end of the fourth grade), reduce early literacy academic disparities for student groups that have historically experienced academic disparities, reduce graduation rate disparities for student groups that have historically experienced academic disparities, and increase graduation rates for all Oregon students. ODE would award annual grants to qualifying school districts and public charter schools and establish an early literacy coaching support program. The House Education Committee has scheduled a public hearing and possible work session Wednesday, March 29.
House Bill 3454 (March 13 Legislative Briefs) would direct ODE to award grants to qualifying school districts and public charter schools to improve literacy. The House Education Committee has scheduled a public hearing and possible work session Monday, March 27.
Senate Bill 551 (Feb. 27 Legislative Briefs) would require school districts, education service districts, public charter schools and the Oregon Health Authority to provide access to information that addresses the importance of secure storage of medications and firearms on their website home page and social media accounts. The bill would also require that school districts, education service districts and public charter schools provide this information at least twice each school year electronically and in hard copy. The -1 amendment would remove the requirement that the information be posted on district social media accounts. The Senate Education Committee has scheduled a work session Tuesday, March 28.
Senate Bill 575 (March 13 Legislative Briefs) would direct ODE to implement a statewide education plan for students who are eligible for special education and who have experienced disproportionate results in education due to historical practices. The Senate Education Committee has scheduled a work session Tuesday, March 28.
Senate Bill 854 (March 6 Legislative Briefs) would require ODE to establish a model plan and guidance for academic content standards for a climate change instruction program. Each school district would be required to develop a written plan establishing a climate change instructional program for kindergarten through grade 12 no later than June 1, 2026, and would require school boards to review and update the plan every seven years. The Senate Education Committee has scheduled a work session Thursday, March 30.
