K-12 Public Schools and Students (2002-2003)
K-12 Public School Teachers (2002-2003)
K-12 Private Schools (2001-2002)
K-12 Public and Private School Student Academic Performance
Oregon has a strong charter school law. High school students may take college courses for high school or postsecondary credit or both.[1] Districts may contract with one another to allow students to transfer.[2] Parents and school administrators may also make arrangements to enable a student who is not meeting state academic standards to transfer to another school within or outside of the district.[3] Background [W]e think it entirely plain that the Act of 1922 unreasonably interferes with the liberty of parents and guardians to direct the upbringing and education of children under their control.... The child is not the mere creature of the state; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.[4] In 1990, by a margin of 2 to 1, the voters rejected an initiative known as Measure 11, which would have given parents a tax credit worth up to $2,500 either to send their children to the public or private school of choice or to pay for home schooling. The initiative, introduced by a grassroots parent organization, Oregonians for School Choice, also would have mandated interdistrict public school choice.[5] In 1997, the Oregon School Choice Task Force initiated House Joint Resolution 33, a resolution to put a school choice referendum on the ballot. Had it passed, it would have allowed voters to amend the state constitution to allow parents to use state funds to send their children to public, private, or religious schools of choice. The bill died in committee.[6] In 1999, the House Education Committee approved House Bill 2597, which would have provided tax credits for contributions to K-12 public school foundations or private school scholarship foundations. Individuals, joint filers, and corporations would have received tax credits of up to $250, $500, and $1,000, respectively. The bill was approved by the House Education Committee on April 21 but made no further progress.[7] Efforts to pass a charter school bill failed in 1995 and 1997, but in May 1999, then-Governor John Kitzhaber signed Senate Bill 100, Oregon's charter school law. The law allows both new charter schools and conversions from existing public schools.[8] Local boards may charter schools, and rejected charter applicants may appeal to the Oregon State Board of Education. Charters are granted for five-year periods. Charter elementary schools and middle schools receive 80 percent of the district's average per student funding, and high schools receive 95 percent.[9] In 1999, Governor Kitzhaber also signed H.B. 2550, requiring that half of the teachers in charter schools be state-certified.[10] In 1998, Portland became one of 40 Children's Scholarship Fund (CSF) "partner cities." The CSF is a $100 million foundation that matches money raised by Portland residents to fund scholarships that enable low-income students to attend a school of choice.[11] In May 2000, the Portland school board rejected a charter proposal from a school that desired to contract with a for-profit charter management company, arguing that the state charter law did not allow for such an arrangement.[12] In September 2000, the Oregon Attorney General overruled the Portland school board and affirmed the right of charter schools to contract with a for-profit management firm.[13] In 2000, opponents of the charter school law obtained fewer than half of the 66,286 signatures needed to place a repeal initiative on the November ballot.[14] In 2001, a proposal (H.J.R. 2) was introduced that would have amended the state constitution to allow the legislature to enact legislation creating tax credits or deductions for contributions to education investment accounts and for the costs of tuition and fees at public or private schools. The resolution would have required a vote by the public in the next general election.[15] Another bill (H.B. 2091) would have provided tax deductions for contributions to education investment accounts and would have made interest on such accounts tax-free. Parents would have been able to make withdrawals on their accounts for expenses associated with public K-12 education, higher education, and home schooling.[16] Both H.J.R. 2 and H.B. 2091 died in committee. At the beginning of the 2003 session, House Joint Resolution 7 was introduced to provide tax credits for tuition expenses or contributions to education investment accounts. The bill remained in the House Committee on Rules and Public Affairs until adjournment.[17] Senate Bill 761 was also introduced in 2003 to ease restrictions on home-school students. S.B. 761, which was passed in the Senate by a vote of 20 to 9 in April and approved by the House 34 to 25 on May 29. Under this bill, parents would not have to alert state officials of their intent to homeschool, and testing requirements for home-school students would be removed.[18]Governor Ted Kulongoksi vetoed the bill in June2003.[19] In late May 2005, Senator Richard Devlin (D-Tualatin) introduced S.B. 1071, that which would create the “Oregon Virtual School District”and provide $2 million in startup costs for the project. In this initiative, the state Department of Education would contract with private virtual school programs to make selected courses, such as AP courses, available to students in smaller districts.[20] In August the bill passed the House (40-19, with 1 not voting) and the Senate (20-10), and Gov. Kulongoski signed the bill into law on September 2, 2005. Developments in 2006 State Choice Laws Position of the Governor/Composition of the State Legislature State Contacts Cascade Policy InstituteJohn A. Charles, Jr., President Matt Wingard 4850 SW Scholls Ferry Rd., Suite # 103 Portland, OR 97225 Phone: (503) 242-0900 Fax: (503) 242-3822 Website: www.CascadePolicy.org E-mail: john@CascadePolicy.org; info@cascadepolicy.org Oregon Christian Home Education Association Network 17985 Falls City Road Dallas, OR 97338 Phone: (503) 288-1285 Website: www.oceanetwork.org E-mail: oceanet@oceanetwork.org Oregon State CAPE Mr. Mark Siegel, Executive Director Oregon Federation of Independent Schools (OFIS), C/O The Delphian School 20950 SW Rock Creek Rd. Sheridan, OR 97378 Phone: (503) 843-3521 Fax: (503) 843-4158 E-mail: msiegel@delphian.org State School Report Card Greatschools.net Web site: www.greatschools.net/modperl/go/OR Oregon Department of Education Portland Public Schools The Oregonian SchoolMatters.com Web site: www.schoolmatters.com [1] Education Commission of the States, "Postsecondary Options: Dual/Concurrent Enrollment," July 2001. [2] Oregon Revised Statute 339.125. [3] Oregon Revised Statute 329.485. [4] Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510, 534-35 (1925). [5] Joseph Bast and Robert Wittmann, "A Marketing Plan For Educational Choice," Heartland Institute Rebuilding America's Schools Report No. 6, May 1991. [6] Blum Center for Parental Freedom in Education, Marquette University, Educational Freedom Report No. 54, December 19, 1997. [7] "Parental Freedom in the States and Nation," School Reform News, July 1999. [8] "Oregon Charter School Information," at www.uscharterschools.org/cs/sp/view/sp/3. [9] Center for Education Reform, "Charter School Legislation:Profile of Oregon's Charter School Law," October 2001, at http://edreform.com/charter_schools/laws/Oregon.htm. [10] "Oregon Charter School Information,” at www.uscharterschools.org/cs/sp/view/sp/3. [11] See Children's Scholarship Fund Web site at www.scholarshipfund.org. [12] Betsy Hammond, "Charter School Supporters Seek State OK of For-Profit Operation," The Oregonian, May 24, 2000, p. B1. [13] Michael Ottwy, "Directive Allows Businesses to Run Charter Schools in State," The Oregonian, September 7, 2000, p. D1. [14] Center for Education Reform, Education Reform Newswire, Vol. 2, No. 29 (July 25, 2000). [15] Oregon Legislative Assembly, 2001 Regular Session, H.J.R. 2, H.B. 2091. [16] Ibid. [17] Oregon Legislative Assembly, 2003 Regular Session, H.J.R. 7. [18] Home School Legal Defense Association, "SB 761: Favorable Revisions to Homeschool Law," May 6, 2003, at www.hslda.org/Legislation/State/or/2003/ORSB761/default.asp. [19] Home School Legal Defense Association, “Oregon Governor Vetoes Home School Bill,” June 19, 2003, at www.hslda.org/hs/state/or/200206190.asp. [20] Julia Silverman, “Long Behind the Curve, Oregon Tries to Catch up on Cyberschools,” The Oregonian, June 11, 2005 and Oregon Legislature, 2005 Session, S.B. 1071. [21] Oregon Office of the Governor, “State of the State Address 2004,” March 5, 2004, at http://governor.oregon.gov/Gov/speech_030504.shtml (August 4, 2004). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
