Legislative Briefs
International Baccalaureate
What it does: In 1968, the International Baccalaureate Organization established an International Baccalaureate (IB) program to provide the children of diplomats with a common curriculum that would be recognized as these students moved across international borders. The IB program requires high school students to complete an external, standardized exam for each IB course. Scores on these exams range from one to seven. In 2017, there were 17 high schools offering the IB program to a combined 2,292 Oregon students. Typically, Oregon public universities and community colleges award credit for IB exam scores of five or higher. SB 160 will require all Oregon public universities and community colleges to award credit for scores of four or higher, unless an institution is granted an exception.
What’s new: This bill has passed through the House and Senate and is awaiting the governor’s signature. Upon signing, it will become operative Jan. 1, 2020, and will first apply to the 2021-22 academic year.
Holocaust instruction
What it does: In May 2018, the Oregon State Board of Education adopted new content standards for social studies that require high school students to study the oppression of ethnic and religious groups. The social studies standards, much like other curriculum goals, do not include specific references to individual program specifications, such as the Holocaust or genocide. This bill will require school districts to provide highly defined and specific instructional programs around genocide and other acts of mass violence.
What’s new: This bill was signed into law May 29. It will become operative on July 1, 2020, and will first apply to the 2020-21 school year.
Student restraints
What it does: In 2011, legislation limited the use of physical restraint and seclusion for students. Physical restraint was defined as the restriction of a student's movement by one or more persons holding the student or applying physical pressure upon the student. It is permitted when a student's behavior imposes a threat of serious bodily injury to the student or others and less restrictive interventions would not be effective. This bill modifies permissible restraints for students in public education programs and adds supine restraints, among other actions, to the list of prohibited restraints. It also prohibits the use of physical restraint as a form of retaliation. This bill is meant to correct the untended consequences of the 2011 legislation that led to an increase in “classroom clears.”
What’s new: This bill was signed into law May 29 and becomes effective July 1.