Legislative Highlights

The Oregon Capitol is full of dissenting opinions. Such is the nature of democracy. Sometimes, those opinions are expressed through more than just “no” votes. Parliamentary tactics, such as denying... Read More

The short session is beginning to wind down with a little over two weeks left until constitutional sine die, and that means the bills with a real chance are starting... Read More

HR 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, broke Oregon’s budget. With limited time available in the short session, Oregon lawmakers are working quickly to put back together the pieces... Read More

Oregon has robust public meeting laws. From requiring that all public meetings of the governing body are recorded and posted on the governing body’s website to allowing journalists into executive sessions, Oregon... Read More

New initiatives frequently come and go in Oregon’s education policy landscape, sometimes at a pace that makes it difficult to track current requirements or to assess outcomes. After 25 years,... Read More

Oregonians voted to have short sessions in even years so that the Legislature could address any budget issues mid-biennium, but that initial framing doesn’t keep legislators from trying to move... Read More

I started my career as a legislative staffer in 2009 in the wake of the Great Recession. The devastating impacts on the state budget led advocates to fill the Capitol... Read More

The short legislative session is a sprint, so it’s only fitting that this year’s session will start with a bang. The 83rd Oregon Legislative Assembly will convene Monday, Feb. 2,... Read More

This short session we will see, yet again, another bill to make class size a mandatory subject of bargaining, as has been the case in seven of the last nine... Read More

The 2025 legislative session ended in a flurry of last-minute activity and shifting political dynamics, culminating in adjournment shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, June 27. The Oregon Education Department budget... Read More

The Legislature adjourned late Friday, June 27, but the work isn’t done. Now comes the task of implementation where some of those pesky details need to be worked out. The... Read More

As hinted at in last week’s column, Senate Bill 916 gets one more week of coverage. Things evolved quickly – sometimes hour-to-hour – since my last update. After passing the... Read More

Although K-12 advocates have had to fight hard in recent years for gains to the State School Fund, all things considered, the years since the Student Success Act passed in... Read More

The advocates working the Capitol halls keep a sharp eye out this time of year for any signs the session might end soon. A sure indication is the closing of... Read More

Senate Bill 916 has drawn much attention this session by both education advocates and advocates of good governance in general. It’s had multiple hearings in both chambers, inspired multiple editorials... Read More

Public education funding had two big wins Friday, May 30. The Joint Ways and Means Committee approved an $11.36 billion State School Fund, a fair approximation of the state’s current... Read More

School districts frequently receive public records requests. These requests are a vital avenue for public accountability, but they come at a cost. Somebody must find the documents and prepare them... Read More

I would love to be talking this week about how we are going to fund schools in light of reduced Oregon revenue expectations or how we are going to address... Read More