Legislative Briefs
New Student Success Act
What it does: House Bill 3427 replaces House Bill 2019 as the vehicle for the Student Success Act. The bill would raise approximately $2 billion a biennium and dedicate the money to early learning and preK-12 public school programs.
What’s new: Public hearings were held on April 16 and 18. The revenue amendment and a summary have been posted.
What’s next: The Joint Committee on Student Success is expected to vote on the bill Thursday, April 25.
Adi’s Act
What it does: Senate Bill 52, also known as Adi’s Act, would require school districts to adopt policies requiring a comprehensive plan on student suicide prevention for K-12 students. The bill details plan and training requirements and would permit the State Board of Education to adopt rules based on consultations with suicide prevention experts and reviews of national suicide prevention models.
What’s new: School districts and education service districts expect that policy development can be absorbed with current resources, but the exact implementation costs are not known. The bill may be referred to the Joint Ways and Means Committee for budgetary consideration.
What’s next: The bill has been referred to the House Education Committee and is scheduled for a public hearing Monday, April 22. OSBA supports this bill.
Suicide communication planning
What it does: Under current law, the Oregon Health Authority serves as a resource on suicide prevention and response to local mental health authorities, and it develops communication plans for addressing community responses to suspected suicides of individuals who are 24 years of age or younger. OHA is not required to collaborate with educational institutions, nor are educational institutions required to notify OHA of activities to provide support or to reduce risk of more suicides after a suspected suicide. The bill would require collaboration, notification and support between OHA and educational institutions in the event of a suspected suicide involving a student.
What’s new: OHA expects the bill’s fiscal impact to be minimal and has requested in the agency’s 2019-21 budget a policy option package that would expand student behavioral health services and suicide intervention and prevention. School districts’ existing resources are expected to be adequate to accommodate the proposed legislation.
What’s next: The bill has been referred to the House Education Committee and is scheduled for a public hearing Monday, April 22. OSBA has not taken a position, but the bill’s content is in line with OSBA legislative policies.
Holocaust studies
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, currently do not include specific references to individual program specifications, such as the Holocaust or genocide. This bill would require school districts to provide highly defined and specific instructional programs around genocide and other acts of mass violence.
What’s new: This bill would require the development of specific curricula that may not currently exist, and although the Oregon Department of Education is required to provide technical assistance, actual development will be left to the school districts along with establishing the necessary instructional time.
What’s next: The bill has been referred to the House Education Committee. OSBA has not taken a position on it.