Published: January 12, 2024

The Ontario School Board livestreams and posts to its district website all its school board meetings. Senate President Rob Wagner would like to require all school boards to do the same. (Screenshot from the Ontario School District website)

Senate President Rob Wagner wants everyone to have more access to school board meetings.

Wagner introduced a legislative proposal Thursday that would require boards for K-12 schools, community colleges and public universities to stream their meetings live and “allow for remote participation.”

Oregon law currently does not require school boards to take public testimony at meetings. It already requires school boards to share their meetings by “telephone, video or other electronic or virtual means.”

Wagner’s proposal would also require school boards to post the recordings online.

The 2023 short legislative session starts Feb. 5 and has to wrap up by March 10. It’s a sprint, and a lot of legislation won’t be able to keep up. But having the Senate president in support puts some wind at the back of a bill.

This week, the Legislature is holding its regular between-session hearings. The hearings explore likely session topics and introduce legislative concept drafts, the language for eventual bills. Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, presented his “Education Board Transparency” idea to the Interim Senate Education Committee, but he did not post the legislative concept with possible bill language.

OSBA Legislative Services Director Lori Sattenspiel plans to meet next week with Wagner to discuss the legislation’s details.

Online meetings and unfettered public comment have created problems for school boards around the country with internet access challenges, inappropriate pirate interruptions, and intrusions from out-of-district partisans.

Wagner, a former Lake Oswego School Board member, said the COVID-19 pandemic adjustments showed that virtual meetings allow busy parents, teachers, students and community members to more easily become informed and get involved. He said the necessary technology is inexpensive, widely available and already in use in some districts.

Sen. Lew Frederick, a committee member, raised concerns, though, about broadband availability for some districts and community members.

– Jake Arnold, OSBA
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