Dear Readers,
I was dismayed to read today's press release from State Superintendent Susan Castillo reporting that ODE's "mandate relief" bill, SB 800, passed the House of Representatives and is headed to Governor Kitzhaber for signature. SB 800 is a housekeeping measure that sweeps away old requirements, like the requirement to teach about the Irish Potato Famine. At the same time, the Oregon Legislature is quickly passing new special education requirements that surpass what is required by federal law and current state law. If we were in a time of economic abundance, one could understand expanding entitlements. But we are in a time of economic retrenchment, and each new requirement means taking something away from a different educational priority.
Here is the status of the bills I previously described:
HB 2283 - Transition services - passed the Senate on Monday and is headed to Governor Kitzhaber. This bill appears to create several procedural and substantive requirements that exceed federal and current state law.
HB 2296 - Burden of proof - stalled in the House Revenue Committee. May 23 was the deadline for policy committee chairs to schedule work sessions for second chamber measures, so this bill is not going anywhere.
HB 2299 - Charter school bill - public hearing and possible work session in Senate Education Committee on Thursday, 5/26, at 1 pm.
HB 2939 - Seclusion & restraint - work session in the Senate Education Committee today (stay tuned for more information).
June 1 is the deadline for second chamber policy committees to move bills to the floor. Most likely more requirements will emerge from this session than were swept away by SB 800.
Suzy
No comments:
Post a Comment