About a year ago, I became aware of a troubling trend in public schools nearby where I live here in Portland, OR. Oregon students were getting sent home for reasons that were not always clear or getting placed on shortened schedules that ran only a few hours a day without parent or caregiver consent.
In a prior role I held in a local school district, I saw students getting put on abbreviated day schedules most often when challenging behaviors emerged that were not well understood or easily addressed by educators in schools.
Over time, I became concerned students and families did not appear to be fully informed of their rights or their ability to revoke a shortened day schedule whenever they wished to do so.
I asked a lot of questions to find out what could be done to curb this practice which I have since learned is called Oregon's Abbreviated School Day Program passed into law in 2017.
To date, there have been 1000 documented cases of Oregon students getting blocked from obtaining the education they are guaranteed under the law.
I produced this story (which aired on KBOO news on Monday, March 6th) to better understand Bill 819 which is up for a vote this month or next in the Oregon House before it can be signed into law by the governor.
Senate Bill 819, if fully passed, will require informed and written parental consent before a student can have a shortened school day. It also would require the Oregon Department of Education to enforce the law and empowers the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission to investigate and hold superintendents accountable for refusing to restore equal access to schools for students with disabilities.
If you are in Oregon, please consider contacting your local legislator to share experiences you may have had related to the Abbreviated School Day Program or to advocate ita passage.
As always, thanks for listening!
12. (Part 1) A 14-year campaign to restore Oregon students' rights to access their education