In Memorandum
On September 4, OPEN lost a wonderful, loving & sensitive team member. Margi was killed in an automobile accident, and we will miss her more than words can say.
MARGI BROWN
Margi taught second grade in Mountain View, California before she started her family. In 1971 her family moved to Portland where her daughters attended Portland Public Schools during the desegregation era. She was involved as a volunteer in a variety of capacities and served on the Desegregation Monitoring Advisory Committee for Portland Public Schools. She has continued to be concerned about the funding and health of public education, especially since the initiation of ‘No Child Left Behind’ and increased prevalence of standardized testing.
July, 2025
This year’s Legislative Session recently ended. We will highlight two bills that passed and will affect Oregon’s Public Education, as well as comment on a few others that we diligently worked on, did not pass, but we are not giving up on moving them forward in the next legislative sessions….
House Bills 2007 and 5047 (passed)
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek signed into law two bipartisan education bills aimed at funding summer learning programs through 2027, part of a broader push to improve literacy rates among students across the state.
House Bills 2007 and 5047 will allocate $35 million this summer alone for evidence-based reading and enrichment programs, with continued funding over the next two years. The legislation targets learning gaps exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and supports Kotek’s broader K-12 education goals.
“I believe that learning to read is the foundation on which students shape their futures,” Kotek said during the bill signing. “We are following through on our promise to every young Oregonian to prepare them for the future.”
HB 2007 creates a framework for a permanent grant program that will support summer reading initiatives focused on closing literacy achievement gaps. HB 5047 provides the funding needed to implement the plan, ensuring resources are available through 2027.
The Oregon Department of Education will oversee the grant distribution, prioritizing schools with high numbers of students struggling in reading. For more information on these bills, go to: Oregon Governor Kotek Signs Bipartisan Summer Learning Bills
Senate Bill 302 (Vetoed by Governor)
This bill, championed by Senator Lew Frederick, called for the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) to audit districts re: their policies and practices affecting kindergarten assessments, etc. It passed both the House and the Senate, landed on the Governor”s desk but was unexpectedly vetoed by her. Explanations include: 1. ODE stated that it would cost too much, and 2. given the Governor’s commitment [incorporated in SB 141, her signature education accountability bill] to reducing the administrative burden and amount of paperwork required of districts by ODE, she didn’t want to add more. A worthy
article by Joanne Hou about the veto can be viewed on the July 9 issue in Willamette
Week. Given our understanding of events, it seems likely there was little
communication between the Governor and the Senator before the veto action was
taken. Whether the bill will be reintroduced is unclear at present.
Senate Bill 948: A Step Toward Expanding Play-Based Learning in Schools (Stalled in Committee)
In the 2025 legislative session, Oregon Senate Bill 948 (SB 948)—developed through a collaboration between State Senator Lew Frederick and the Oregon Public Education Network (OPEN)—advanced a bold vision for Oregon’s public schools: integrating “play-based learning” into the school day for all students from preschool through grade 5.
The bill received strong bipartisan support and was approved by the Education Committees of both the Oregon House and Senate, positioning it well for reintroduction in a future session. However, it was not passed out of the Joint Committee on Ways and Means before the session ended.
What Would SB 948 Do?
SB 948 would give local school boards the authority to include “play-based learning” during instructional time for all students in prekindergarten through fifth grade. Importantly, this is not the same as recess or unstructured “free play.”
What’s the difference?
“Play-based learning”, by contrast, is purposeful and guided by educators. It uses playful methods to help children build academic and life skills—like critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creative problem-solving in any academic subject—in ways that are engaging and developmentally appropriate.
“Free play” is child-directed and open-ended. It allows children to explore, imagine, and socialize on their own terms—valuable for social and emotional growth but not tied to specific academic goals.
Support for Teachers and Caregivers
SB 948 also recognized that educators need support to implement this approach effectively. The bill directed the Oregon Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Early Learning and Care and the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission, to offer professional development in the pedagogy of play-based learning. These opportunities would be available to both child care providers and public school teachers working with students from preschool through grade 5.
What’s Next?
Although SB 948 did not pass this session, its approval by both Education Committees shows a clear path forward. The Oregon Public Education Network will continue advocating for its passage in future sessions—so that Oregon children can benefit from learning environments that are active, joyful, and rooted in the science of how children learn best.
House Bill 3222 (Stalled in Committee)
HB 3222, sponsored by Rep Nancy Nathanson (D-Eugene), required that the ODE update a survey on the locally administered standardized tests given to students from all 197 school districts in this state. It directed the Department of Education to review and update information collected for a survey of the academic assessments administered to all students.. It required the department to submit an updated report to the Legislature and to the State Board of Education.
OPEN was instrumental in the development of this Bill because we viewed Rep Nathanson’s prior HB 4124 that passed in 2022 to be a necessary first step in determining just how much standardized testing was being used at the local level and what approximate cost this was to local taxpayers. HB 3222 was the next step in finding out this information, but it did not pass out of the Education Committee for a vote.
Other Important Work
Promoting Media Literacy Education in Oregon
In today’s fragmented media landscape, respectful civic discourse is increasingly difficult. The ability to distinguish between facts, misinformation, disinformation, and propaganda is no longer optional—it’s essential. Fortunately, there is broad bipartisan support for strengthening media literacy education.
A University of Southern California survey found strong support across political lines for students learning to:
- Learn to detect false information online
- Evaluate different arguments on a topic
- Debate a topic from the opposite view of their own
The third item is particularly telling. The desire for students to argue a position they personally disagree with suggests that many Americans—across the political spectrum—value empathy, open-mindedness, and critical reasoning. What’s needed now are the educational tools to make that possible.
The Media Literacy Subcommittee of the Oregon Public Education Network (OPEN) is working to ensure Oregon students acquire those tools. Our priorities span four key areas:
- Legislation: Advancing state-level policies that ensure all students have access to media literacy instruction.
- State Standards: Supporting revisions to Oregon’s social science standards to embed media literacy across grade levels and disciplines.
- Pedagogy: Encouraging research-informed, inclusive teaching practices that go beyond fact-checking to foster habits of inquiry and reflection.
- Professional Development: Expanding opportunities for educators to learn how to integrate media literacy into their existing curricula.
This is a collaborative effort. We are working closely with national and regional leaders in the field, including:
- Media Literacy Now – a nonprofit policy and advocacy organization working to bring media literacy into public education.
- The National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) – the leading professional association for media literacy educators in the U.S.
- The Northwest Center for Media Literacy – based in Seattle, with a long history of developing classroom tools and regional partnerships.
One vital but often overlooked ally in this work is the licensed school librarian. Unlike library clerks, licensed librarians are trained in information literacy—a broader discipline that encompasses how we locate, evaluate, and use information in a variety of formats. Unfortunately, Oregon has seen a dramatic decline in the number of licensed school librarians, from 818 in 1980 to just 178 today. Reversing this trend is among our goals, as these professionals are uniquely positioned to lead media literacy instruction in schools.
The path forward requires vision, collaboration, and persistence. But with strong public support and a growing coalition of advocates, Oregon is well positioned to lead the nation in preparing students to navigate—and shape—our media-driven world.
The Oregon Public Education Network will continue to meet with legislators and prominent educational advocates to strengthen our public education system for all of our Oregon children.
Oregon Public School Libraries Are in Crisis
Simple solutions won’t fix the problem. Action is required now in order to restore vibrant, fully funded library programs that support learning across all grade levels and curricula in every school.
Far from being outdated, today’s School Librarians:
- Curate inclusive, up-to-date collections,
- Provide direct instruction to students in research techniques as well as navigating disinformation, misinformation and propaganda,
- Introduce new information technologies to our schools,
- Help create an integrated educational system throughout the school,
- Helping provide a key voice in growing efforts to find balance for vulnerable students in the face of powerful, unregulated influences of social media.
To read the 2025 State of School Libraries in Oregon report produced by the Oregon Association of School Librarians, follow the hyperlink below.
To learn more about this vital issue, go to our Advocacy page. We have some action items, as well.
Oregonians for Public Education
The multi-county group, Oregonians for Public Education will have a Zoom meeting on February 5th at 6PM. The link is below.
The speaker for the meeting will be Linda Campillo. Linda is a member of the Oregon Association of School Libraries. She still substitutes in the Portland School District.
Given the current level of education funding, not every school has a librarian. If the school has a librarian, they are often part time. This is a dangerous practice in any era but is especially dangerous today, if for no other reason than students need to learn how to be media savvy. There is so much information available, but much of it is false and/or misleading. How can we have a quality education model without full-time librarians? I hope that you will join us for our hour-long meeting.
Alex Rabchuk, Chair of the DPO Education Caucus, is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Oregonians for Public Education General Meeting
Time: Feb 5, 2025 06:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81274764634?pwd=YTwoFYWMnABiZRrLbTHHM1H5bcR867.1
Join us every month on the First Wednesday, until Jan 7, 2026, 12 occurrence(s)
Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/tZUvcO2vqD8sGdD9ijsgD3kFKXTrU9UGuJ8L/ics?icsToken=DIPZGotN6n6cGcYQawAALAAAAPj3PDw1MCAxB_uRvpGrHdpl-hKlfrXJ1oY1Sbg5vnLqMdbNvkuNrmHDSxtFpkAnXPMcp_EGw8bfYespJTAwMDAwMQ
DPO Education Caucus Meeting with Senator Michael Dembrow
October 27, 2024
During the DPO Education Caucus meeting, Senator Michael Dembrow, Chair of the Senate Education Committee, provided a legislative update emphasizing the potential for a Democratic supermajority in the Senate and the impending focus on a significant transportation package alongside educational funding challenges, including an adjustment of $515 million to the education budget’s Current Service Level (CSL). The discussion highlighted a proposal to raise the special education funding cap from 11% to 16% amid workforce retention issues, particularly affecting teachers of color and special education staff, and the anticipated impact of declining enrollment on per-student funding. The meeting also focused on the integration of climate change education and the need for legislative follow-up on passed bills, alongside suggestions for enhancing oversight of education policies through independent assessments of fiscal impacts. Additionally, participants discussed the handling of potentially controversial bills and the need for district policies on cell phone usage in schools. Action items included reaching out to legislators and developing strategies to address contentious issues.