We empower students to become authentic partners with education decision makers. One way we do this is through involving students in the policy-making process. Based on findings from our State of Our Schools report (2018) and reviewing a variety of policies, our members selected policies that we felt would be most beneficial to Oregon students and schools. We will be advancing the following priority issues during the 2019 legislative session:
Addressing discrimination, harassment, bullying, and intimidation in K-12 schools
Directing the State Board of Education to ensure that academic content standards for certain subjects include sufficient instruction on histories, contributions, and perspectives of certain classifications of individuals (HB 2023).
Directing the Department of Education to develop and implement a statewide education plan for students in early childhood through post-secondary education who are Latino or Hispanic and have experienced disproportionate educational results (HB 2440).
Establishing the inclusive schools pilot program and the Oregon Student Policy Advisory Network (SB 12).
Appropriating money from the General Fund to the Department of Education for Title IX Enforcement and compliance, sexual harassment prevention, and gender discrimination prevention (HB 2562).
Increasing access to mental health resources
The distribution of grants by the Department of Education to improve student outcomes by supporting the social, emotional, mental, and physical health needs of students (HB 2224).
Requiring schools districts to adopt a comprehensive district plan on student suicide prevention (SB 52).
Creating alternative pathways for success after graduation
Fully funding Measure 98 which provides districts with dollars to spend on efforts to prepare students for High School Graduation and College and Career Readiness (HB 5015).
Directing the Higher Education Coordinating Commission to develop standards for partnership based in high school for the purpose of providing dual credit programs (SB 800).
Ensuring that students who legally entered the United States under the Compact of Free Association treaty between the United States and the Republic of Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands or the Federated States of Micronesia qualify for exemption from nonresident tuition and fees at public universities if the student meets other tuition equity requirements (SB 263).
To further student engagement in the policy process, OSV developed its very own policy for the first time. Based on feedback from students around their experiences, we decided that it was essential to update Oregon’s K-12 sexual harassment policies to better support students. Therefore, we helped create House Bill 3077, which is chief sponsored by Representative Salinas and Senator Gelser.
To learn more about our priorities and why we support them, click here.
The 2019 Legislative Session began on January 22, 2019 and will continue until June 30, 2019. Our students have already spent time in Salem voicing their support for fully funding Measure 98 (HB 5015), and will continue advocating for our priorities throughout session by meeting with legislators and providing public testimony.
