The early literacy bill in particular received more than 150 written public comments. now being held hostage to a totally separate issue.” “It’s unfortunate that those really important bills that could really reshape the way reading is taught and could really transform student experiences with learning are. “This should be an emergency, a wake-up call,” said Gini Pupo-Walker, executive director of nonprofit advocacy group The Education Trust. The initiative is a centerpiece of Kotek’s agenda. Another would invest $140 million in a new early literacy initiative for children from birth through third grade. One such bill aims to address shortages of teachers and other school staff, particularly in rural areas, and boost pay for special education teachers. In addition to the $10.2 billion K-12 budget, which passed the state House with bipartisan support, the Senate Republican walkout also could derail education bills seeking to shore up pandemic learning losses and tackle the education workforce crisis. About 60% of third graders in Oregon are not proficient in reading or math, according to the latest state assessment results. School closures hit young children particularly hard, depriving them of critical in-person instruction needed to learn how to read. Tina Kotek “will need to convene a special session at some point to do the budgets.”Īs in other states nationwide, reading and math scores plummeted in Oregon following the COVID-19 pandemic. If lawmakers don’t return soon, Dembrow said he suspects Gov. “Just doing budget bills in both chambers will take several days.” Michael Dembrow, the Senate Committee on Education chair, said in an email. “There’s no way that we can pass all the budget bills on June 25,” Democratic state Sen. Tim Knopp also said in an email his caucus will return by June 25 to pass “substantially bipartisan” bills and budgets.īut Democrats say waiting until the session’s last day to pass budgets isn’t feasible and school districts need a sense of potential funding by early July to begin planning for the next school year. Oregon’s Senate Republican office said in an email that “it is critically important that we make sure education is fully funded.” Republican minority leader Sen. “From early childhood through higher education, our schools and students need us to respond to serious challenges.” Courtney Neron, the House Committee on Education chair, said at a recent rally against the walkout. “Supporting strong schools and improving student outcomes should be enough to make anyone show up for work,” Democratic state Rep.
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