Disability Rights Oregon Applauds Legislature for Ensuring All Children Have Equal Access to Education

Press Release

Jun 26

Senate Bill 819 Passage helps end illegal practice of denying full-day school

Portland, Ore.—This weekend, the Oregon State Legislature passed Senate Bill (SB) 819 to ensure all of Oregon’s children have equal access to education, helping to end the illegal practice of denying more than 1,000 Oregon students with disabilities full days at school. Championed in the Legislature by Oregon Senators Sara Gelser Blouin (D-8-Corvallis) and Tim Knopp (R-27-Bend), and Representative Courtney Neron (D-27-Wilsonville) the bill passed the House on Friday, 38-14, and passed the Senate on Saturday, 19-6. It will take effect immediately upon signing by the Governor.

The passage of SB 819 will:

Ensure parents receive notice specifically about shortened days and their right to consent to, revoke consent, or oppose the shortened day for their child.
Require regular meetings to discuss the value or need for continuing shortened school days.
Ensure there is a consistent plan to provide support to the student on a shortened day and a plan for when the student returns to full-time school.
Provide a clear legal framework that requires the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) to aggressively pursue the elimination of frequent and long-term shortened school days in an accountable way.
Fund an additional $3.1 million to assist ODE in implementing the new law.

“As a former special educator, I can assure you students with disabilities don’t thrive when denied reading, math, science and social-emotional learning that takes place at school,” said Jake Cornett, Executive Director and CEO of Disability Rights Oregon. “We applaud Senator Gelser Blouin’s tireless efforts, and thank her peers for enacting common-sense policy that helps provide the educational foundation children need to thrive and reach their potential for years to come.”

Background

1,000+ Oregon Children with Disabilities are being Illegally Denied Their Rights to a Full Day of Quality Education Every Day
- Shortened school days are unlawful pursuant to the requirements of three Federal statutes: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq.), Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (42 U.S.C. §§ 12131–12134), & Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Rehabilitation Act) (29 U.S.C. § 794).
- Since Congress enacted special education laws in 1975, federal courts have not found it acceptable to exclude children with disabilities from school by reducing the length of their schooldays or repeatedly sending them home because they could not learn or were too difficult to teach.
- The ADA & Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act forbid discrimination against children on the basis of disability.
Shortened School Days are an Unnecessary Statewide Problem for Many Elementary-Aged Students Who Will Feel the Impact for Years
- Recent data tells us that 71% of school districts in Oregon have children with disabilities on shortened school days, but that some districts have found it very possible to provide all of their students a full day of education.
  - For example, Tigard-Tualatin School District, one of Oregon’s 10 largest districts, currently has only one student on a shortened school day.
  - Salem-Keizer, on the other hand, has somehow decided that it is impossible to provide 50 of its students a full day of school.
- More than half of these children are between 5 and 10 years old, and they’re falling behind socially as well as academically, missing critical opportunities to practice appropriate behaviors.
- Students who miss 10% of kindergarten lag almost a year behind their peers in reading by the time they reach third grade.
- Students who miss two days of school per month will miss 1.5 years of instruction by the end of 12th grade.
School Districts are Already Provided Additional Funding to Special Education Services
- Last year, Oregon received $148.4 million in federal funds to support special education in K-12. Total K-12 funding from the federal, state, and local sources was $8.9 billion. This biennium, the legislature provided $10.3 billion.
- For each child in special education, Oregon school districts receive double funding (about $20,000/year) regardless of whether the child requires extensive or minimal services.
- Under the “High Cost Disabilities Grant,” Districts can also apply for additional funds (up to $30,000/year) for students with exceptionally high needs.
SB 819 was sponsored by: Senators Gelser Blouin, Knopp, Wagner, Dembrow, Gorsek, Hayden, Jama, Manning Jr, Patterson, Anderson, Campos, Frederick, Golden, Hansell, Lieber, Meek, Sollman, Taylor, Thatcher, Weber; Representatives Bynum, Hudson, Pham H, Grayber, Holvey, Javadi, Mannix, Nelson, Ruiz, Tran, Walters.

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