Oregon charter schools
House republicans will keep fighting for charter schools, despite vote.
SALEM—House Republicans said they’ll keep fighting for public charter schools and education reform despite today’s Floor defeat of HB 2287, which would have established clear and fair standards for those working to open and maintain charter schools in their communities.
“HB 2287 gave representatives a choice between supporting Oregon’s charter schools or protecting the status quo,” said Rep. Matt Wingard (R-Wilsonville), Co-Chair of the House Education Committee. “Unfortunately, the special interests convinced enough members the status quo is good enough for our kids. Despite today’s setback, we’ll continue our efforts to give Oregon parents better educational opportunities for their kids.”
HB 2287 would have provided consistent guidelines for school districts to follow as they determine whether to accept or deny a proposed charter school, and it prohibited districts from imposing certain bureaucratic obstacles that are only intended to delay a proposed charter school from moving forward.
Under current law, a district can arbitrarily determine that a proposal is incomplete and stop the process before it ever gets started. They can also approve a proposal but later insist on provisions that are different from the proposal they approved. Districts can even deny a proposal citing specific concerns, and after organizers address those concerns, deny a re-submitted proposal for entirely different reasons. Today’s vote on HB 2287 keeps these obstacles in place.
“There are 108 charter schools in Oregon, and up to 18,000 students attending these schools,” Rep. Wingard said. “These are just numbers to us, but to each of these students, their charter schools mean everything in the world to them. Charter schools are making a difference for these students. That’s why we must continue pursuing these reforms so more kids can receive a better education that meets their unique needs.”
Source: News Release
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