The State League pays monthly for a Pro Zoom account, which lets us host meetings of up to 100 participants with no limit on meeting time. State Zoom account is available on a first come, first served basis. Default meeting time is one hour - please contact us at lwvor@lwvor.org if you need more time.

Honoring Girl Scout Promote The Vote Poster Contest Winners Girl Scouts from Oregon and SW Washington earned Voter Girl Patches and completed Democracy Badge steps during STEM Day November 7 at the Oregon State Fairgrounds. Hundreds visited our Girls Lead booth to vote, learn about civics, and pledge actions they will take in their communities to lead. Our three PROMOTE THE VOTE Poster Contest winners were honored for their inspirational work! Their artistry will be used for years to come to encourage voting in our communities. Congratulations to our three Girl Scout Poster Contest winners! Left to Right: Avery, Alice, and Veronica Voter Girl Meg Thompson, LWVOR President Mark Kendall, LWVOR Events Chair Eileen Burke-Trent, and GSOSW Program Specialist Jennifer Crouch spoke to the dedication and leadership of our three winners, and the many artists who created change in their communities. This fall local league volunteers joined Girl Scout troops across Oregon – together held Ballot Count Observations, Promote the Vote Postering, community forums, and Democracy Badge activities. Oregon Secretary of State, Tobias Read, and Girl Scout Volunteers Bike-Bus-to-the-Ballot-Box Special thanks to our STEM Day volunteers: LWV Clark County for their Civics Ed activity, LWV Marion/Polk for staging two Voting Experience booths and LWV Clackamas for leading our Leadership Pledge. Thanks to our local Poster Judges: Girl Scout Service Unit Coordinator Cindy Myers of LWV Curry County and artist Katherine Longstreth of LWVPDX, who evaluated each work of civic art with care and respect. Special thanks to international Artist Andrea Pippins of LWV Unite and Rise for being our lead judge! Girl Scout volunteers joined LWVPDX for the Bike-Bus-to-the Ballot-Box on October 24. Our fabulous young leaders met Secretary of State, Tobias Read and provided a Civics Voting Experience. Girls lead!

Oregon Students from Across the State Voted in the LWVOR Mock Election by Mimi Alkire (LWVOR Secretary, OSME, Youth Outreach) The 2026 General Mock Election is history, with students voting between October 19th and 23rd. From small rural districts to major metro schools, educators across Oregon rallied together this year to register nearly 13,500 students to have the opportunity to participate in democracy as informed voters, practicing voting with their own realistic mock ballots. Voting results flowed in from schools located in Albany, Beaverton, Corvallis, Cove, Dayville, Dufur, Eugene, Gold Beach, Grants Pass, Hillsboro, Klamath Falls, LaGrande, Lake Oswego, North Bend, Milwaukie, Pendleton, Pine Eagle, Portland (Centennial SD, David Douglas SD, Reynolds SD, and PPS), Neah-Kah-Nie, Rockaway, Roseburg, Salem, Silver Falls, West Linn, and Winston. Students voted for Oregon Governor, US Senator, and for their US House of Representative. There were 7 ballots total, with one for each of the six US House Districts and a seventh for a teacher who requested a few local races. The student voting results were due by October 26th and the press release went out at the end of that day to all the participating teachers. The Results: Tina Kotek won the Oregon Governor election with 55% of the student vote. Jeff Merkley was elected US Senator with 57% of the student vote. For US House of Representatives students elected the following candidates with the given percentage of student vote: District 1: Suzanne Bonamici -- 79% District 2: Cliff Bentz – 53% District 3: Maxine Dexter – 85% District 4: Val Hoyle – 48% District 5: Janelle Bynum – 74% District 6: Andrea Salinas – 79% Participating Teachers Shared Their Thoughts: “This was great and the kids really enjoyed it. I made sure we went through the voters’ pamphlet for each candidate so that they made informed choices.” “This was a fantastic way for students to understand the voting process and become involved. Thank you for creating this opportunity! Looking forward to discussing the results.” “This was a great experience for me and my students. We had a very smooth time of it, and I really appreciated all of the resources. Thank you!”

If your League has local events that you would like listed here, please send them to Andrea Capere to be included below. ⭐LWV of Clackamas County LWV of Clackamas County Events Calendar ⭐LWV of Coos County LWV of Coos County Events Calendar ⭐LWV of Corvallis LWV of Corvallis Events Calendar ⭐LWV of Curry County LWV of Curry County Events Calendar ⭐LWV of Deschutes County LWV of Deschutes County Events Calendar ⭐LWV of Klamath County LWV of Klamath County Events ⭐LWV of Lane County LWV of Lane County Events Calendar ⭐LWV of Lincoln County LWV of Lincoln County Events Calendar ⭐LWV of Linn County Unit LWV of Linn County Unit Facebook page ⭐LWV of Marion and Polk Counties LWV of Marion and Polk Counties Events Page ⭐LWV of Portland LWV of Portland Website ⭐LWV of Rogue Valley LWV of Rogue Valley Events Calendar ⭐LWV of Union County Unit LWV of Union County Unit Events Calendar ⭐LWV of Umpqua Valley LWV of Umpqua Valley Events Calendar ⭐LWV of Washington County Unit LWV of Washington County Unit Events Calendar

Youth Council < Back About the Issue LWVOR Youth Council is a youth-led nonpartisan network of young civic leaders focused on increasing political engagement among young Oregon voters. Youth Council offers: Membership at three levels! Includes LWV of the US, LWV of Oregon, and your local League Opportunities for participation as a national and state convention delegate or observer Participatory civic engagement and education Community service hours with Certificates of Recognition Find out more and join here !

Youth Rights Youth Council LWVOR encourages youth participation in government at every level. Read More

Back to Legislative Report Education Legislative Report - Week of 6/26 Education Update By Anne Nesse Budgets for Early Childhood Education, ‘Child Tax Credit Bill’, K-12 biennial budget, Birth to Grade 12 Educational Literacy Bill, make historical investments in 2023. The following paragraphs are explanations Bills the League has been interested in and supporting throughout the session, headed toward passage into law the week of June 20-25, now that a quorum exists in the Senate: A number of legislators from the Joint Ways and Means Committee that approved HB 3198-B ,the Literacy Bill for passage, June 20, stressed that continuous follow up by our legislative body was necessary for the effectiveness of any statewide program like this. ‘This Early Literacy for Success Bill is just the beginning of a hopefully successful effort to teach reading that is proven to be successful for all students, designed for working with all young peoples’ ages, abilities, and backgrounds.’ The League submitted written support for this Bill on April 3, in House Education. A Capitol Chronicle article here gives you examples of districts in our state that may be presently using unapproved methods of reading instruction. The large budget requested for this program ($140M), reflected the fact that any new statewide standards will have difficulties with implementation, if we do not have enough, or sufficiently trained staff. This Bill passed in the Senate on 6/25, funded with a lesser amount of $90M. The ‘Child Tax Credit Bill’, HB 3235-B , passed in the Senate on 6/25, will help somewhat to relieve childhood poverty in our state. The amount of the refundable tax credit and income limits were reduced from the original Bill. This Bill in its original form was supported by the League in written and oral testimony on February 27. The Joint Committee on Tax Expenditures unanimously passed the scaled down version of this Bill last Tuesday, June 20, establishing a $1,000 tax credit per year, for those children and families living in severe poverty, at an approximate cost of $37.5M. HB 2656-B sponsored by Rep. Nathanson, passed in the Senate 6/22, and was of interest to the League. The Bill allows an opt-out statewide survey of student answers to critical questions, that can help legislators and administrators make better decisions in the future, and allocate funds where needed.The survey will be administered yearly throughout the state, and is designed ‘to improve the health and well-being of all students in this state and to help them succeed.’ SB 283-B , passed in the Senate 6/23. It is an omnibus Bill, beginning to address the workforce shortages in public education, that are happening everywhere in the nation. The League was represented on one committee for this Bill. This Bill begins to establish a statewide data system on the educational workforce. It directs Teacher Standards and Practices Commission to develop a plan to establish and maintain a statewide portal for jobs in education. It includes bargaining agreements, for pay for planning time, and lunch periods. It requires each public education provider to encourage members of educational workforce to participate in surveys related to the educational workforce. It prescribes increased pay requirements, for additional percentage of wage to licensed educators and classified school employees who provide significant special education support. It directs DOE to establish and maintain Safe School Culture Grant program to develop network of instructors certified in nonviolent crisis intervention methods. It establishes just cause requirement for classified school employees related to dismissal, demotion and discipline. It establishes Task Force on Substitute Teachers. The total biennial State School Fund Budget was raised to an historic $10.2 Billion, as reported in our last newsletter. And paired with other revenues to a total of $15.3 Billion, an overall 12.3% increase. Oregon moved closer to giving free school breakfasts and lunches for all students, to help childhood hunger, increase learning, and avoid discrimination. This concept was something the League’s action team was supportive of during the session. The Oregon Food Bank was coordinating this effort, and this was announced in a recent press release here . SB 91-B , passed in the Senate on 6/23. It helps to pay families who care for highly disabled children at home, who cannot be educated at school, utilizing Federal matching funds. A Capitol Chronicle article explains the legislative support for this Bill here . SB 531-A , tried to establish a Summer and After-School Learning and Enrichment Grant Program, similar to what was designed to work during school closures during Covid. This directed DOE to administer a grant program. Money would come from the General Fund, but this Bill did not succeed in passage. We are not currently sure whether, or how, this grant program might be included into the total budget of this summer or the next school year, in relation to the Literacy Bill? Three Bills that the League testified on this session involving education, did not make it past their first hearing: SB 854 required a curriculum to be designed statewide, concerning climate change, adaptable to grades K-12, within all subject areas, with input from DOE, DEQ, OHA, and interested stakeholders within each school district. This received front page news in the Oregonian, as well as a large amount of positive testimony from students and teachers. However, because it was interpreted to be mandatory, this will have to wait until possibly several pilot projects, or a study Bill is designed? HB 2601 , required our State Treasurer to exit from certain carbon-intensive investments, subject to fiduciary duties. to develop a plan to protect state investments from risks related to climate change, and to issue periodic reports on actual and planned progress towards completion of the duties imposed under the Act. Divest Oregon was the Coalition that presented much of the testimony, as well as a thorough data report from Rep. Pham and Sen. Golden. The League’s testimony also emphasized the non-partisanship of this Bill. HB 2750 , prohibited charging of fees as a condition of participating in interscholastic activities (including requiring participation in fundraising activities). It authorized use of moneys in Statewide Education Initiatives Account for costs incurred by school districts and public charter schools as result of this prohibition. The League’s written and oral testimony emphasized this could allow for more types of interscholastic activities in public school, allowing for increased equity in education. Here is a summary of what Early Childhood Education received in the budget bill from the Joint Ways and Means Committee: $55 M for Facilities $23 M for Employment related Day Care $10 M for Birth to 5 Literacy Programs $18.6 M for Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Educatio Here is a summary of what was included in the final funding Bill SB 5506-1 the “Christmas Tree Bill” for education: Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC): $5 M for technical assistance $1.7 M for Imagination Library Program Oregon Department of Education: 42.4 M Lottery $600,000 to replace state IT system $5 M Black Studies Success Plan $1.5 M for migrant/multilingual instruction team $100 M School Capital Improvement Matching funds $15 M for connecting Oregon Schools broadband grants Higher Education Coordinating Commission: $20 M Oregon Conservation Corps OSU, $250,000 Climate Service After School Care By Katie Riley SB 531 - Summer and After School Care – This bill would have provided funding for school-age kids this summer. Last year a similar bill provided $50 million and served thousands of low-income kids. This year’s bill received a hearing and was referred to W&Ms, however, it did not get assigned to a W&Ms subcommittee. It never had a work session or a funding recommendation. Schools were given extra money for summer school and could spend some of that money for extended care, depending on the school district. SB 858 – Children’s Service Districts – The bill would have provided citizens with the ability to gather signatures to have local ballot measures to form children’s service districts. A public hearing was held in Senate Finance and Revenue, but a work session was never scheduled. The bill was opposed by the League of Oregon Cities (mayors) and the Association of Oregon Counties.