Note:  Education reports after January, 2024, are included in Social policy reports. Education reports prior to February, 2024, can be found HERE.

Please see the Legislation Tracker for 2025 Social Policy bills.

Jump to topic:

• Behavioral Health

• Early Learning and Child Care

• Education

• Housing

• Public Safety

Behavioral Health

By Stephanie Aller

The House Behavioral Health and Health Care Committee will have a public hearing for 

HB 2059 on March 18. HB 2059 directs the Oregon Health Authority to create a unit dedicated to developing behavioral health facilities sufficient to serve the needs of each trauma system in the state.

The Joint Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response will have a public hearing on bills relating to youth substance use disorder on March 12. HB 2502 would require a collaborative study, led by the Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission, focused on increasing school-based substance use prevention and intervention programs. The bill requires the development of a comprehensive plan and the distribution of grants to recovery schools.

The Senate Committee on Health Care has scheduled a work session for SB 538 on March 13. This bill would allow parents to be paid for their in-home care of children with extremely high behavioral health or medical needs.

Early Learning and Child Care

By Katie Riley

During the week of March 3rd, the Joint Committee on Ways & Means on Education heard informational reports from the Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC).  The reports were extensive and covered 3 1/2 days of the committee's schedule followed by the other 1/2 of a committee meeting devoted to public testimony.  DELC is asking for significant increases in funding for its programs.  All public testimony was supportive, including testimony submitted by LWVOR for the SB 5514 funding bill.  Our testimony particularly prioritized funding for Employment Related Day Care (ERDC) which subsidizes child care of people at 200% or below the federal poverty level who need child care to work or go to school.  The ERDC waitlist went from over 8,500 in December 2024 to a current level of 10,000.  Its increase over the past two year is partially accounted for by a change in priorities adopted by previous legislation which prioritizes people receiving TANF (food stamps) to jump to the beginning of the list.  

The LWVOR board has approved the positions resulting from the Caring for Our Children update and expansion of the 1989 child care study.  These positions are now available for LWVOR to use in testimony.  

SB 896 has been submitted for funding afterschool grant programs but it is unclear how it will align with the Governor's budget.  The Governor's bill, HB 3039 for summer and after school care is expected to be submitted with a funding amount attached on March 17.  We do not know the amount that will be associated with it.  It is expected that the grants associated with the bill will be processed by the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) to school districts based on those most in need, similar to last year's process.  It is predicted that the funds will mostly cover costs for summer school and contracts for afterschool care by community based organizations will be awarded by school districts.  More details to follow.

Education

By Jean Pierce

The March 3rd Education Legislative Report noted that an American Institute for Research (AIR) report commissioned by the Oregon Government recommended an increase of  more than $5000 per student in order to bring Oregon’s educational outcomes up to an adequate level. As of fall, 2024, 545,088 students are enrolled in K-12 public schools in the state. This means that close to three billion in additional education funding would be required to help the state hit its performance targets of adequacy. In her 2025-2027 budget proposal, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek proposed $11.36 billion for the State School Fund, which finances K-12 public education. This represents an increase of more than 600 million, which potentially could be used to help the state make some progress towards its goals. 

At the same time, our legislators are trying to analyze how a number of recent actions taken by the federal administration will affect our education funding. On March 3rd,  Linda McMahon was confirmed as the Federal Secretary of Education. It has been widely reported that the President would like to eliminate the Department of Education, but that would take an act of Congress, which is not likely. Nevertheless, McMahon takes seriously her task of drastically cutting federal spending in education. Currently, federal funding accounts for more than $1 billion of Oregon’s annual education budget. 

McMahon has told the U.S. Senate Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions that federal funding would continue for Title I programs for low-income school districts and for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. However, at this point, with federal cuts in jobs, agencies, and office space, it is unclear how that funding will be administered. Further, funding cuts for these programs and others, such as free and reduced lunches, has been threatened if schools do not eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion  (DEI) initiatives.

In postsecondary education, Title IV (financial aid for students in higher education) and student loans appear to be contingent on universities taking steps to rescind DEI programs. 

The loss of financial support for higher education students would be devastating, considering the fact that they need help meeting not only the high cost of fees and tuition but also the basic needs of food, housing, transportation, and childcare. Over 50% of undergraduates in the country receive student loans from the federal government. Oregon’s universities are already feeling the impact of federal cutbacks, with the loss of research grants  

On top of these concerns, Legislators in Oregon have a constitutional mandate to balance the state budget. So cuts in federal funding to other programs – i.e. Medicaid, which services one third of the state’s population, may require increased state funding for healthcare,  which further jeopardizes funding for education. 

Housing

By Nancy Donovan and Debbie Aiona

SB 973 would provide protections to applicants and new tenants by requiring

landlords to notify them of the date when a property’s affordability

restrictions may end. It will extend the notice requirements from 20 months

to 30 months. Unfortunately, Oregon’s publicly-supported affordable housing

is not guaranteed to be permanent. By being notified in advance, families and

others will have more time to try to find stable housing they can afford.

The loss of publicly-supported housing threatens to undo progress we have

made in addressing our state’s housing crisis. Passage of this bill will reduce

the risk of housing instability, and the possibility of homelessness. The League

submitted testimony in support of SB 973.

Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) studied the preservation of

affordable rental housing in 2023 and created an Affordable Housing

Preservation Strategy Framework. The report explains that the state focuses

on assisting with maintenance of the physical condition and financial stability

of affordable units in return for extending time limits on rent restrictions.

They also work to renew federal rent assistance contracts applying to specific

properties and preserve affordable manufactured home parks.

According to the framework, they estimate that between 2023 and 2033 more

than 5,800 units will lose affordability restrictions and many will require

recapitalization and rehabilitation. At similar risk are another 5,000 units

owned by housing authorities and non-profits. More than 3,100 units with

federal rent assistance could require additional subsidy to extend or renew

their contracts. It likely will take around $1billion to preserve them all. OHCS

provides a dashboard where you can find information specific to your

community as well as statewide data.

Public Safety

By Karen Nibler

The House Judiciary Committee listened to testimony on HB 2614 which introduced amendments to the operation of the newly formed Oregon Public Defense Commission. SB 337 (2023) placed the new agency under the Executive Branch for administrative functions.

Judges and attorneys have reported a high turnover rate among defense attorneys.  The Oregon District Attorney Association supports the independence of the defense attorney association and participates in settlement conferences to resolve cases.  The Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association expressed the need to recruit and train new lawyers.  High caseloads were described as problematic but the facilitation process varied among county courts.

Interested in reading additional reports? Please see our Climate Emergency, Governance, and Natural Resources report sections.