The Newberg School District board held a state‑required civil‑rights training on Aug. 12, 2025, led by a civil‑rights specialist from the Oregon Department of Education after the district entered a conciliation agreement in September 2024 related to a 2022 appeal alleging it had not reasonably accommodated a board member’s disability.

The training was part of a conciliation process that followed a complaint accepted by the Department of Education in September 2022. The department’s statement, posted in the district records and read at the meeting, said the board “did not reasonably accommodate a Board member’s disability, denying that person the right to fully participate in those meetings on the same basis as her peers.” The case reference cited by the board is 2022MM‑seventeen.

The training, presented by Marinda, a civil‑rights specialist with the Oregon Department of Education, covered federal and state disability nondiscrimination law, including Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the ADA Amendments Act (2008), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. “This is a training, not not legal advice,” Marinda told the board as she reviewed the scope of obligations for public entities and practical requirements such as notice of nondiscrimination, designation of ADA coordinators and civil‑rights coordinators, program accessibility and web accessibility standards.

The board explained the conciliation arose from allegations tied to multiple meetings in the 2021–22 school year. In September 2024 the board entered a conciliation agreement with the individual identified in the complaint. As a condition of the agreement the board committed to deliver training to the newly seated board and to take follow‑up steps the department required; the Department of Education accepted the district’s actions up to the date of the agreement and indicated continued compliance would be shown through the training and associated measures.

District staff confirmed that Dana serves as the district’s ADA and Section 504 coordinator and that the district had recently undergone an OCR (Office for Civil Rights) audit of web materials. Marinda told the board that Oregon now requires districts to designate civil‑rights coordinators who “must have the independence, authority and knowledge” to oversee complaint resolution and prevention work, and that the department offers training for those coordinators.

At the meeting former board member Rebecca Pyros, who filed the appeal, told the board she resigned three years earlier and that the conciliation and training represented an important step for the district. “It feels like the one last thing I could do for Newberg School District,” Pyros said, and offered to continue community education by speaking in classrooms about blindness and disability awareness.

Board members and staff discussed practical items Marinda covered in the training, including service‑animal rules (service animals under the ADA are limited to dogs and miniature horses and staff may only ask two narrowly defined questions), the need for accessible communications and captioning for meetings, and requirements that complaint procedures and nondiscrimination notices be continuously and easily available on the district website in community languages. Marinda also noted that the Department of Justice enforces some ADA provisions and that other federal agencies might become involved depending on funding sources for particular programs.

District administrators acknowledged outstanding tasks cited during the training: updating posted names and contact information for ADA and civil‑rights coordinators where staff changes have not been reflected online; auditing website PDFs and linked materials for accessibility; and ensuring building accessibility and staff training so front‑line workers know how to respond when a person with a service animal or a communication need appears.

The board did not take a new vote tied to the conciliation at the Aug. 12 meeting; the district described the training and follow‑up measures as fulfilling the conciliation steps. Board members said they will document the training outcome for the Department of Education and continue to work with the civil‑rights coordinator to make web, procedural and communications updates.

Why this matters: The conciliation addressed an alleged denial of full participation to a board member with a disability. The training clarifies legal obligations for the board and staff and highlights specific operational steps — from service‑animal protocols to web accessibility and complaint procedures — the district must maintain to avoid further violations and to provide meaningful access to meetings and district services.

Looking ahead: Board members said they will publish updated nondiscrimination notices, confirm ADA/civil‑rights coordinator contact information on the website and continue the district’s work on accessibility audits and staff training. The former board member who filed the appeal said she will continue to volunteer in district classrooms.

(Reporting note: Quotes and specific attributions come from the board meeting transcript and public statements made by Marinda of the Oregon Department of Education and Rebecca Pyros.)