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Bill would require ESDs to provide free proctored exams for homeschooled students at least three times per year
Summary
House Bill 3,624 (dash 1) would require education service districts to make approved examinations available at least three times per year at no cost to parents and to allow parents to choose an alternate approved exam; sponsor said the bill responds to instances where families paid hundreds to proctor tests.
Salem — Representative Mark Owens told the House Education Committee on March 31 that House Bill 3,624 would relieve a recurring cost for some homeschooling families by directing education service districts to provide approved examinations at no cost at least three times per year.
Staff described the dash 1 amendment as replacing the measure: each ESD would select an approved examination, administer it at least three times a year at no cost to parents, and allow parents to instead choose another approved exam if they prefer. The amendment would keep the option for parents to use their own proctor or pay for a different approved assessment.
Representative Owens said the measure grew from constituent contact: a family in Ontario reported paying $1,200 in a single year to proctor exams for multiple children. "If you're a homeschooler, you have to pay for the proctor to proctor the test for you," he said, while families attending charter or public schools may be able to opt out or have the school administer exams without that out-of-pocket cost.
Committee members asked procedural questions including how often students are required to be tested (state assessment points include grades such as 3, 5, 8 and 10) and whether the bill would create an unfunded mandate for ESDs or districts. Representative Owens and staff said the measure is intended to be modest in fiscal impact relative to the direct burden on families and that the dash 1 amendment provides flexibility for administration.
Why it matters
The bill aims to equalize access to required examinations for homeschooled students and remove a per-family cost barrier for proctoring. Witnesses and committee members noted the bill's modest scale but said it could materially aid families facing per-test costs.
Next steps
No public opponents were signed up for the hearing. The committee closed the hearing after the sponsor's remarks and committee questions; the bill remains in committee and may be amended to address administration or fiscal detail.
