At a June board meeting, district staff summarized several Oregon legislative measures and federal budget proposals that officials said will alter how the Greater Albany Public School District measures student progress and receives federal dollars.

The superintendent told the board the Legislature has added new accountability measures including eighth-grade mathematics and K–2 regular attendance, and that districts will be required to use interim assessments and report progress three times a year. He said districts that do not meet state goals within two years will receive mandatory state coaching and that the stakes increase after three years.

The report also named several bills under consideration: a measure described as limiting the removal of materials relating to protected classes; a bill (discussed as Senate Bill 916) that would permit unemployment benefits for striking workers and has passed both houses; and a proposal from the ethics commission narrowing requirements to film and publish only school board meetings rather than advisory or superintendent work groups.

District finance staff told the board the district’s Title I funds appear to be flat at the federal level but that the district’s poverty rating produced a local increase of about $550,000 in Title funding this year; how that increase will be distributed to schools will be resolved during budget adoption. Staff also cautioned that Title II and Title III grants were described in federal proposals as reduced or eliminated in some versions, and that broader federal simplification of K–12 funding into fewer block grants could shift how programs are delivered.

Board members raised concerns about how the new K–2 attendance measure will be enforced given state limits on holding parents legally accountable, and asked about the reliability of interim assessments when families opt students out of testing. The superintendent and finance staff said opt-outs can occur but that assessment providers and state reviewers still consider some interim assessments statistically reliable; district staff cited prior comparisons showing similar results between the I-Ready formative tool and state tests.

Why it matters: The changes could affect how the district allocates staff time, which local metrics it tracks, and where coaching intervention from the state might be required. Federal funding shifts could change program dollars available for things like English-language support, teacher development and full‑service community schools.

District staff said they will return with details for the budget adoption process, including how the additional Title I allocation will be allocated to schools and what reporting will be required under the new accountability law.