Committee advances K–12 accountability bill that sets statewide targets and escalating supports for districts

The Education Subcommittee of the Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday advanced Senate Bill 141, approving an amendment that adds implementation funding and moving the bill to the full committee with a due-pass recommendation.

The measure would require the State Board of Education and the Oregon Department of Education to establish statewide growth targets and metrics — including new measures for eighth-grade math proficiency and K–2 regular attendance — and require districts that receive State School Fund grants to adopt local performance-growth metrics and publicly measure progress. The amendment adopted in committee adds $2,625,296 from the Statewide Education Initiatives Account to support implementation and funds seven positions (5.75 FTE) for program leadership, metric management, research and data collection.

Supporters said the bill creates a shared-accountability…