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Bill would exempt certain charter schools from abbreviated‑school‑day rules
Summary
A House Education Committee public hearing considered Senate Bill 735A, which would clarify that voluntarily enrolled charter school students at a small number of schools with longer school years are not subject to statutory rules governing abbreviated school days.
The House Committee on Education opened a public hearing April 21 on Senate Bill 735A, which would exclude students who voluntarily enroll in certain public charter schools from statutory provisions that regulate abbreviated school days.
The bill’s sponsor, State Sen. Sarah Gelserbleuen, said the change is a technical fix that applies to “maybe about 2 schools in the state” whose charter year is longer than surrounding district schools. “If your school year is a week longer, when you measure across that 2‑week period, it's still going to look like your school day is shorter. So that is not the case and we don't want them to have to fill out the paperwork,” Gelserbleuen said.
A staff measure summary presented by staff member Lisa described the bill’s core provisions: a charter school would be exempt from abbreviated‑school‑day rules if a majority of its students are not students with disabilities, the school is not designed to serve students with challenging behavior or complex medical needs, the regular schedule provides at least 95% of the total hours other district schools provide, and students are not restricted to attending fewer hours than their peers. The summary also said the measure “declares an emergency and takes effect on passage.”
Cynthia Bronger Muñoz, testifying for the Oregon Education Association, called the bill “definitely a technical fix,” and said the association worked to ensure the change would not reduce instructional time for students receiving special education services. “We made sure that in this fix we can still, equitably provide the exact same amount of time for kids that are have special education,” she said.
Committee members asked clarifying questions about which schools would be affected and about the 95% threshold. Gelserbleuen said Representative Marsh had flagged the issue and reiterated that the intent is to avoid paperwork burdens where the longer school year would otherwise make a school appear to have shorter days under the existing measurement method. She emphasized the bill applies only where enrollment is voluntary and the charter is not designed to serve students with disabilities.
The committee closed the public hearing on SB 735A without recording any final vote.
The bill is presented as a narrowly targeted clarification to prevent certain charter schools from being treated as operating abbreviated school days solely because of a longer school year.
