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Board approves MESD local service plan; parents say Outdoor School scheduling is marginalizing Jewish students
Summary
The board approved the Multnomah Educational Service District local service plan 7-0. Public commenters and board members pressed MESD and district staff to prevent Outdoor School scheduling from conflicting with major religious holidays such as Rosh Hashanah.
The Portland Public Schools Board of Education on Feb. 18 voted 7-0 to approve the annual Multnomah Educational Service District (MESD) local service plan (resolution 7,052). The vote does not itself obligate the district to use each MESD service but approves a list of programs and services that the district may access.
During board discussion and public comment, parents and community leaders said MESD's Outdoor School schedule has repeatedly fallen on major religious holidays, forcing students from minority faiths to choose between participation and observance. "Scheduling pivotal experiences in such a way that forces families to choose between their minority identities and those experiences is discriminatory," parent Ariel Matassar told the board, saying her sixth‑grade child at Sunnyside Environmental School faced that choice this year when Outdoor School fell during Rosh Hashanah.
Mel Berwin, director of congregational learning at Congregation Nave Shalom, said the district's holiday equity policy — adopted by the board last year — commits PPS and its partners to avoid scheduling major events on holidays such as Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Passover. "When outdoor school continues to be scheduled in conflict with our Jewish holidays with no care for our community, it's our students who are put in the bind of choosing between their own identity and the school community," Berwin said.
MESD representatives said the ESD seeks preferred dates from school principals and tries to avoid major holidays when possible. MESD's assistant superintendent said MESD serves many schools and classes in the weeks when Outdoor School runs and that the ESD could do more to place schools that do not request particular weeks into slots that fall during major holidays. District leaders and MESD representatives told the board they would "try really hard" to avoid major religious holidays when assigning Outdoor School slots.
Board members asked the superintendent's office to provide principals with an explicit list of holidays and to coordinate more deliberately with MESD during scheduling. Several board members said they want an explicit, proactive process rather than waiting for complaints from families.
Resolution 7,052 was approved by a recorded 7-0 vote with the student representative indicating an unofficial yes.
