ODE-backed bill would broaden STEM grant eligibility, clarify Oregon School for the Deaf admissions and update school safety drill language

Zoe Larmer of the Oregon Department of Education summarized House Bill 3038 at the March 5 hearing, saying the measure makes several targeted statutory updates: it broadens entities eligible for STEM Investment Council grants and aligns STEM programming with regional labor needs; it clarifies funding and statutory language for recovery schools that are public charter schools; it updates Oregon School for the Deaf admissions criteria to allow students with either an IEP or a Section 504 plan; and it consolidates comprehensive safety-plan and emergency-drill language and recommends (but does not mandate) a standard response protocol for drills. "These statute changes update outdated language and create clear statutory guidance for educators, districts and ODE," Larmer said.

Larmer told the committee ODE does not anticipate a fiscal impact for the statutory changes themselves. On the Oregon School for the Deaf, the bill would remove an existing ambiguity and explicitly permit admission for students covered by either formal IEPs or Section 504 plans, broadening the statutory admissions pathways. On emergency planning, Larmer said the bill would combine existing safety-program requirements into a single statutory reference point and align drill wording with common standards; she emphasized the protocol guidance is recommended, not required.

Morgan Allen (COSA) flagged a drafting overlap: the emergency-plan statute amended in HB 3038 is also being amended in a separate bill that the committee heard earlier in the session. He asked staff, ODE and bill sponsors to coordinate to avoid conflicting amendments or to consider conflict amendments before final action. The committee received the testimony and did not take a vote during the recorded session. Lawmakers and ODE officials asked staff to reconcile overlapping statutory language as bills advance.