Educator Advancement Council details programs and backs HB 3041 to replace intergovernmental agreement with statutory charter

The House Education Committee held an informational meeting Jan. 27 on the Educator Advancement Council (EAC) and followed with a public hearing on House Bill 3041, a measure to move the councils governance from an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) to a council established in statute that would use a board charter for operating procedures. Dr. Karen Perez, the EAC executive director, told the committee the change is largely technical and intended to reduce time and legal expense associated with modifying governance documents.

Dr. Karen Perez described the EACs mission as supporting an educator workforce of about 80,000 pre-K through 12 educators and teacher candidates with professional learning, career pathways, and retention efforts. She told lawmakers the council oversees grant and aid programs including Regional Education Networks (RENs) and Grow Your Own partnerships and that the EAC is currently staffed by employees of the Oregon Department of Education. "By removing the IGA," she said, "the council can use a board charter to set procedural policy and update operating documents more efficiently without the multi-step, resource-intensive IGA revision process."

Committee and panel testimony provided program details and usage figures. The EACs REN program supported roughly 65 statewide projects in the 2023-24 biennium, prioritized professional learning and mentoring, and funded regional activities with approximately $9 million in investments; RENs reached an estimated 13,000 licensed and nonlicensed educators with a focus on rural educators, educators of color, and special education supports. The EAC reported 29 Grow Your Own grantees for the 2023-25 biennium and said grantees include community colleges, ESDs, school districts, public universities, community-based organizations and tribal partners. Several witnesses highlighted one-time grants and tribal partnerships; the precise one-time amounts for tribal collaborative grants were not specified in testimony.

Supporters told the committee HB 3041 would not change the councils mission or membership but would reduce administrative burdens on districts and state agencies and speed internal governance changes. Parisa Chanrami of the Coalition of Oregon School Administrators and Monica Weathersby, OEA equity director and vice chair of the EAC, both testified in favor. The EAC and supporters said the IGA had required repeated legal review and multi-step approvals for relatively routine updates and called that work time-consuming and costly. Dr. Perez said the bill has no anticipated fiscal impact and would preserve the council's existing purpose, authority and membership while enabling the council itself to adopt and revise a board charter.

Committee members asked whether the change would change the council into an agency (it would not) and how the council would maintain stakeholder involvement. Dr. Perez said membership and decision-making structures would remain the same and that the board charter would set roles, responsibilities and procedural rules. Proponents said the council would continue to include education system partners from early learning through higher education and the governors office as ex officio members.

Ending: The committee closed the public hearing on HB 3041 after testimony from EAC leaders and education organizations; no vote was taken during the Jan. 27 meeting. Supporters asked the committee to advance the bill as a technical fix that preserves stakeholder governance while reducing delays caused by the existing IGA process.