Committee advances bill clarifying charter school role in homeless-student law

The House Committee on Education adopted the dash-3 amendment to House Bill 4149 and then moved the bill, as amended, to the House floor with a due-pass recommendation.

Staff described HB 4149 as a measure addressing requirements for the education of homeless students and said the dash-3 amendment removes charter schools from the definition of "school district" and makes other modifications relating to charter schools. Committee members asked whether the Oregon Department of Education already had a McKinney-Vento coordinator or would need a new state coordinator; staff replied that the department has a McKinney-Vento coordinator and a state/district charter school specialist and that the bill was analyzed to align closely with federal law. In committee discussion a member said the measure is intended to align Oregon statute with the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

Representative McIntyre moved adoption of the dash-3 amendments and later moved the bill, as amended, to the floor. The transcript records the motion carried and the committee voted to advance the bill to the floor; the chair instructed Representative Emerson Levy to carry the bill on the House floor.

Next step: the bill will be taken up on the House floor and proceed through the legislative process; the committee record indicates the department did not identify a fiscal impact for the measure during the work session.