Friends:
HB 3129, a bill that required four years of English and three years of math while a student is in High School came up before the House Education Committee this afternoon at 1:00 P.M..
You can hear the full testimony via streaming audio on the Legislature's website at . You will have to download RealPlayer (a free download) if you don't already have it on your computer.
HB 3129 was the first bill heard.
Testifying in favor was Rep. John Lim. Representative Lim pointed out that most states have higher math and English than does Oregon and that there is no evidence that it will increase the number of dropouts.
Deborah Andrews and I testified against the bill. Ms. Andrews pointed out that there are many students who are not learning in public school and that the issue should be student learning and not additional requirements for classes that may not be serving student learning.
I pointed out that many students begin High School mathematics while still enrolled in Middle School and these students may have taken all available mathematics classes by the end of their second High School year. I added that if they had already exceeded benchmarks (approximately 15% of our High School population) or if they had completed a math class such as Calculus 1 I didn't think requiring an additional year of seat time would contribute to their learning. Some students skip ninth grade or want to graduate from High School early and this bill would prevent them from getting a diploma.
Pat Burk testified for the Oregon Department of Education. I am not sure whether he was testifying in favor or against the bill. He pointed out problems in implementation including a lack of math-certified High School teachers, doubt about the capacity of the education system to provide the two additional years of instruction, issues about the purchase of sufficient textbooks for every student, and a concern that if the number of credits required for graduation was not raised from 22 to 24, the required classes might displace electives including such courses as AP Mathematics.
Representative Lim said that he intends to provide amendments to the bill including a postponement of the implementation date and an "opt-out" provision, but none of the amendments is available yet.
The committee just held a public hearing today and did not take any action on the bill.
The new requirements are strongly supported by the Governor, so the bill is very likely to pass this session.
House Biull 2954 (TAG plans) has been postponed and will not be heard on Friday.
Senate Bill 300 (expanded options) comes up for a hearing in the Senate on Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 in Hearing Room D. It seems that the amendments recommended by the work committee won't be available until Wednesday morning.
Whether or not you support the bill, it would be very helpful to inform senators that there are students who need access to college-level curriculum before the age of 16.
If you are interested in testifying about this, please contact me.
Margaret DeLacy
