“Beginning this week, all visitors to Portland Public Schools Campuses will be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative test within 72 hours. This applies to sporting events, both indoor and outdoor. The procedures were created under state guidelines as best practices to keep students and staff safe from COVID-19”. This is the statement on the Ida B Wells Site (formerly Wilson HS) website. It is also echoed on other PPS websites such as Roosevelt High School and Lincoln High School.

Student athletes had their entire previous football season condensed into a short Spring season in 2021 at the height of COVID without this requirement. Then in September they returned to the gridiron, the pitch and the gyms under somewhat normal rules. However, for some reason this week the rules changed. Now fans are required to share their private medical information in order to watch and cheer on these hard-working student athletes. Why?

The broad-brush statement of, “the procedures were created under state guidelines as best practices to keep students and staff safe from COVID-19” seems to provide cover and anonymity to the actual decision makers. When following the links in one PPS school statement where it says that it was “created under state guidelines”, it redirects readers to a document created by PPS “Visitors to PPS School Campuses COVID-19 Standard Operating Procedures”. No names as to who made the decision, who voted on it, etc.

Within the “PPS School Campuses COVID-19 SOP, it states that “these operating procedures have been developed in alignment with the “Ready Schools, Safe Learners Resiliency Framework for the 2021-22 School Year”. This is the most current version of the Oregon Department of Education Ready Schools, Safe Learners document. that document has been in place since September and has not changed. PPS made the proof of vaccination status decision this week based on no changes to this document.

Fall sports have been happening throughout the PPS region since late August/early September and just now some unknown group within PPS has decided that vaccine passports and personal medical information is a requirement to attend high school sporting events.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

What is evident is this decision was not tied to the “Ready School, Safe learners Resiliency”. This action was not the result of an Executive Order by Governor Brown. It was not an Emergency Administrative Rule issued by the Oregon Department of Education. It was also not a voted on by the PPS board. The PPS Board held a Regular Board meeting on October 21 but the agenda did not include a discussion or a vote about vaccine status for spectators. The PPS policy committee met on October 19. Again, no committee or board action was taken to make this a PPS wide mandate or a public policy decision. It is completely unclear as to who made the decision to put the procedure in place and what authority that person has to make such a decision.

Statewide tax dollars pay for Oregon public education and local taxpayer bonds often pay for school facilities including athletic facilities. PPS has NO legal authority to shut parents and the public out of supporting their student athletes based on a requirement to show private medical information.

Ironically, this segregationist tactic flies in the face of other PPS actions. Last year PPS renamed Wilson High School to Ida B Wells because Woodrow Wilson was seen as a racist due to segregation actions taken while he was in office. Today’s segregation is not as “black and white” as American’s past. It has taken on a new form that has nothing to do with skin color or race or religion, and everything to do with your private medical information. “Show me your papers” is the modern-day version of segregation.


--Terese Humboldt

Post Date: 2021-10-26 11:11:02

Last Update: 2021-10-27 22:48:33