Editors note: This is the first in a five-part series on School Choice Initiatives aimed for the November 2024 election ballot.

The Oregon leadership doesn’t think voters are motivated to pass the school choice initiative and stopped the school choice bill, HB 4161 after its first hearing. But their pursuit of SB 1583 may have put new life into school choice initiatives IP 5 and IP 6. It passed through the Senate and was headed for a floor vote in the House at the close of the session. SB 1583 blocked school boards and parents from having any kind of standards for choosing materials used in public schools, claiming it would be discriminatory to someone.

Education Freedom for Oregon, a 501c4 organization, was started to ensure every Oregon student has access to education options. ”Let Them Learn” is their Oregon campaign to leave limits behind and let our kids learn by passing the School Choice Amendment, IP 5, and Open Enrollment Amendment, IP 6, to the Oregon Constitution.

Donna Kreitzberg, one of the sponsors of IP5 and IP6, says the two amendments were crafted with the input of parents, grandparents, teachers, students, legislators, constitutional attorneys, and school choice think tanks and policy advocates from about 20 states.

The Amendments were created with protections in mind. Kreitzberg says, “Nothing in the Act may ever limit the independence or autonomy of any person or entity receiving or using distributions into education savings accounts created under the Act to provide education to students nor make the actions of such person or entitles the actions of this state. Neither the government, the Department of Education, State Board of Education, nor any state agency (or nonprofit organization contracting with any state agency) may regulate the education programs, curricula, teaching qualifications or admission policies of any person or entity receiving or using distributions under the Act.“

Kreitzberg refers to IP5 and IP6 as not just being about students needing the opportunity to learn in different school settings. Teachers also need the opportunity to teach in different school settings. She says, “We have wonderful teachers with stellar qualifications who are stifled or frustrated and not able to teach in the manner they think is in the best interests of their students. They are not getting the fulfillment that they had hoped when they chose teaching as a profession. With school choice, teachers will be valued more because they will have more opportunities to choose an environment that works better for them or even start a school of their own!”

School lock downs, leaving kids at home without social interaction brought on a whole new challenge for teachers. Now classrooms are becoming a war zone. In Salem-Keizer School District, a first grader threw a chair at the teacher cutting her head. One school psychologist said there is no respect for teachers and fights are more prevalent.

This is the case at the Tigard-Tualatin schools where the superintendent is being forced to resign over lack of management. When teachers testified before the board about the violence, some beaten by and received injuries from students, the board was dismissive saying the teachers were “insensitive” causing the teachers to walk out of the board meeting. One parent reports his son dropped out because he couldn’t stand the violence and they were fortunate to get him into another high school to finish and graduate.

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

Petitioners have until July 4, 2024 to gather signatures with a goal of about 170,000 more signatures for each measure to have more than necessary and to show strong support among Oregonians. Kreitzberg says, “There are plenty of folks who want to sign, it is a matter of reaching them. We have been limited because we are a grassroots group working on a small budget. We have wonderful volunteers giving it their all and would love more folks to help.”

For more information, Education Freedom for Oregon website has information about the petitions, events on gathering signatures, and print and mail petitions.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2024-03-17 15:28:41

Last Update: 2024-03-24 02:32:30