State and federal rules govern everything we do at the Oregon Department of Education. The links on this page provide information on many of the most important rules. You can also
read about the state rules process.
ESEA has been the major federal funding mandate for public schools. This page will be updated periodically, as these programs transition to ESSA.
IDEA was passed by Congress in 1990, replacing the Education for All Handicapped Children Act which had been in place since 1975. It ensures that students with disabilities receive Free Appropriate Public Education tailored to their specific needs.
ESSA was approved by Congress and signed into law in December 2015. It requires states to create an education plan, providing more flexibility in the use of federal funds.
Senate Bill 744: Maintaining Oregon’s Stringent Graduation Requirements
Senate Bill 744 is a law passed by the Oregon Legislature in 2021 related to the requirements to earn a diploma. At the heart of the law, SB 744 set in motion a statewide process to engage with community partners to review Oregon’s graduation requirements, review other state graduation requirements, and make recommendations that best meet the needs of all learners to achieve the knowledge and skills identified by our businesses, community members, colleges, and universities as critical to success after high school. Part of those requirements include how students demonstrate essential skills, like reading, writing and math, in order to earn a diploma. SB 744 places a temporary pause on requiring students to use a state-approved test to demonstrate proficiency in these subject areas through the 2023-24 school year.
Pursuant to the bill’s requirements, the Oregon Department of Education conducted education and community partner engagement sessions in 2021-22, reviewed Oregon’s graduation requirements and their impacts, and canvassed other states’ graduation requirements in order to synthesize two determinations and eight recommendations for the Legislature and State Board to consider. A final report, which includes these determinations and recommendations, was submitted to the Legislature and State Board of Education on the morning of September 1, 2022. The complete report and four supporting appendices are made available to the public below.
Additional supporting documents, including a list of sources that guided the review process, a one-pager Senate Bill 744 overview, a list of talking points related to the bill and a template letter that could be adapted and shared by districts to communicate about the bill with their local communities in the 2021-22 school year are provided for reference, as are implementation status reports from 2021-22 that describe key benchmarks in the SB 744 implementation process.
Monthly SB 744 Implementation Status Reports
Please
contact ODE’s Senate Bill 744 Implementation Team with any questions, concerns, or recommendations.