SSPAbout

Student Success Act (SSA)

Born out of the SSA, the Student Success Plans were developed under the purview of the Oregon Department of Education to further address the needs of specific student populations. These plans focus on supporting historically marginalized communities, including African American/Black, Latino/a/x and Indigenous*, LGBTQ2SIA+, and students experiencing disabilities. The plans provide targeted funding and strategic initiatives aimed at closing opportunity gaps and improving educational outcomes.

Since its implementation, the SSA has played a crucial role in enhancing equity in Oregon’s education system, ensuring that all students—regardless of background—have access to the resources they need to succeed. The Oregon Department of Education continues to oversee its administration, working in partnership with school districts and community organizations to maximize its impact.

The Student Success Act (SSA) was signed into law in May 2019 as a landmark investment in Oregon's education system. Designed to address disparities in student outcomes and provide stable funding for schools, the act aims to improve educational opportunities for historically underserved students.

The SSA generates revenue through a corporate activity tax, which funds three primary areas: the Student Investment Account, Early Learning Account, and Statewide Education Initiatives. The Student Investment Account allocates resources directly to school districts to support programs focused on student mental health, reducing academic disparities, and increasing graduation rates. The Early Learning Account expands access to high-quality early childhood education, particularly for low-income families. The Statewide Education Initiatives support a range of programs, including career and technical education, culturally specific services, and school nutrition.

Student Success Plans - Timeline and History

Each of Oregon's Student Success Plans has been driven by community will and codified by the legislature. The Plans reflect the state's commitment to creating pathways for every tudent to thrive by providing strategies that improve eductional outcomes in ways that respect, reflect and celebrate the identities they hold.

The first SSP was the AI/AN SSP. Originally developed in the 1980s, it has and continues to be refined and revised over time to reflect the best practices and knowledge available, creating a model for subsequent Plans to build upon. This Student Success Plan is now housed within the Office of Indian Education.

In 2016, the African American/Black SSP was established, supported by the state general fund.

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During the 2019 legislative session, the Latino & Indigenous* SSP

was established. Also in 2019, the Student Success Act–a monumental investment in education in Oregon–was passed, paving the way for the creation of several more Student Success Plans, each created through a robust community engagement process and ongoing guidance from Advisory Groups that represent the communities the Plans intend to serve.

In 2021, the LGBTQ2SIA+ Student Success Plan was established.

2023 marked the inception of the Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Student Success Plan. Also in 2023, ODE worked with external research partners to develop a cross-student success plan framework as part of our ongoing commitment to continue to refine and align the Student Success Plans to best serve Oregon students.

In 2024, the Immigrant/Refugee SSP was established. Beginning in late 2024, ODE’s Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion welcomes 67 grantees across the AABSS, Latinx, LGBTQ2SIA+, NHPI, and I/R programs. Grantees will embark on a multi-year grant cycle, implementing the strategies of the Plans and developing resources for addressing the needs of Oregon students. The resources will be published in the Oregon Open Learning platform, available for free to educators and service providers across the state, with the intent to scale the innovative and best practices developed through this historic investment.

Student Success Programs

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There are three structural components to each Student Success program:

First, is the statewide development and implementation of a student success plan, created in partnership with members of the communities it aims to serve, designed to address the statutory objectives.
Next, is the creation of a Plan specific Advisory Group that advises ODE on Plan development and implementation; and is composed of:

Community members
Education partners
Representatives of:

Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC)
Youth Development Oregon (YDO)
Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC)

Finally, each SS program includes a grant program that awards competitive grants to districts, ESDs, Community Based Organizations, Tribal governments, Early Learning Hubs, early learning providers, and post-secondary institutions.

Grantees implement programs that utilize the strategies from the Plans to develop best practices that improve educational outcomes for each focal community as well as all Oregon students.
Grantees will also create free, publicly available resources for how to implement the strategies of each plan, to be available in Oregon Open Learning for use by educators and service providers across the state by 2028.

ODE, Advisory Groups, the SSP grantees, and external evaluators work in partnership to monitor and evaluate the implementation and outcomes of Oregon Department of Education’s Student Success Plans.

Student Success Plan Pillars: Common Framework to Categorize the Strategies of Each Plan

While each Plan contains dozens of strategies developed to address the unique needs of each focal community, the Student Success Plan Pillars were identified in 2024 as part of the cross student success plan framework, categorizing the strategies of each plan into common themes, highlighting the alignment and connections across the plans:

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The pillars are:

Culture, identity, and language Development - identifies strategies that center in the invaluable reservoirs of knowledge, traditions, culture, and histories that serve as assets for positive identity development and increased sense of self-efficacy.
Academic Success - identifies strategies that bolster academic engagement
Service Learning - identifies strategies that expose students to learning, tools, and strategies to overcome barriers and address social issues to promote change.
Family Engagement - identifies strategies that increase access to affirming education or education-adjacent focused family engagement activities to enhance support for student success.
Coordinated Systems of Care - identifies strategies that foster comprehensive systems and support services that promotes student success in and out of school.
Leadership development - identifies strategies related to skill-building and advancement, grounded in culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogy.

Contacts
Torrey Sims - Assistant Superintendent
To contact Torrey, please reach out to his Executive Support Staff, Meghan Rogers-Czarnecki
For general questions please reach out using the Education Equity email.

*(Indigenous Mexican, Central, South American, and Caribbean)