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The Oregon Department of Education responded Thursday afternoon to a letter sent in early May by Secretary of State Tobias Read.
Read wrote to ODE to follow up on a 2022 systemic risk report by his predecessor, Shemia Fagan. That report, which outlined the findings of several previous audits, presented five risks that “could undermine K–12 system improvement.”
His request for an update comes as Gov. Tina Kotek pushed education accountability legislation in both the Oregon Senate and House. ODE’s response signals that Kotek’s accountability legislation will be crucial in order for it to address some of the risks the 2022 report outlines.
The 2022 report recommended: improving performance monitoring and support to districts; greater transparency to the public; scrutinizing district spending; clearer enforceable standards for districts to follow (currently known as Division 22, these regulate everything from curriculum to assessment); and a more streamlined governance structure. Read submitted a number of questions under each category, and asked ODE for updates on how it’s improved in each category since 2022.
In her response letter, ODE director Dr. Charlene Williams outlined some progress her department has made in prioritizing at-need districts for funding and data transparency with new data tools. (The Oregonian has previously reported that these tools, while improved, are still not models of data transparency.) But several times in her response, Williams said the department would be much more effective if Kotek’s bill makes its way through the Legislature.
That’s because amid a debate over education spending, with school funding advocates arguing Oregon schools have been chronically underfunded and others pushing for more effective spending, Kotek’s proposal would empower and pressure ODE to intervene in struggling school districts and enforce more rigorous standards.
“If the Legislature passes this bill, we will have the opportunity to move from an iterative, incremental accountability model to a comprehensive, transformational system for shared educational accountability in Oregon,” ODE spokeswoman Liz Merah says.
As Williams outlines in the letter, Kotek’s accountability bill would “provide ODE with the authority and direction needed to address the risks identified in the report more effectively.” It would also give ODE the opportunity to set and enforce targets, intervene in struggling districts after two years, and prioritize standards most instrumental to improving student outcomes.
It is not immediately clear what Read plans to do with ODE’s response, though he says the team is “thoroughly reviewing” it.
That a secretary of state would follow up on a risk report is not all that common. A former five-term lawmaker and two-term state treasurer who lost to Kotek in a primary for governor in 2022, Read may be signaling with his follow-up that he has greater political ambitions.
“We all want our kids to get the education they need...that’s why Oregonians support investing in our schools, and why they want to see their tax dollars deliver strong results for our kids,” Read said in a statement to WW.
He adds: “I can already say with confidence: The work is not done. There’s more for all of us to do to build a public school system Oregon can be proud of, and I’m ready to dig in.”