Bills Promoting Educational and Religious Freedom
    House Bill 3013, sponsored by Representatives Ron Sunseri (R-22) and Bruce Starr (R-3), would make favorable changes in the home school law. As this article goes to press, the Oregon Senate is considering a version of the legislation acceptable to Governor John Kitzhaber and the state department of education. If passed in its present form, the bill would eliminate annual notification in favor of one-time notification by parent’s who begin home schooling; reduce standardized testing from annually to grades 3,5,8, and 10; recognize a parents’ right to obtain special education services privately instead of only through the public school; and provide for a portfolio review instead of standardized testing for students desiring to establish eligibility to participate in interscholastic activities at the public school. Home School Legal Defense Association supports H.B. 3013 and encourages our Oregon members to urge their representatives and senators to vote for it.
    Senators Gene Derfler (R-16) and Bill Fisher (R-23) have introduced a proposal to eliminate discrimination against private and home school students desiring to transfer to the public school. Designated Senate Bill 999, this legislation would require a school district to award credit to a transfer student equal to the amount of credit earned by the student in a private or home school before the transfer, unless testing indicates that the student has not met the district’s academic standards for the students grade level.
    Unfortunately, this testing language would permit public schools to continue to deny course credit to home school students if they could not achieve a passing score on final examinations in each course the student would have taken as a public school student or other types of end-of-course tests developed by the local school district. While public schools are entitled to determine the grade placement of transferring students, any testing should be in the form of nationally-normed standardized achievement tests, not text-specific tests based upon the public school curriculum. HSLDA does not support this bill in its present form.
    H.B. 2829, sponsored by Representatives Betsy Close (R-36) and Jeff Kropf (R-37), would create “education investment accounts” to pay expenses for education, including home schooling. Deposits to these accounts would be tax deductible; however, the maximum amount which may be deposited in such an account is not yet specified in the bill. Home School Legal Defense Association supported the effort at the federal level to create education savings accounts for families and also supports such legislation at the state level.
    Oregon is also considering religious freedom legislation in the form of H.B. 3469, sponsored by Representatives Bruce Starr and Jason Atkinson (R-51). If passed, this bill would establish the compelling state interest test any time government action burdened a person’s free exercise of religion. The action would only be permitted if the government was able to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that it is essential to further a compelling government interest and is the least restrictive means of furthering that interest. HSLDA strongly supports this legislation and urges home schooling families to do so as well.