As Student Success In Oregon Plummets, Teachers’ Unions Deserve Blame
The Oregon Education Association: Breaking Promises and Failing Students
When it comes to public education in Oregon, the Oregon Education Association (OEA) makes a bold promise: “to provide the basic right of great public education to every student.” The union’s direct involvement in school closures and watering down basic graduation requirements, however, indicates the opposite. In truth, the OEA has played an essential role in the deterioration of Oregon’s public schools.
COVID School Shutdowns
In response to the COVID pandemic, Oregon Governor Kate Brown, whom OEA endorsed, ordered the statewide closure of schools for over a year. During the first six weeks of Brown’s shutdowns, no online alternative was offered to students enrolled in public schools. In response, thousands of Oregon families began the process of transferring their children to Oregon’s online charter school programs.
That is, until the OEA stepped in. Citing a 2011 law that sets a three percent enrollment cap for students transferring to online education in the state, the OEA argued that even a one-half-of-one-percent increase would redirect $55.5 million from district budgets. Siding with the OEA, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) not only placed a temporary hold on virtual education enrollment, but included all publicly funded online schools in statewide closures despite zero risk of COVID exposure.
Further, email correspondence reveals that the OEA not only developed a set of strict standards for return to in-person instruction for the ODE, but requested that the state “put pressure” on Oregon school districts to adopt similar requirements preventing students from returning to the classroom.
Graduation Requirement Suspensions
Prior to the pandemic, Oregon students were required to demonstrate basic proficiency in reading, writing, and math through statewide standardized testing. Naturally, learning loss caused by school closures led to lower test scores. But instead of focusing on helping students get back on track academically, the Oregon Board of Education discarded standardized testing graduation requirements entirely through the 2023-2024 school year.
The OEA played an active role in the passage of legislation that authorized the suspension of graduation requirements. A member of the OEA’s Special Education Committee boasted that the committee “helped to develop…and helped OEA pass…Senate Bill 744 during the last legislative session” to address “several equity concerns” surrounding Oregon’s graduation requirements. On October 19, the Board of Education voted unanimously to extend the OEA-endorsed suspension through the 2027-2028 school year.
Continued School Closures
As if a year of school closures wasn’t enough, roughly 45,000 students in Oregon’s largest school district continue to lose out on instructional time due to the Portland Association of Teachers’ (PAT) inaugural strike.
In addition to typical demands such as increased salaries and smaller class sizes, the union’s proposal includes fringe stipulations that have little to do with education, such as district support for first-time house buyers, housing assistance for families, and professional development with a focus on “addressing implicit bias, anti-racism, and culturally responsive practices.”
The union’s demands come with an enormous price tag and would require the district to come up with an additional $372 million over the next three years. If the OEA affiliate refuses to budge, Portland Public Schools may need to fire up to 300 current teachers to balance the district budget.
OEA And The Future Of Oregon Education
As student success continues to decline in Oregon, it’s clear that the Oregon Education Association has broken its promise to ensure “great public education” for students. In truth, every action that the OEA has taken regarding school closures and graduation requirements has solidified the deterioration of public education on the taxpayer’s dime.
The OEA’s willingness to leave students behind is in stark contrast to its mission statement and begs the question of which promise the OEA will break next. OEA members, parents, and the Board of Education need to take a closer look at the union’s impact on education and act accordingly. The future of Oregon’s students depends on it.
Jason Dudash is the Northwest Director of the Freedom Foundation.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Eding the academic progress of students, the OEA should strive to create an environment that fosters learning and promotes educational excellence
Ducation. These include requiring the district to provide free housing for teachers, mandating gender-neutral restrooms in every school, and implementing ethnic studies curriculum. The strike has resulted in canceled classes and disrupted learning for thousands of students.
It is clear that the OEA prioritizes its own agenda over the needs of Oregon students. By advocating for and endorsing policies that result in prolonged school closures, the OEA has failed to provide the “great public education” it promises to every student. The union’s actions have only served to further widen the educational achievement gap and hinder the academic progress of Oregon’s young learners.
Furthermore, by pressuring the Oregon Department of Education to impose strict standards for in-person instruction and prevent students from returning to the classroom, the OEA has disregarded the varied needs and circumstances of individual students and families. The union’s insistence on a one-size-fits-all approach to education disregards the fact that some students may thrive in an in-person learning environment while others may require alternative options.
The suspension of graduation requirements, another OEA-endorsed action, undermines the importance of academic proficiency and lowers the standards for student achievement. While it is important to address equity concerns and support students with special needs, the wholesale abandonment of standardized testing and graduation requirements sends a message that academic excellence is no longer a priority in Oregon’s public schools.
The continued school closures caused by the strike organized by the Portland Association of Teachers further illustrate the OEA’s failure to prioritize the education of Oregon students. By including unrelated demands in their proposal and disrupting instructional time, the union has shown a lack of concern for the negative impact on students’ academic progress and overall well-being.
The Oregon Education Association must prioritize the needs of students above all else. It is time for the OEA to reassess its actions and policies, and to genuinely focus on providing the high-quality education that every student deserves. Instead of imp
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