Micah Perry of the Portland-based Cascade Policy Institute explains that Governor Kate Brown's (D-Oregon) office has said that the standards in Senate Bill 744 are meant to help students of color.
"I don't see how this is helping anyone in the state education system," he responds.
"I don't believe that letting someone graduate high school without having the knowledge they need to succeed helps them in any way," Perry continues. "That could play out within the workforce, where employers may be hesitant to hire students from Oregon. Or you can also look at college admissions; many admissions offices may question the preparedness of Oregon students, since that diploma has lost its value in a lot of ways as a result of the bill."
While most Republicans in the Oregon Legislature have been critical of the bill, some members of the GOP supported it.
Perry hopes this will give parents all the more reason to value school choice.
"This should really be a bipartisan issue where we can agree," he says. "A poll earlier this summer found that, nationally, 74% of voters support school choice, largely due to the failings of public schools during COVID-19."
If anything, he hopes this bill and others like it will help more people wake up and reject the notion that a state-controlled monopoly on education is the best way to educate kids.
