Proposal to send schools $35 million for summer programs comes with literacy strings attached
By Alex Baumhardt, Oregon Capital Chronicle
SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) -- With just a few months to go before programs would begin, Oregon’s Legislature is once again scrambling to pass funding for summer school.
A proposal to allocate $35 million in summer learning grants hit some turbulence at its first public hearing Wednesday at a meeting of the House Committee on Education due to some last-minute changes and new strings attached. House Bill 2007 would allow schools to apply for summer learning grants if they’re used to pay for programs that boost literacy skills and academic outcomes.
Narrowing the focus of those grants drew the concern of some education and youth advocacy groups, including the nonprofit Adelante Mujeres, which has used summer grant money in the past to fund programs that foster leadership skills and community involvement among Latina girls and women in Washington County.
“By focusing solely on literacy, the bill undermines the vital work of community-based organizations that provide culturally relevant, wraparound support for students and their families,” wrote Angie Jimenez, family engagement manager for the group, in her testimony.
Anna Higgins, a policy director at the nonprofit Foundations for a Better Oregon, expressed similar concerns that the narrow focus of the bill would be counterproductive to summer learning goals, which she said are also about making students feel like they belong at school and boosting attendance and participation. This often means enrichment opportunities and extracurriculars that aren’t confined to the classroom.
She said House Bill 2007 ignores the recommendations of a legislative work group she served on last year.
“We have a road map now that details a long-term, sustainable vision for summer and after school in Oregon, and this bill, as it currently is, does not yet follow that road map,” she said. “We are particularly concerned about its ability to advance equitable outcomes for kids, especially those who experience the least support in a traditional school setting.”
Bill sponsors state Rep. Ricki Ruiz, D-Gresham, and state Sen. Janeen Sollman, D-Hillsboro, defended the literacy-specific focus of the bill, and said they would introduce an amendment expanding who can apply for grants and more clarity about for what purposes money can be used before a committee vote scheduled for Monday.
Sollman said other money, including millions from the High School Success Fund, is available for other priorities like credit recovery.
“This isn’t the only, singular summer learning program,” she said. “We have these different patchworks that can provide this.”
Pattern of delays
In the aftermath of COVID and school closures, the need for summer learning programs to help students catch up gained urgency in the Legislature. Former Sens. Peter Courtney and Michael Dembrow, Democrats from Salem and Portland, respectively, even proposed investing in robust summer learning programs could be a runway for eventually introducing year-round school.
In 2021, schools received more than $200 million, and in 2022 they were allocated $150 million. But in 2023, the Legislature did not send schools any additional summer school money, and instead hoped they would spend the last of their federal COVID-relief dollars. Schools cut programs and some nonprofits stopped offering summer programs altogether.
Last year, schools didn’t learn until April whether they’d receive a portion of $30 million in summer grants. For some, the money came too late to expand their offerings. Most smaller school districts need to finish their summer program planning by April, and most larger districts start planning as early as October.
