Gov. Kotek signs seven public education, child care bills passed by lawmakers

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek hosted a signing ceremony Wednesday for seven bills passed during the 2023 legislative session to support K-12 public education and child care.

“My vision for Oregon is a state where every child has a safe place to receive a high-quality, culturally responsive public education, and every family has access to affordable child care,” Governor Kotek said. “While I will always push for more, I can stand here today saying we made progress for our kids. We have built a strong foundation for the work ahead.”

Below is the list of bills Governor Kotek signed:
 
SB 283: Addresses educator workforce needs by creating a statewide educator workforce data system and regular workforce surveys, allowing school districts to boost pay for teachers and classified staff working in special education, establishing apprenticeship and mentorship grants, allowing recently retired teachers to convert to substitute licenses at no charge, and more.
 
SB 1050: Grants funding to the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) to provide professional development to teachers and administrators relating to Holocaust, genocide studies, and ethnic studies content standards.
 
HB 2281: Requires district school boards to designate one or more civil rights coordinators to monitor, coordinate, and oversee district compliance with state and federal anti-discrimination laws and oversee investigations of discrimination complaints.
 
HB 3005: Aims to increase child care availability by creating a new $50 million Child Care Infrastructure Fund to strengthen access to physical infrastructure for child care facilities and support opening child care facilities across Oregon.
 
HB 3144: Creates the Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Student Success Plan to address the academic opportunity gap hurting NH/PI students.
 
HB 3198: Increases funding for early literacy to improve how children are taught to read and write, ensuring educators, parents, caregivers, federally-recognized Tribes, and communities have what they need to support students.
 
HB 5015: Allocates a historic $10.2 billion to the State School Fund (base funding for Oregon’s K-12 schools), which is $700 million above current service level and the most ever allocated to the fund.