ORS 329.841: Statewide education plan for students who are Black or African-American; advisory group; report; grants; rules.

(1) For the purposes of this section, “plan student” means a student enrolled in early childhood through post-secondary education who: (a) Is Black or African-American; and (b) Has experienced disproportionate results in education due to historical practices, as identified by the State Board of Education by rule. (2)(a) The Department of Education shall develop and implement a statewide education plan for plan students. (b) The Department of Education shall form an advisory group consisting of community members, education stakeholders and representatives of the Department of Early Learning and Care, the Youth Development Division and the Higher Education Coordinating Commission to advise the Department of Education regarding: (A) Development and implementation of the plan; (B) Eligibility criteria, applicant selection process and expectations for recipients of grant awards described in this section; and (C) Adoption of rules by the State Board of Education for the implementation of the plan. (3) The plan developed under this section shall address: (a) The disparities experienced by plan students in every indicator of academic success, as documented by the statewide report card; (b) The historical practices leading to disproportionate outcomes for plan students; and (c) The educational needs of plan students from early childhood through post-secondary education by examining culturally appropriate best practices in this state and across the nation. (4) The plan developed and implemented under this section must provide strategies to: (a) Address the disproportionate rate of disciplinary incidents for plan students compared to all students in the education system; (b) Increase parental engagement in the education of plan students; (c) Increase the engagement of plan students in educational activities before and after regular school hours; (d) Increase early childhood and kindergarten readiness for plan students; (e) Improve literacy and numeracy levels among plan students between kindergarten and grade three; (f) Support plan student transitions to middle school and through the middle and high school grades to maintain and improve academic performance; (g) Support culturally responsive pedagogy and practices from early childhood through post-secondary education; (h) Support the development of culturally responsive curricula from early childhood through post-secondary education; (i) Increase attendance of plan students in community colleges and professional certification programs; (j) Increase attendance of plan students in four-year post-secondary institutions of education; and (k) Align the plan with similar statewide education plans developed and implemented by the Department of Education. (5) The Department of Education shall submit a biennial report concerning the progress of the plan developed and implemented under this section at each even-numbered year regular session of the Legislative Assembly in the manner provided by ORS 192.245 to an interim committee of the Legislative Assembly related to education. (6) The Department of Education, in consultation with the advisory group, shall award grants to Early Learning Hubs, providers of early learning services, school districts, education service districts, post-secondary institutions of education and community-based organizations to implement the strategies developed in the plan developed and implemented under this section. (7) To qualify for and receive a grant described in this section, an applicant must identify and demonstrate that the applicant meets the eligibility criteria established by the State Board of Education by rule. [2015 c.618 §1; 2021 c.97 §25; 2021 c.290 §12; 2021 c.350 §6; 2021 c.631 §34; 2023 c.530 §§6,7]