Executive Numbered Memo: 008-2012-13 - House Bill 2220

2/19/2013 9:42:00 AM

To: All School District Superintendents
From: Heidi Sipe, Assistant Superintendent, Office of Educational Improvement and Innovation
Re: House Bill 2220 and OAR 581-022-1670

House Bill 2220 PDF

was enacted in 2011 by the Oregon Legislature and changes district responsibilities for reporting student achievement. On December 6, 2012, the Oregon State Board of Education adopted revisions to Oregon Administrative Rule 581-022-1670. The intent of HB 2220 and of revised OAR 581-022-1670 is to inform students and parents of students’ progress toward acquiring the knowledge and skills included in the Oregon academic content standards.

Currently, schools and districts are not required to report student progress in terms of the academic content standards. In addition, a student’s academic grades can be determined using both academic performance and behavior. Effective July 1, 2013, schools and districts must, at least once each year, show students and parents whether the student is becoming proficient in the standards at the student’s current grade level. Schools and districts must also adopt a grading system that clearly distinguishes between academic and behavioral performance.

Oregon’s academic content standards define what a student should know and be able to do in mathematics, English Language Arts, science, social sciences, health, physical education, the arts, and second languages and are the foundation of Oregon’s educational system. In this standards-based system, students demonstrate proficiency by meeting or exceeding defined levels of performance on explicit learning targets defined by the standards. Oregon students should be receiving instruction aligned to the academic content standards as required in OAR 581-022-1210; this expectation has been in place since 1995. The statute and revised administrative rule make that provision more explicit.

House Bill 2220 makes districts responsible for:

Determining the student’s progress toward achieving the academic content standards;
Showing, at least annually, the student and parents whether the student’s progress meets or exceeds grade-level standards expectations; and
Assuring that a student’s academic grades reflect his/her academic proficiency.

Districts and schools can find additional guidance as they implement the provisions of HB 2220 at http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=3870. A Frequently Asked Questions document and samples of district-developed materials are available on the above-referenced webpage.

If you have additional questions, you are encouraged to contact Andrea Morgan, Education Specialist, andrea.morgan@state.or.us eMail

, (503) 947-5772.

- end -