The coalition is also advocating for stronger support for a racially diverse educator workforce; greater transparency and accountability in how State School Fund dollars are spent; and increased investment in Oregon’s African American/Black, Latinx, and American Indian/Alaska Native Student Success Plans.
These proposals are among a series of policies and investments in the agenda that will help Oregon:
Ensure distance learning and school reopening is fully accessible, engaging, and culturally responsive.
Ensure every child has access to high-quality, culturally sustaining early learning opportunities.
Promote anti-racist learning environments where every child feels like they belong.
Recognize how critical community partners support children’s unique learning, social, emotional, and cultural needs.
The Oregon Partners for Education Justice agenda also stands in solidarity with the Reimagine Oregon Project as it uplifts policy solutions to stop the school to prison pipeline; and with Oregon’s Early Childhood Coalition as it advocates for policies addressing racial disparities in access to culturally responsive early learning opportunities.
“Dr. Martin Luther King wrote that freedom is participation in power,” said Wei-Wei Lou, chair of APANO’s 501(c)4 Board of Directors, in a statement upon the agenda's release. “If Oregon is going to build a racially just public education system, the Legislature has to work with historically underserved communities to do it. It’s the right thing to do when our children and their future is at stake.”
Join us in uplifting this community-driven agenda during the 2021 Legislative Session by contacting your state legislators today and asking them to support the Oregon Partners for Education Justice 2021 Legislative Agenda. Foundations for a Better Oregon is proud to endorse this agenda and looks forward to advocating for the policies and investments it envisions during the 2021 Legislative Session.
