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April 28, 1999
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Statement by the President
I
General and the Secretary of Educa­
want to begin by saying that
tion to stand ready to assist local law
H illary and I are profoundly
enforcement, the schools, the fami­
shocked and saddened by the
tragedy in Littleton, where two stu­ lies, the entire community during this
time o f crisis and sorrow.
dents opened fire on their class­
A crisis response team is ready
mates before apparently turning
now
to travel to Colorado, and 1
their guns on themselves.
strongly
believe that we should do
I have spoken with Governor Bill
whatever
we can to gel enough coun­
Owens and County Commission
selors
to
the families and the chil­
Chair Patricia Holloway and ex­
dren as quickly as possible. I know
pressed my profound concern for the
the othercommunities that have been
people o f Littleton. I have spoken to
through this are also ready to do
D eputy A ttorney G eneral Eric
whatever they can to help.
Holder, who, along with Attorney
I think that Patricia Holloway
General Reno, is closely monitoring
would
not mind if 1 said that, amidst
the situation. I’ve asked the Attorney
all the turmoil and grief that she and
others are experiencing, she said to
me just a moment ago that perhaps
now America would wake up to the
dimensions o f this challenge - if it
c o u ld happen in a p lace like
Littleton, and we could prevent any­
thing like this from happening again,
we should. We pray that she is right.
We don’t know yet all the hows or
whys o f this tragedy. Perhaps we may
never fully understand it. St. Paul
reminds us that we all see things in this
life through a darkly lit glass, that we
only partly understand what is hap­
pening. We do know that we must do
more to reach out to our children and
teach them to express their anger and
to resolve their conflicts with words,
not weapons. And we do know we
have to do more to recognize the early
warning signs that are sent before
children act violently.
To the families who have lost
their loved ones, to the parents who
have lost their beloved children, to
the wounded children and their
families, to the people o f the com­
munity o f Littleton, I can only say
that the prayers o f the American
people are with you.
Thank you very much.
Director o f Advertising
Contributing Writers:
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T hank Y ou F or R eading T he P ortland O bserver
Mayor Vera Katz
Asks City Flags
Flown At Half-Staff
M ayor V era Katz is asking for
all city flags to be flown at half-
staff for the this week in honor o f
the memory o f the Littleton, CO
high school shooting victims.
“The m agnitude o f violence in
Colorado is overw helm ing. I’ve
ordered all city flags low ered in
honor o f the victims and their fami-
lies,” said Katz. “ I also hope that
when we see the flags at half-staff,
it will rem ind us that we must be
ever-vigilant in w orking to pre­
vent youth violence.”
Katz also held a moment o f si­
lence for the shooting victims at the
beginning o f the m orning C ity
Council session.
Drop-Out-Or-Drlve Bill
Adopted
A stu d en t’s ability to receive
ind keep a d iv e r’s license was
inked to school attendance under
l bill adopted by the Senate SB
»87, sp o n so red by Sen. P eter
Dourtney (D -Salem ), requires stu-
Jents seeking their initial driv er’s
license to provide a document from
their school to the State M otor
Vehicles D ivision (D M V ) stating
they are c u rre n tly en ro lled in
school. The bill provides exem p­
tions for students who are home-
schooled, w orking tow ards their
G e n e ra l E d u c a tio n D ip lo m a
(G ED ) or w ho can show that they
are exempt from school attendance
due to circum stances beyond their
control.
SB 487 also allows school dis-
tricts to adopt a policy to notify the
DMV when a student drops out and
to require the DMV to suspend that
student’s driving privileges.
During the Senate floor debate.
Sen. Courtney said, “This bill is a
wake-up call to students. It says, If
you want to drive, stay in school. ” ’
O ther m em bers o f the Senate
argued the bill w ent too far and
w ould do nothing but encourage
students to drive w ithout a license.
“This bill w on’t guarantee kids will
stay in school; it will guarantee
more people driving w ithout a li­
cense,” said Sen. M arylin Shan­
non (R-Brooks).
The bill passed the Senate 19-
11. It is now before the House
Education Committee
‘Spanking’ Bill Restores
Corporal Punishment In
Schools
C orporal and other forms o f
physical punishment will be restored
in Oregon schools if a bill passes the
House Education Committee.
HB 2828, sponsored by Rep.
J e f f K ro p f (R -H alsey), allow s
bo ard s to adopt p o licies th at in ­
clu d e using corporal, w ork and
physical punishm ent to discipline
u n ruly students and resto re o r­
der. A s defined in the b ill, “ c o r­
p o ra l” punishm ent m eans sp an k ­
ing. “W o rk ” punishm ent m eans
cleaning, serving or other kitchen
or c a fe te ria duty, or cleaning
c la s s ro o m s and o th e r sc h o o l
ground areas. “ P h y sical” pu n ish ­
m ent includes, but is not lim ited
to, requiring a student to do push­
ups, run laps, hold books or sit in
the corner.
To use this type o f discipline, a
school district m ust com ply with
the follow ing requirem ents:
•Adopt a policy outlining the
types o f discipline allow ed in the
school district;
•Provide notification to each
parent, through the student hand­
book, o f the d istric t’s policy and
require each parent to acknow l­
edge receipt o f the notification;
P rovide a consent form to par­
ents, w hich m ust be returned to
the d istric t, allo w in g them to
specify w hich types o f punish­
m ent the school district may use
on th eir students.
T he p o lic y a d o p te d by the
school district m ust state that no
corporal, physical or w ork pun­
ishm ent may be adm inistered un­
less the stu d en t’s parent has con­
sented to the particular type o f
punishm ent.
Only the school principal or as­
sistant principal can adm inister
corporal punishm ent. A witness
m ust be present and the punish­
m ent videotaped.
Testifying in support o f his bill,
Rep. K ropf said, “This bill is nec­
essary because, sadly, the continu­
ing breakdow n o f the family and
the general moral decay o f society
have resulted in some children not
being taught the fundamental con­
cepts o f respect for authority and
behavioral accountability. These
children exhibit behavior that puts
other children and teaches at risk o f
physical violence, mental distress
from intimidation and other harm ­
ful conduct. The unruly, dangerous
behavior prevalent in today ’ s class­
rooms must be stopped.”
Testim ony opposing the bill ar­
gued that corporal punishm ent is
not the answ er to discipline prob­
lems w ith children. The punish­
m ent allow ed under the bill, the
opponents stated, would do more
h a rm to th e stu d e n t and the
student’s well-being than any ben­
efit the student may receive.
To that argument, Rep. Kropf
replied, “This bill will help children
who exhibit these types of behavior
at an early age to understand that
there are consequences for their ac­
tions. I believe some children can
leam from corporal punishment,
while to others it may be detrimen­
tal because o f their home life or
leaning disabilities. That is why pa­
rental involvement is vital to a suc­
cessful discipline policy.”
No further action on HB 2828
is currently scheduled by the House
Education Committee.
School Uniform Bill
Debated
School districts m ay require
students to w ear uniform s under a
bill heard in the Senate Education
Com m ittee.
SB 751 allow s school districts
to adopt policies requiring students
to w ear school uniform s or to pro­
hibit students from w earing gang-
related clothing. If a district adopts
a uniform policy, the uniform must
be selected by the principal, staff
and parents o f the students attend­
ing the school. Parents must be
given six m onths’ notice before
the policy begins. The bill also
allow s parents to make a written
request exem pting their student
from the policy.
The chief sponsor o f the bill,
Sen. John Lim (R-Gresham), said,
“School districts need to have the
ability to keep order in the class­
rooms and allowing school districts
to adopt policies on school uniforms
may help. Additionally, violence in
the schools is on the rise and if
school districts can eliminate gang-
related clothing, I believe that may
help alleviate some o f the violent
behavior in our schools."
T estifying on the bill, ODBA
Senior L egislative Advocate Jim
G reen told the com m ittee, “while
we support the idea, we do not
believe the bill is necessary. School
districts currently have either a
sch o o l uniform or dress code
policy. The Lake Labish Elem en­
tary School here in Salem, for ex­
am ple, has had a successful school
uniform policy in place for over a
year. School districts currently
have the authority under law to do
exactly what this bill states."
O ther groups voiced some con­
cern with the bill. A representa­
tive o f the Am erican Civil Liber­
tie s U n io n (A C L U ) te stifie d ,
“Clothing is a form o f speech which
is protected under the constitu­
tion. School districts need to move
very cautiously before banning
clothing or adopting a school uni­
form policy. Any policy in this
area needs to ensure that parents
and students can opt-out o f the
policy at their request. W hile this
bill has such an opt-out provision,
we believe it needs to be clearer.”
No further action on SB 751 is
scheduled.
Bill Requires Board
Policy On Management
Of Violent Students
School boards will be required
to adopt policies on m anaging stu­
dents w ho display violent tenden­
cies under a bill considered by the
H ouse Education Com m ittee.
HB 3444 dictates that school
districts adopt policies requiring
the following:
•Immediate removal from the
classroom o f any student exhibiting
a tendency toward violent behavior;
Placem ent o f the student in a
setting where the behavior will re­
ceive im m ediate attention; and
•A mental health examination by
a licensed counselor, psychologist
or psychiatrist before allowing the
student to return to the classroom.
The bill also requires school
districts to budget funds neces­
sary to implem ent the above m an­
dated policies.
O pposing the bill, OSBA Se­
n io r L egislative A dvocate Jim
G reen said, “This bill will have
dramatic and negative financial im­
pacts on school districts. M andat­
ing school districts to provide a
m ental health exam ination does
not make sense for every student
who exhibits a violent tendency.
W hile necessary in certain cases,
there are limits. And we should
not be expected to do these exami­
nations without the students full
support and consent o f the student”
parent.” Green also indicated the
bill may violate federal law. “Under
federal special education law, we
cannot unilaterally change disabled
students’ placements just because
they exhibit violent tendencies.
There are certain due process rights
guaranteed under federal law to these
students and their parents. This bill
simply goes too far.”
The House Education Com m it­
tee was scheduled to discuss the
bill again on M onday, April 19.
W hile it is unlikely the bill will
move forw ard in its current form,
its s u p p o r te r s a re p r e p a r in g
amendments to address some o f
the concerns raised.
Firearm Safety Course
Mandate For All Students
Considered
School districts will be required
to teach firearm safety to all their
students under a bill heard by the
House Education Committee.
HB 3012 would require districts
to offer a firearm safety program in
at least one class per semester for
each grade level. The program for
K-6 students must be approved by a
national organization with an inter­
est in firearm safety and instruct
students on what to do if they dis­
cover a firearm in an unsupervised
setting (e.g., the N ational Rifle
Association’s “Eddie the Eagle pro­
gram). The grade 7-12 program must
include a course in which handgun
competency necessary to obtain a
concealed handgun license is taught.
Rep. Ron Sunseri (R-Gresham),
the b ill’s chief sponsor, proposed
amendments changing many o f the
above requirem ents. U nder the
amendments, each district is re­
quired to implement a firearm safety
program only if requested by a lo­
cal law enforcem ent agency or lo­
cal medical provider. The amend­
ments still require districts to set
aside time in the school day for
firearm safety instruction.
Opposing the bill and its amend­
ments, OSBA Senior Legislative
Advocate Jim Green said, “This
bill mandates a curriculum onto
local school districts. W hile the
amendments improve the bill, it
still robs valuable time during the
school day from instruction that is
directly linked to student achieve­
ment o f our academic standards.
Curriculum decisions should be
made at the local level, not man­
dated by the state legislature.”
HB 3012 is not currently sched­
uled for further hearings.
Bill Prohibits Hiring
Relatives
School districts will be prohib­
ited from hiring relatives o f school
board members under HB 3008
heard this w eek by the House Edu­
cation Committee.
Sponsored by Rep. Je ff K ropf
(R -H a lse y ), the b ill p ro h ib its
school board m em ber relatives
from being employed by the school
district or serving on any 21 ’’ C en­
tury Schools Council in the dis­
trict. It defines “relative” as a
spouse, child, brother, sister, p ar­
ent, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece,
first cousin, grandchild, grandpar­
ent, stepchild, sister-in -law or
brother-in-law.
Rep. K ropf read a letter from
one o f his constituents alleging
collusion betw een school board
m em bers and their school em ­
ployee relatives. No school dis­
trict or individual nam es were
given, nor were any o f the allega­
tions substantiated.
The hearing on HB 3008 was
closed without further testimony. No
further action on the bill is expected.
Use Fuel Tax Break Clears Committee
The bill exempting school dis­
tric ts and E SD s from p ay in g
Oregon’s use fuel (diesel) tax cleared
another hurdle this week in the Sen­
ate Revenue Committee. It was ear­
lier approved by the Senate Trans­
portation Committee It now heads
to a vote by the full Senate.
SB 718 authorizes diesel fuel
tax refunds for school districts,
ESDs and school transportation
contractors. The refunds apply to
<
V»
use fuel taxes paid in on this bill,
probably sometime this October.
According to the Legislative Rev­
enue O ffice, the refu n d s w ill
amount to $3.3 m illion over the
next two years.