Page 8 The Skanner July 19, 2017
News
New Distracted Driving Law
Takes Eff ect in October
Black Families Believe Racial
Inequality Growing in Schools
Drivers may be fi ned $2,000 for using mobile
devices behind the wheel
The Skanner News Staff
O
regon’s legislature
earlier this month
closed a loophole
in the state’s regu-
lation of use of electron-
ic devices behind the
wheel — making it ille-
gal for drivers to touch
their phones or other
devices while driving.
The law kicks in Octo-
ber 1.
House Bill 2597 passed
July 6, the second-to-last
day the legislature was
in session. Sponsored
by Rep. Andy Olson (D-Albany), Sen.
Ginny Burdick (D-Portland) and Rep.
Ann Lininger (D-Lake Oswego), the
bill redefi nes “mobile electronic” de-
vice to make it easier to convict some-
one of distracted driving.
Driving while using a mobile device
was already illegal in Oregon, but
previous cases were oft en dismissed
in court due to a loophole stemming
from a 2015 Oregon Court of Appeals
ruling. In the State of Oregon v. Esmir-
na Rabanales-Ramos, a state trooper
pulled over a driver aft er noticing
her face was lit with the glow from an
electronic device. She failed a fi eld so-
briety test and was arrested for driv-
ing under the infl uence, but the court
ruled the trooper did not have prob-
able cause to pull Rabanales-Ramos
over because he didn’t see her speak-
ing or pressing buttons. The court
ruled that the existing law – which
defi ned a mobile device as a device
used to receive and transmit text and
voice communication – only applied
to drivers using the phone to commu-
nicate, as opposed to reading texts or
email or social media sites.
By Bria Nicole Stone
NNPA Newswire
Contributor
HB 2597 clarifi es the existing law,
defi ning “mobile electronic device”
as a device capable of text messaging,
voice communication, entertainment,
navigation, accessing the Internet or
producing electronic mail. The law
includes exceptions for commercial
motor vehicle drivers and bus driv-
ers using electronic devices in the
scope of their work; those operating
two-way citizens’ band radio devices
and utility workers using electronic
devices related to their employment.
Drivers using their phones to sum-
mon emergency services, drivers
using hands-free accessories and
farmers and emergency workers us-
ing devices for work are also exempt
from the law.
A driver’s third or subsequent con-
viction within a 10-year period will
carry $2,000 fi ne. For fi rst or second
off enders, the court may waive fees
on the condition that the driver pay
for and take a distracted driving class.
The law also requires the Oregon De-
partment of Transportation to place
signs on state highways notifying
drivers of the new law and penalties.
B
lack families over-
whelmingly believe
that their schools
are underfunded,
and that racial inequality
is growing, according to
a poll conducted by The
Leadership Conference
Education Fund and the
“
There has been a lot of re-
search that’s come out lately
that suggests an implicit
bias that educators, who are
mostly White, have towards
Black and Latino children
Anzalone Liszt Grove Re-
search fi rm.
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which is the education
and research arm of
the Leadership Confer-
ence on Civil and Hu-
man Rights, developed
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the poll to “explore how
Black and Latino par-
ents and families view
the American education
system’s success in edu-
cating their children,” ac-
cording to a press release
about the survey.
The poll revealed that
90 percent of Black par-
ents and families believe
schools in Black commu-
nities are underfunded
compared to White com-
munities.
The poll also showed
that almost 75 percent of
Black parents and fami-
lies believe that the edu-
cation Black students re-
ceive is worse than what
White students.
A report about the poll
said that, “Among Black
parents and family mem-
bers whose child’s teach-
ers are mostly White,
only 42 percent believe
that schools are trying
their best to educate
Black students, 16 points
below the share of those
whose children have
mostly Black teachers.”
Liz King, the senior
policy analyst and the di-
rector of education pol-
icy for The Leadership
Conference Education
Fund, said that there has
been a lot of research
that’s come out lately
that suggests an implicit
bias that educators, who
are mostly White, have
towards Black and Latino
children.
The press release about
the poll said that the
fi ndings come at a criti-
cally important time for
public education in the
United States as states
are currently develop-
ing education plans as
part of their obligations
under the Every Student
Succeeds Act (ESSA).
“These plans are states’
opportunities to make a
clear declaration about
their belief in the educa-
tion of all children and a
commitment to ensuring
children get the educa-
tion they deserve,” the
press release said.
Republicans in the
United States Congress
continue to chip away at
ESSA, making it harder
for states to clearly de-
fi ne those commitments.
In March, Republicans
voted to rollback ac-
countability measures
established by the Obama
Administration, Educa-
tion Week reported.
“The Obama-era ac-
countability rules, fi nal-
ized late last year, set
ground rules for how
schools must be rated
for school-improvement
purposes, specifi ed the
requirements of (and
fl exibility for) states
dealing with high testing
See SCHOOLS on page 11