NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
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Saturday, April 3, 2021
Oregon Supreme Court floats hurried-up redistricting timeline
By DIRK
VANDERHART
Oregon Public Broadcasting
SALEM — As Oregon
lawmakers seek to skirt
constitutional deadlines for
redrawing political districts
in the state this year, they’re
now prepared to move at warp
speed.
In court
filings last
week, the
O regon
Legislature
ag reed to
a proposed
Fagan
schedule
that would
give it as little as two weeks
from the time it receives final
census data to the time it must
complete new boundaries for
the state’s 60 House districts
and 30 Senate districts.
That hurried-up timeline
— a far cry from the three
months lawmakers initially
asked for — was floated by
the Oregon Supreme Court,
which is in the process of
deciding whether it has the
authority to allow lawmakers
to miss redistricting deadlines
set in the state constitution.
Under the schedule
proposed by the court, the
Legislature would have until
mid-October to redraw legis-
lative districts. That’s two
weeks after Sept. 30, the date
U.S. Census Bureau says it
will likely provide states with
EO Media Group, File
A proposed timeline by Oregon Supreme Court justices is the latest twist in the state’s strug-
gle to figure out how to do the weighty political job of redistricting in a year when data de-
lays are upending hard constitutional dates.
completed population data.
These population counts are
being distributed belatedly
after long delays due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. And
the Supreme Court’s proposal
would redraw districts more
than three months after the
July 1 deadline to complete
the maps, set by the Oregon
Constitution.
“I mplement i ng t h is
Court’s tentative amended
deadlines is the least disrup-
tive option, given the extraor-
dinary Census data delay
caused by the COVID-19
pandemic,” the Legislature’s
attorney wrote in a March 26
filing, “and is the only option
that ensures that all of the
parties responsible for reap-
portionment— including the
Legislative Assembly — are
able to exercise their consti-
tutional role in the reappor-
tionment process.”
The proposed timeline by
Supreme Court justices is
the latest twist in Oregon’s
struggle to figure out how
to do the weighty political
job of redistricting in a year
when data delays are upend-
ing hard constitutional dates.
The once-a-decade process
of redrawing legislative and
congressional districts helps
dictate who holds political
control of the state for the next
10 years.
Seeking leeway to get
Forecast for Pendleton Area
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TODAY
SUNDAY
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TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
Cloudy
Cooler; breezy in
the afternoon
Some sun with a
passing shower
Winds subsiding
and milder
Partly sunny
66° 47°
55° 33°
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
57° 33°
62° 39°
65° 40°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
69° 51°
60° 36°
63° 33°
66° 43°
68° 44°
OREGON FORECAST
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
54/39
61/42
68/43
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
65/48
Lewiston
64/41
70/48
Astoria
55/42
Pullman
Yakima 69/48
60/39
67/46
Portland
Hermiston
66/46
The Dalles 69/51
Salem
Corvallis
61/41
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
69/42
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
65/41
67/35
70/38
Ontario
79/48
Caldwell
Burns
68°
35°
62°
38°
80° (1944) 18° (1935)
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Albany
63/41
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72/34
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through 3 p.m. yest.
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LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 68/37
64/43
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
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HERMISTON
Enterprise
66/47
69/46
64°
38°
58°
38°
84° (1944) 20° (1935)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
61/39
Aberdeen
60/42
64/44
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
59/42
Today
Medford
74/43
Sun.
SW 4-8
NW 4-8
Boardman
Pendleton
W 8-16
W 8-16
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
69/32
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
6:31 a.m.
7:26 p.m.
2:06 a.m.
10:34 a.m.
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NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 98° in Thermal, Calif. Low 0° in Cotton, Minn.
around the deadlines in
the constitution, legislative
leaders filed suit earlier this
month. In a complaint naming
Secretary of State Shemia
Fagan as a defendant, the
Legislature asked the court to
give it three months from the
time it received census data to
draw maps — a process that
could have seen new maps
completed in December.
Fa g a n , m e a nwh i le ,
opposed that idea. The secre-
tary has responsibility for
drawing or correcting maps
if lawmakers fail to pass a
legal redistricting plan, but
she’s also worried that push-
ing back redistricting would
require huge changes in the
timeline of the 2022 primary
election. In an answer to
the Legislature’s lawsuit,
the secretary said lawmak-
ers didn’t need to wait until
census data arrived to redraw
districts.
She argues that the Popu-
lation Research Center at
Portland State University
has accurate enough popula-
tion data to allow the Legis-
lature to draw districts that
have equal enough popula-
tions to pass legal muster.
Under Fagan’s proposed
plan, lawmakers would use
that data to complete maps by
the first of July. If they later
needed to be rejiggered, she
said, there would be time to
do so.
To pave the way for that
plan, the Secretary of State’s
Office has inked a deal with
Portland State University,
agreeing to pay up to $68,105
for data to be delivered by
June 15, two weeks ahead
of the normal constitutional
deadline.
“We have a lot more data
out there than people are
aware of,” said Ethan Shary-
gin, director of the Population
Research Center. “Noth-
ing we can do can supplant
or replace the census. We’re
huge boosters of the census.
That said, we do have some
other great data sources.”
The Supreme Court’s
proposed schedule is some-
thing of a middle ground
between the two proposals.
The proposal would
require lawmakers to submit
their proposal for new district
maps on Oct. 14. That’s just
two weeks after the Sept. 30
date that the Census Bureau
has given for likely delivery
of completed data, but that
September date is likely not
the first clear picture state
officials will have of the 2020
census. The Census Bureau
announced earlier this month
that it would get population
data out to states beginning in
August — just in a somewhat
less user-friendly format.
“The Legislative Assem-
bly can reapportion based
on 2020 Census data and
the remaining constitutional
process can play out, albeit
with adjusted timelines,” the
Legislature’s attorney wrote
in the March 26 court filing.
“And the primary election
schedule, with a few excep-
tions, remains intact.”
Under the court’s proposed
schedule, Fagan would have
a week — as opposed to six
weeks under the state consti-
tution — to draw maps if the
Legislature fails to do so. She
says such a short time frame
might require her to “conduct
public hearings and create
her own redistricting map
at virtually the same time
as the Legislative Assembly
is conducting public hear-
ings and deliberating its own
redistricting plan.”
Feds reject Oregon’s effort to
fully skip standardized tests
State officials still
‘looking at options’
with federal
government
By ELIZABETH
MILLER
Oregon Public Broadcasting
SALEM — The U. S.
Depar tment of Educa-
tion has rejected Oregon’s
request to completely waive
standardized testing this
spring.
Two months ago, Oregon
education leaders asked to
skip the standardized tests.
They said testing would not
be the best use of the little
time students have left in
the school year. And they
said the tests may not yield
useful information. Instead,
the Oregon Department
of Education suggested a
survey to assess student
needs and access to educa-
tional resources, and have
districts do interim tests
throughout the year.
Now, the st ate has
received a response from
the federal government,
offering “initial feedback”
on Oregon’s proposed alter-
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
native to days-long assess-
ments. U.S. Department
of Education officials said
the state’s proposal is not
enough.
“As promising as infor-
mation from the (Student
Educational Equity Devel-
opment Survey) will be in
informing plans for next
year, we believe that this
information should comple-
ment and not replace student
learning data,” Ian Rosen-
blum, U.S. Department of
Education deputy assistant
secretary for policy and
programs, wrote in a March
26 message to Oregon
education director Colt Gill.
In his message, Rosen-
blum said student data helps
identify “where opportunity
gaps are persistent and may
have been exacerbated,” and
offers guidance on where
states can direct resources.
In its waiver request,
the Oregon Department of
Education said that proper
test-t a k i ng cond it ions
cannot be met this year,
making test information
unreliable. Threats to “valid
interpretations and uses” of
data include trauma related
to the pandemic, problems
created by administering
the test remotely, and differ-
ences in resources to support
students at home.
Rosenblum said the
U.S. Department of Educa-
tion continues to review
Oregon’s request.
At least one Oregon
school district has already
taken action on mandatory
testing.
Earlier this month, the
school board in Ashland
passed a resolution direct-
ing standardized testing
only to students or families
who “opt in.”
“By default, students
will not participate in state
assessments this year,”
according to a release from
the district. “If a family
wants their student to partic-
ipate in the state assess-
ment, an opportunity will
be provided.”
O regon Depa r t ment
of Education officials say
they’re still “looking at
options” with the federal
government.
If Oregon’s waiver is not
approved, test windows will
open April 13, according to
ODE. Parents may opt-out of
the tests.
IN BRIEF
South Fork Walla Walla River
assessment gets funding boost
SALEM — The Oregon Watershed
Enhancement Board awarded $24,982 to the
Walla Walla Basin Watershed Council for
the South Fork Walla Walla River Base Flow
Assessment, the board announced in a press
release.
The award was one of 85 grants totaling
more than $10 million provided to local orga-
nizations statewide to support fish and wild-
life habitat, and water quality projects.
“The vast majority of Walla Walla River
water originates from springs in the South
Fork watershed. This project will document
the location and conditions of those critical
water sources,” said Troy Baker, executive
director of the Walla Walla Basin Watershed
Council.
The South Fork Walla Walla River Base
Flow Assessment is a coordinated effort
with the Walla Walla Ranger District to map
and characterize sources of summertime
base flows in the Walla Walla River. Work
is expected to begin this summer and be
completed by the end of 2022.
Funding for grants awarded by the OWEB
Board comes from three primary sources —
the Oregon Lottery, Salmon License Plate
revenues and Federal Pacific Coast Salmon
Recovery funds provided by the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
— EO Media Group
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