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83rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2025 Regular Session
House Bill 2144
Sponsored by Representative MCINTIRE (Presession filed.)
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject
to consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor’s brief statement of the essential features of the
measure as introduced.The statement includes a measure digest written in compliance with applicable readability
standards.
Digest: Changes the way that the three percent cap on virtual public charter school enrollment
is made. (Flesch Readability Score: 68.9).
Modifies the timelines and requirements for when a school district makes a determination
whether to give approval for a student to enroll in a virtual public charter school that is not spon-
sored by the school district.
Directs the Department of Education to collect and compile virtual public charter school en-
rollment data for the purpose of school districts making determinations whether to give approval.
Declares an emergency, effective July 1, 2025.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to virtual public charter school enrollment; creating new provisions; amending ORS 338.125;
and declaring an emergency.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. ORS 338.125 is amended to read:
338.125. (1) Student enrollment in a public charter school is voluntary.
(2)(a) All students who reside in the school district in which the public charter school is located
are eligible for enrollment in the public charter school if space is available.
(b) Students who do not reside in the school district in which the public charter school is lo-
cated are eligible for enrollment in the public charter school if space is available and subject to
subsection (5) of this section.
(c) A public charter school may not limit student enrollment based on race, religion, sex, sexual
orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, national origin, disability, the terms of an individualized ed-
ucation program, income level, proficiency in the English language or athletic ability. A public
charter school may implement a weighted lottery that favors historically underserved students as
provided by subsection (3)(a) of this section.
(3)(a) Except as provided by paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subsection, if the number of applica-
tions from students exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level or building, the public
charter school shall select students through an equitable lottery selection process. For the purpose
of ameliorating the impact of discrimination against historically underserved students, an equitable
lottery selection process may include weights that favor historically underserved students. As used
in this paragraph, “historically underserved students” are students who are at risk because of any
combination of their race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, disability, income level,
proficiency in the English language, socioeconomic status or geographic location.
(b)(A) A public charter school may give priority for admission to students who reside within the
attendance boundaries that were in effect at the time a school district closed a nonchartered public
school if:
NOTE:Matter in boldfaced type in an amended section is new; matter [italic and bracketed] is existing law to be omitted.
New sections are in boldfaced type.
LC 2295 HB2144
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(i) The public charter school began to operate not more than two years after the nonchartered
public school was closed;
(ii) The school district that closed the nonchartered public school is the sponsor of the public
charterschool;
(iii) The public charter school is physically located within the attendance boundaries of the
closed nonchartered public school; and
(iv) The school district board, through board action, approved the public charter school giving
priority as described in this paragraph.
(B) Nothing in this paragraph requires an amendment to a charter. A school district board may
take an action described in subparagraph (A)(iv) of this paragraph at any time during the term of
a charter.
(c) After a public charter school has been in operation for one or more years, the public charter
school may give priority for admission to students who:
(A) Were enrolled in the prior year in the public charter school;
(B) Were enrolled in a public preschool or prekindergarten program operated by the public
charterschool;
(C) Have siblings who are presently enrolled in the school and who were enrolled in the school
in the prior year;
(D) Are at risk because the student has an economic or academic disadvantage that requires
special services or assistance, including students who:
(i) Are from economically disadvantaged families;
(ii) Are identified as having special educational needs;
(iii) Are limited in proficiency in the English language;
(iv) Are at risk of dropping out of high school; or
(v) Do not meet minimum standards of academic proficiency; or
(E) If the public charter school is a party to a cooperative agreement described in ORS 338.080,
reside in the school district that is the sponsor of the public charter school or in a school district
that is a party to the cooperative agreement.
(4)(a) A student who wishes to enroll in a virtual public charter school does not need the ap-
proval of the school district where the student is a resident before the student enrolls in the virtual
public charter school. If a student wishes to enroll in a virtual public charter school that is not
sponsored by the school district where the student is a resident, the parent, legal guardian or
person in parental relationship with the student must provide the following notices to the school
district where the student is a resident:
[(a)] (A) Intent to enroll the student in a virtual public charter school; and
[(b)] (B) Enrollment of the student in a virtual public charter school.
(b) A school district that receives notice of enrollment under paragraph (a)(B) of this
subsection must submit to the Department of Education information required by the de-
partment for purposes of subsection (5)(f) of this section.
(5)(a) Notwithstanding subsection (4) of this section and ORS 339.133, if more than three percent
of the students who reside in a school district are enrolled in virtual public charter schools that are
not sponsored by the school district, a student who is a resident of the school district must receive
approval from the school district before enrolling in a virtual public charter school that is not
sponsored by the school district where the student is a resident. A school district is not re-
quired to give approval if more than three percent of the students who reside in the school district
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are enrolled in virtual public charter schools that are not sponsored by the school district. A school
district must provide notice of the decision to not give approval within [10 calendar] five business
days of receiving notice of intent for the student to enroll in a virtual public charter school.
(b) For the purpose of determining whether more than three percent of the students who reside
in the school district are enrolled in virtual public charter schools that are not sponsored by the
school district, the school district board shall:
(A) Include any students who:
(i) Reside in the school district, regardless of whether the students are considered residents of
different school districts as provided by ORS 339.133 (5); and
(ii) Are enrolled in virtual public charter schools that are not sponsored by the school district.
[(B) Calculate, at least twice each year, the school district’s percentage of students attending virtual
public charter schools that are not sponsored by the school district.]
(B) Make the determination based on the most recent enrollment data collected for the
school district and the information available to the school district through the central data-
base described in paragraph (f) of this subsection.
(c)(A) Except as provided by subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, students who reside in the
school district, regardless of whether the students are considered residents of different school dis-
tricts as provided by ORS 339.133 (5), must receive approval from the school district before enrolling
in a virtual public charter school that is not sponsored by the school district if the limit de-
scribed in paragraph (a) of this subsection has been met.
(B) A student is not required to receive approval from the school district in which the student
resides if the student:
(i) Previously lived in another school district;
(ii) While living in the other school district, was enrolled in a virtual public charter school; and
(iii) Has maintained continuous enrollment in the virtual public charter school since moving into
the school district where the student currently resides.
(d) If the school district does not give approval under paragraph (a) of this subsection, the
school district must provide to the parent, legal guardian or person in parental relationship with the
student information about:
(A) The percentage of students in the resident district that attend virtual public charter schools
that are not sponsored by the school district, based on the most recent calculation;
(B) The right to appeal the decision to the State Board of Education; and
(C) Other online options available to the student.
(e) If an appeal is made to the State Board of Education as described in paragraph (d) of this
subsection, the board must issue a decision within 14 calendar days of the submission of the appeal.
(f) The department shall collect and compile enrollment data related to virtual public
charter school enrollment in a central database and make that database available for use by
school districts for the purpose of making determinations under this subsection.
(6) Within 10 days of a student’s enrollment in a public charter school, the public charter school
shall provide written notice of the student’s enrollment to the school district in which the public
charter school is located if the student does not reside in the school district where the public
charter school is located.
(7) Within 10 days of receiving the notice described in subsection (6) of this section, the school
district in which the public charter school is located shall provide to the student’s parent, legal
guardian or person in parental relationship written information about:
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(a) The school district’s responsibility to identify, locate and evaluate students enrolled in the
public charter school to determine which students may be in need of special education and related
services as provided by ORS 338.165; and
(b) The methods by which the school district may be contacted to answer questions or provide
information related to special education and related services.
(8) When a student described in subsection (6) of this section withdraws from a public charter
school for a reason other than graduation from high school, the school district in which the public
charter school is located shall:
(a) Provide to the school district in which the student resides written notice that the student
haswithdrawn.
(b) Provide to the student’s parent, legal guardian or person in parental relationship written
informationabout:
(A) The responsibility of the school district in which the student resides to identify, locate and
evaluate students who reside in the school district to determine which students may be in need of
special education and related services as provided by ORS 338.165; and
(B) The methods by which the school district in which the student resides may be contacted to
answer questions or provide information related to special education and related services.
(9)(a) If a student described in subsection (6) of this section enrolls in a public charter school
and has an individualized education program, the school district in which the public charter school
is located must implement the individualized education program and follow the terms of the indi-
vidualized education program until a new individualized education program is developed.
(b) If a student described in subsection (6) of this section withdraws from a public charter school
and has an individualized education program, the school district in which the student resides must
implement the individualized education program and follow the terms of the individualized education
program until a new individualized education program is developed.
(10) When a virtual public charter school enrolls a student or a student no longer is enrolled
in a virtual public charter school, the virtual public charter school shall provide the written notices
described in ORS 338.120 (1)(m) and (n) to the school district where the student is a resident.
(11) A public charter school may conduct fund-raising activities but may not require a student
to participate in fund-raising activities as a condition of admission to the public charter school.
SECTION 2. (1) The amendments to ORS 338.125 by section 1 of this 2025 Act become
operative on January 1, 2026.
(2) Notwithstanding the operative date set forth in subsection (1) of this section, at any
time prior to the operative date set forth in subsection (1) of this section, the Department
of Education may request that school districts submit virtual public charter school enroll-
ment data to the department for the purpose of the central database described in ORS
338.125(5)(f).
SECTION 3.This 2025 Act being necessary for the immediate preservation of the public
peace, health and safety, an emergency is declared to exist, and this 2025 Act takes effect
July 1, 2025.
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