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83rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2025 Regular Session
House Bill 2891
Sponsored by Representative EVANS (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: The Act limits the number of records that a higher learning school may keep on a
teaching employee. The Act allows a teaching employee to respond to the contents of a record. The
Act allows a higher learning school to use only allowed files. The Act allows a teaching employee
to sue the higher learning school for not following the law about records. (Flesch Readability Score:
65.9).
Restricts the number of personnel records concerning faculty members that a community college
may maintain. Provides that a faculty member may respond to information in a personnel record.
Prohibits a community college or public university from basing an evaluation of a faculty mem-
ber on information from personnel records other than authorized personnel records. Permits a fac-
ulty member to bring an action for damages or other equitable relief against a public university
community college or individuals who participate in an evaluation in violation of the prohibition.
Becomes operative January 1, 2027.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to personnel records kept for faculty members at institutions of higher education; creating
new provisions; and amending ORS 352.226.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. Section 2 of this 2025 Act is added to and made a part of ORS chapter 341.
SECTION 2.(1) As used in this section, “personnel record” means a record with infor-
mation that a community college keeps concerning a faculty member that the faculty mem-
ber or others submit at the faculty member’s request or at the community college’s request,
including information concerning discipline, membership activity, employment performance
or other personal records of individual persons.
(2) The board of education of a community college district may adopt any standard or
order for a community college that is under the board’s control to govern access to any
personnel record that the community college maintains and that is less than 25 years old.
The president of the community college shall implement the board’s standards and orders.
(3) In adopting any standard or order under subsection (2) of this section, a board shall
require restricted access to any personnel record unless the president of a community col-
lege finds that disclosing the personnel record would not adversely affect individual rights
to privacy. The board may limit access to any personnel record on the basis of designated
classes of information, to specified persons or to stated times and conditions. The board may
not limit access to any personnel record that is more than 25 years old.
(4) A community college may not use any standard or order to deny to a faculty member
full access to the faculty member’s personnel record that the community college keeps, ex-
cept that the community college may deny the faculty member access to information that
would identify a person that submitted information in confidence to the community college,
as provided in subsection (8) of this section.
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 1777 HB2891
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(5)(a) Except for a personnel record that contains the name identifying information of a
person that submitted information in confidence, as provided in subsection (8) of this section,
a community college may not keep more than three personnel records for a faculty member
for any purpose or in any form or format. The community college shall keep any personnel
record in a designated location that is available to the faculty member for whom the per-
sonnel record contains any information.
(b) A community college that keeps a personnel record for a faculty member that does
not meet the requirements of this section shall destroy the personnel record and may not
use any information from the personnel record for the purpose of evaluating a faculty
member.
(6) A community college shall document in each of a faculty member’s personnel records
any information that the community college receives by telephone for inclusion in a person-
nel record by means of a written summary of the conversation that identifies the names of
the conversants.
(7) A faculty member may submit, for placement in any of the faculty member’s per-
sonnel records that a community college keeps, evidence that rebuts, corrects, amplifies or
explains any information in the personnel record and other material that the member be-
lieves might assist in the evaluation process.
(8)(a) A community college shall maintain any letter or other information concerning a
faculty member that was submitted in confidence to the Higher Education Coordinating
Commission, a board or a community college, in a faculty member’s personnel record au-
thorized under this section. If a faculty member requests access to the personnel record, the
community college shall protect the anonymity of the contributor of any letter or other in-
formation submitted in confidence by making the full text of the letter or other information
available and excising any portions of the text identifying the contributor of the letter or
other information. A community college may keep only the names of any contributors and
any excised portions of the documents in a personnel record other than the three personnel
records authorized under subsection (5) of this section.
(b) Any confidential letter or other information that the Higher Education Coordinating
Commission, a board or a community college received or solicited before employing a faculty
member is exempt from this section, except that the community college must place the in-
formation described in this paragraph into a personnel record for a faculty member that the
community college currently employs. If a faculty member requests access to the faculty
member’s personnel records, the community college shall protect the anonymity of the con-
tributor of any confidential preemployment letter or other preemployment information by
making the full text of the letter or other information available and excising any portions
of the text identifying the contributor of the letter or other information. A community col-
lege may keep only the names of any contributors and any excised portions of the documents
in a personnel record other than the three personnel records authorized under subsection
(5) of this section.
(9) Classroom survey evaluations by students of a faculty member’s classroom or labo-
ratory performance must be anonymous. A community college shall place the record of
evaluation reports in at least one of the three personnel records authorized under subsection
(5) of this section. The community college shall return to the faculty member any survey
instrument used to obtain evaluation data.
[2] HB2891
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(10) The Higher Education Coordinating Commission, a board and a community college
when evaluating employed faculty members may not solicit or accept any letter, document
or other material, given orally or in written form, from any individual or group who requests
anonymity or who wants the community college to keep information that the individual or
group provides confidential.
(11) Notwithstanding any provision of an employment contract between a community
college and an individual faculty member or the faculty member’s appropriate bargaining
unit, as defined in ORS 243.650, the faculty member may appeal an evaluation that a com-
munity college bases on information from a personnel record to the board. A right of appeal
under this subsection extends to a faculty member if the faculty member previously received
satisfactory performance ratings for a consecutive period of 10 years or for 11 of 13 non-
consecutiveyears.
(12)(a) A community college may not evaluate a faculty member with information from
a personnel record other than a personnel record authorized under this section.
(b) A faculty member may bring an action for damages or for other equitable relief in a
court of this state against a community college or any individual involved in an evaluation
that is based on information from a personnel record other than a personnel record author-
ized under this section.
(c) The Governor, without the consent of a board or the Higher Education Coordinating
Commission, may remove from a position at a community college any individual who partic-
ipates in an evaluation of a faculty member in violation of paragraph (a) of this subsection.
(13) A standard or order promulgated under this section does not limit the authority of
a community college to use a personnel record to prepare statistical or demographic reports
that do not identify any individual who has not consented to the identification.
(14) Any category of personnel records specifically designated as confidential under a
valid standard or order under this section is not a public record for the purposes of ORS
192.314.
SECTION 3. ORS 352.226 is amended to read:
352.226. (1) A governing board as defined in ORS 352.029 may, for the public university under
[its] the governing board’s control, adopt standards and [specific] orders by or through the presi-
dent of each public university governing access to any personnel [records] record of the public
university or office, department or activity that [are] is less than 25 years old.
(2) [Standards] Any standard or order adopted under subsection (1) of this section [shall] must
require that a personnel [records] record be subjected to restrictions on access unless upon a find-
ing by the president of the public university that the public interest in maintaining individual rights
to privacy in an adequate educational environment would not suffer by disclosure of [such records]
the personnel record. Access to [such records] a personnel record may be limited to designated
classes of information or persons, or to stated times and conditions, or to both, but [cannot] may
not be limited for [records] a personnel record that is more than 25 years old.
(3) A [standard or order promulgated pursuant to this section] public university may not use
any standard or order to deny to a faculty member full access to the member’s personnel [file or
records] record kept by the public university, except that the public university may deny the
faculty member access to information that would identify a person that submitted informa-
tion in confidence to the public university, as provided in subsections (7) and (8) of this section.
(4)(a) [The number of files relating to the evaluation of a faculty member is limited to three, to be
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kept in designated, available locations.] Except with respect to a personnel record that contains
the name and any identifying information of a person that submitted information in confi-
dence, as provided in subsections (7) and (8) of this section, a public university may not keep
more than three personnel records for a faculty member for evaluation purposes, or for any
other purpose, in any form or format. The public university shall keep any personnel record
in a designated location that is available to the faculty member for whom the personnel re-
cord contains any information.
(b) A public university that keeps a faculty member’s personnel record that does not
meet the requirements of this section shall destroy the personnel record and may not use
any information from the personnel record for the purpose of evaluating a faculty member.
(5) Any evaluation received by telephone must be documented in each of the faculty member’s
[files] personnel records by means of a written summary of the conversation with the names of the
conversants identified.
(6) A faculty member [is entitled to] may submit, for placement in [the three files] the faculty
member’s personnel record, evidence rebutting, correcting, amplifying or explaining any document
contained [therein] in the personnel record and other material that the member believes might be
of assistance in the evaluation process.
(7) Letters and other information submitted in confidence to the State Board of Higher Educa-
tion or [its] the board’s public universities, offices, departments or activities prior to July 1, 1975,
[shall] must be maintained in the [files] personnel record designated by the governing board of the
public university currently employing the faculty member. [However, if] If a faculty member requests
access to [those files] the faculty member’s personnel record , the anonymity of the contributor
of letters and other information obtained prior to July 1, 1975, [shall]must be protected. The full
text [shall] must be made available, except that portions of the text that would serve to identify the
contributor [shall] must be excised by a faculty committee. Only the names of the contributors and
the excised portions of the documents may be kept in a [file] personnel record other than the three
prescribed by subsection (4) of this section.
(8)(a) Confidential letters and other information submitted to or solicited after July 1, 1975, by
the State Board of Higher Education or [its] the board’s public universities, offices, departments
or activities prior to the employment of a prospective faculty member are exempt from the pro-
visions of this section.[However, if] If the faculty member is currently employed by a public uni-
versity or [its] the offices, departments or activities of the public university, the confidential
preemployment materials [shall] must be placed in the three authorized [files] personnel records.
If a faculty member requests access to the faculty member’s [files] personnel record, the anonymity
of the contributorofconfidentialpreemploymentlettersandotherpreemploymentinformation
[shall] must be protected. The full text [shall] must be made available, except that portions of the
text that would serve to identify the contributor [shall] must be excised and retained in a [file]
personnel record other than the three designated in subsection (4) of this section.
(b) Confidential letters and other information submitted to or solicited by a public university
listed in ORS 352.002 after the date that the university obtained a governing board, and prior to the
employment of a prospective faculty member are exempt from the provisions of this section. [How-
ever, if] If the faculty member is employed by the university, the confidential preemployment mate-
rials [shall]must be placed in the three authorized [files] personnel records. If a faculty member
requests access to thefaculty member’s [files] personnel record, the anonymity of the contributor
of confidential preemployment letters and other preemployment information [shall] must be pro-
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tected. The full text [shall]must be made available, except that portions of the text that would
serve to identify the contributor [shall] must be excised and retained in a [file] personnel record
other than the three designated in subsection (4) of this section.
(9) Classroom survey [evaluation] evaluations by students of a faculty member’s classroom or
laboratory performance [shall] must be anonymous. The record of tabulated reports [shall] must
be placed in at least one of the [files] personnel records designated in subsection (4) of this section.
All survey instruments used to obtain evaluation data [shall] must be returned to the faculty
member.
(10) A public university listed in ORS 352.002 and, after July 1, 1975, but before the date on
which the public university obtained a governing board, the State Board of Higher Education and
[its] the board’s public universities, offices, departments or activities, when evaluating [its] em-
ployed faculty members, may not solicit or accept letters, documents or other materials, given orally
or in written form, from individuals or groups who wish their identity to be kept anonymous or the
information they provide to be kept confidential.
(11) Notwithstanding any provision of an employment contract between a public univer-
sity and a faculty member or the faculty member’s appropriate bargaining unit, as defined
in ORS 243.650, the faculty member may appeal an evaluation that a public university bases
on information from a personnel record to the public university’s governing board. A right
of appeal under this subsection extends to a faculty member without tenure if the faculty
member previously received satisfactory performance ratings for a consecutive period of 10
years or for 11 of 13 nonconsecutive years.
(12)(a) A public university may not evaluate a faculty member with information from a
personnel record other than a personnel record authorized under this section.
(b) A faculty member may bring an action for damages or for other equitable relief in a
court of this state against a public university or any individual involved in an evaluation that
is based on information from a personnel record other than a personnel record authorized
under this section.
(c) The Governor, without the consent of a public university’s governing board or the
Higher Education Coordinating Commission, may remove from a position at the public uni-
versity any individual who participates in an evaluation of a faculty member in violation of
paragraph (a) of this subsection.
(13) A standard or order promulgated [pursuant to] under this section does not limit the au-
thority of a public university to [prepare, without identification of individual persons who have not
consented thereto,] use a personnel record to prepare statistical or demographic reports [from
personnel records] that do not identify any individual who has not consented to the identifica-
tion.
[(12)] (14) Any category of personnel records specifically designated as confidential [pursuant to
valid standards or orders pursuant to] under a valid standard or order under this section is not
a public record for the purposes of ORS 192.314.
[(13)] (15) As used in this section, “personnel [records] record” means [records] any record
containing information kept by the public university, office, department or activity concerning a
faculty member and furnished by the faculty member or by others about the faculty member at the
request of the faculty member or the public university, office, department or activity, including, but
not limited to, information concerning discipline, membership activity, employment performance or
other personal records of individual persons.
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SECTION 4. Section 2 of this 2025 Act and the amendments to ORS 352.226 by section 3
of this 2025 Act apply to faculty evaluations that occur on or after the operative date speci-
fied in section 5 of this 2025 Act.
SECTION 5.(1) Section 2 of this 2025 Act and the amendments to ORS 352.226 by section
3 of this 2025 Act become operative January 1, 2027.
(2) The Higher Education Coordinating Commission, the State Board of Education, a
board of education of a community college district, a public university or a community col-
lege may adopt rules and take any other action before the operative date specified in sub-
section (1) of this section that is necessary to enable the commission, board, public
university or community college to exercise, on and after the operative date specified in
subsection (1) of this section, all of the duties, functions and powers conferred on the com-
mission, board, public university or community college by section 2 of this 2025 Act and the
amendments to ORS 352.226 by section 3 of this 2025 Act.
[6]