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83rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2025 Regular Session
Senate Bill 315
Printed pursuant to Senate Interim Rule 213.28 by order of the President of the Senate in conformance with pre-
session filing rules, indicating neither advocacy nor opposition on the part of the President (at the request
of Senate Interim Committee on Education)
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: Tells ODE to take actions about how school districts record and respond to student
absences. (Flesch Readability Score:67.5).
Directs the Department of Education to review and make recommendations related to the re-
cording of student absences and how school districts respond to student absences.
Requires school districts to report to the department when a student is not considered to have
regular attendance.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to the recording of student absences; creating new provisions; and amending ORS 339.065.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. (1) The Department of Education shall review and make recommendations
related to the state requirements for determining if a student is on a school district’s active
roll when the student has 10 or more consecutive absences, as those requirements are pre-
scribed by rules adopted by the State Board of Education.
(2) The review conducted under subsection (1) of this section must include consideration
of:
(a) How the rule for determining active enrollment after 10 consecutive absences, and
any resulting disenrollment of a student, affects a school district’s finances;
(b) Whether the process of disenrolling a student after 10 consecutive absences consti-
tutes disciplinary action due to nonattendance; and
(c) How the rule for determining active enrollment after 10 consecutive absences, and
any resulting disenrollment of a student, affects students who are absent due to an extended
illness.
(3) The recommendations required by subsection (1) of this section must include recom-
mendations on:
(a) Potential changes to the rule for determining active enrollment and for prescribing
when a student is disenrolled due to absences; and
(b) Procedures for a reporting system that tracks the outcomes of disenrollments due
to absences and for determining whether those outcomes equitably serve the interests of
students and families, school districts and the state.
(4) For the purpose of conducting the review and making the recommendations required
by this section, the Department of Education shall consult with:
(a) School district administrators;
(b) School district board members;
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.
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(c) Teachers and other relevant school district staff;
(d) Social workers;
(e) Parents of students; and
(f) Advocates for protected classes.
(5)(a) Not later than December 15, 2026, the department shall provide a report to:
(A) The interim committees of the Legislative Assembly related to education; and
(B) The State Board of Education.
(b) The report required under paragraph (a) of this subsection shall:
(A) Summarize the review conducted and the recommendations made as described in this
section;and
(B) Recommend any statutory changes or changes in administrative rules.
SECTION 2. Section 1 of this 2025 Act is repealed on January 2, 2027.
SECTION 3. ORS 339.065 is amended to read:
339.065. (1) In estimating regular attendance for purposes of the compulsory attendance pro-
visions of ORS 339.005 to 339.030, 339.040 to 339.125, 339.137 and 339.420, the principal or teacher
shall consider all unexcused absences. Eight unexcused one-half day absences in any four-week pe-
riod during which the school is in session shall be considered irregular attendance.
(2)(a) An absence may be excused by a principal or teacher if the absence is caused by:
(A) The pupil’s sickness, including the mental or behavioral health of the pupil;
(B) The sickness of some member of the pupil’s family; or
(C) An emergency.
(b) In addition to the reasons identified in paragraph (a) of this subsection, a principal or
teacher:
(A) Shall excuse not more than seven days of absences during the school year if the pupil is a
dependent of a member of the Armed Forces of the United States who is on active duty or who is
called into active duty. For the purpose of this subparagraph, “Armed Forces of the United States”
includes:
(i) The Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard of the United States;
(ii) Reserve components of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard of the
United States; and
(iii) The National Guard of the United States and the Oregon National Guard.
(B) May excuse absences for other reasons when satisfactory arrangements are made in advance
of the absence.
(3)(a) Any pupil may be excused from attendance by the district school board for a period not
to exceed five days in a term of three months or not to exceed 10 days in any term of at least six
months. Any such excuse shall be in writing directed to the principal of the school that the pupil
attends.
(b) When calculating the number of excused absences under this subsection, any absences ex-
cused under subsection (2)(b)(A) of this section shall not be counted.
(4)(a) The Department of Education shall develop, and a school district shall implement,
a common coding system for reporting absences that cause a student to be considered to not
have regular attendance and to be disenrolled from a school district.
(b) The coding system required under this subsection shall allow the department to col-
lect for each student:
(A) The date of the student’s disenrollment;
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(B) The school district in which the student was enrolled;
(C) The grade of the student;
(D) The demographics of the student; and
(E) Any other relevant information identified by the department.
(c) Each school district shall report to the department when a student is not considered
to have regular attendance, as prescribed by the coding system and rules adopted by the
State Board of Education.
SECTION 4. (1) The amendments to ORS 339.065 by section 3 of this 2025 Act become
operative on July 1, 2026.
(2) The amendments to ORS 339.065 by section 3 of this 2025 Act first apply to the
2026-2027 school year.
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