Archived -- Criterion III--Oregon Goals 2000: An Annotated State Plan-Archived

A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

Oregon Goals 2000 State Plan - January 1995

Criterion III:

The plan allows local schools, local educational agencies and communities the flexibility to implement local improvement plans in a manner which reflects local needs and requirements in order to promote a "bottom up" system of school reform


                              - Goals 2000:  Educate America Act                                     Section 306 (n) (2) (D)

The State improvement plan focuses on improved achievement across the State, while providing maximum flexibility and support to local educational agencies and schools so that they may develop and implement the best strategies to respond to their needs. State improvement plans should promote a wide array of effective approaches to local education improvement.

Building Local Capacity

Question to Consider:

Does the State have effective strategies for assisting, coordinating and facilitating the building of local capacity for comprehensive, bottom-up reform in communities, local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools?
(Section 306 (h))

Local Schools Receive Grants for Building Level Restructuring Efforts

In 1987, the Oregon State Legislature enacted the School Improvement and Professional Development Act to develop lighthouse schools throughout the state that would be engaged in innovation while creating their own solutions to educational problems. The simultaneous "top down and bottom up" character of this program is a successful example of how state and school sites can work in concert to bring about school improvement and fundamental change.

Since 1987, over half of the school districts in Oregon have participated in this program of local school site innovation. The majority of grant activities have included release time for planning and implementing local improvements as well as professional development programs for teachers, administrators, school site council members and support personnel.

The Oregon Department of Education in Collaboration with Educational Service Districts Provide Regional Support

The regional Educational Service Districts that provide a foundation for the emerging telecommunications infrastructure also provide a foundation for regional professional development. In August 1994, the Oregon Department of Education implemented a regional strategy to help schools implement the Oregon Educational Act for the 21st Century. Oregon's 36 counties were divided into nine regions and a team of Department staff was assigned to each region and linked with contacts in the local districts and Educational Service District (ESD). These teams respond to requests from schools, provide technical assistance and deliver training workshops on the Certificate of Initial Mastery Assessment System, curriculum frameworks, alternative learning environments and special needs students and the Certificate of Advanced Mastery.

Educational Flexibility as Part of a Systemic Statewide Improvement Plan

Question to Consider:

Does the plan lend itself to effective adaptation to the needs and circumstances of local education agencies (LEAs) and schools?
(Sections 306 (h), 306 (n) (2) (D))

Educational flexibility plays a key role in the Oregon State improvement plan. In 1989, the Oregon State Legislature enacted the 21st Century Schools Program permitting waivers of statutes, rules and contracts that inhibit progress toward school improvement. The Oregon Educational Act for the 21st Century enacted in 1991, greatly expanded the use of waivers giving schools the support mechanism necessary for creating system-wide change that clearly responds to local need. With the approval of the local teachers' bargaining unit and the local school board, a school may undertake programs restructuring school operations and professional relationships. The school improvement plan developed by the local school council, is then reviewed by the 21st Century Schools Advisory Committee (Oregon's Goals 2000 State Panel) and recommended to the State Board of Education. Waivers are granted for 3 to 5 years. Through an extensive application and evaluation process goals must be clear and specifically linked to measures of student learning and educational performance.

The 21st Century Schools Program clearly reflects in its rationale, state level support for bottom up reform and local district accountability for student performance as local reforms are enacted.

Real and fundamental change in the structure of schools and education must emerge from the school site rather than be imposed externally or unilaterally and should be based on professional knowledge and a solid foundation of research...In exchange for such flexibility, teachers, administrators and the public will be held accountable to clear and measurable standards of student learning and other educational performance.

                               - (ORS 329.545 (2) and (4))

Educational Flexibility in Oregon

The 21st Century Schools Program

Oregon has adopted an educational flexibility plan and has five years of experience with granting and monitoring the waiver process.
Oregon's waiver process is comprehensive. All schools K-12 and districts are eligible for participation. Applications may be made on behalf of an individual building, two or more buildings, all buildings in a district, or two or more districts.
Waivers of a significant nature are allowed and have been granted and monitored, including; state statutes, rules, local policies and agreements relating to education practices (except those affecting health, safety or constitutional rights).
Oregon's waiver process is a quality plan intended to promote greater student performance and flexibility in the way schools are organized, managed and financed. This plan requires the school or district seeking waivers to describe existing conditions at the site, and identify significant measurable and achievable goals based on student performance. These goals must be clear and specifically linked to measures of student learning and educational performance. They are established with the participation of educators and local citizens.
The waiver process requires broad-based participation. Waivers must first be approved by the established local school site council, the teachers at the affected site, the exclusive representative of the bargaining unit and the school board. The application is then forwarded for approval to the 21st Century Schools Committee (Oregon's Goals 2000 State Panel) and then approved by the State Board of Education.
The district receiving the waiver must be accountable and prepare an annual report based on data showing the nature and extent of changes in student learning. Effective practices must be disseminated. This report is evaluated by the 21st Century Schools Committee (Oregon's Goals 2000 State Panel) with the Oregon Department of Education responsible for oversight to ensure accountability.
The Oregon Department of Education is revising its waiver process, to ensure rigor in the way Oregon approves and monitors applications for waivers of Federal statutory or regulatory requirements.

Applications for Waiver

The application for waiver must be based on a three to five year plan from the school site council that describes how the school will be restructured, how all students will be affected educationally, how their progress will be measured, what outcomes will be achieved and what waivers are necessary. The plan must be approved by the local school board and presented before the 21st Century Schools Advisory Committee (the Oregon Goals 2000 State Panel) which then recommends to the State Board of Education for formal approval. Annual reports by the local district along with site visits by the Oregon Department of Education ensure that continuing restructuring efforts are in fact, positively impacting student learning.

Approximately 46 school districts are currently participating in the 21st Century Schools Program. A school district may submit proposals that include but are not limited to modifications of the following:

Curriculum requirements;
Graduation requirements;
The certification, assignment, and formal responsibilities of teachers, administrators and other school personnel;
The length and structure of the school day and year;
State statutes and rules and local policies and agreements relating to educational practices with the exception of those that affect health, safety or constitutional rights under state or federal law, or the needs of students served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
The formal and informal relationships between school districts and other entities, including community colleges, four-year colleges and universities, businesses and other institutions; and
The integration of traditional services to grades K-12 with public and privately sponsored social services, such as early childhood education, day care, and assistance for teenage parents and other at-risk youth.

Under ORS 329.585, school districts can now submit proposals for modifications concerning:

non-graded programs,
student contact hours,
integrated health and social services at the school site,
traditional methods of delivering and monitoring instruction,
inclusion of special need populations,
teacher team assignments to students,
public school choice plans,
tech prep programs,
integrating technology,
increasing parent involvement at the school site, and
restructured middle school programs.

What has been Learned from the Waiver Process

A summary of Annual Reports compiled on participating schools in October 1994 indicates the following preliminary findings:

During the first year that a school is involved in the waiver process, activities focus primarily on professional development and research.
The most common requests for waivers during the initial stages of restructuring relate to changes in assignment of staff, use of time and scheduling of school days.
Student learning outcomes have been initially measured in terms of student behaviors and program completion. During the past year, there has been a shift to reporting student progress on performance assessment measures and most schools cite results from state wide assessments.
Schools measure overall progress in terms of implementation, participation and completion of activities.
Most schools have reported unanticipated and positive outcomes in terms of changes in attitudes, support and community response.

Promoting Bottom-up Reform: Waivers, Modifications

**Linking the National to the Local Level**
Goals 2000	State Level	Local Level
"...ensuring that comprehensive, systemic reform is promoted from the bottom up in communities, local educational agencies and schools, including...facilitating the provision of waivers from State rules and regulations that impede the ability of local educational agencies or schools to carry out local improvement plans." Section 306, Subsection (h)	1989, Oregon State Legislature passed, the 21st Century School Program authorizing the State Board of Education to waive state laws, rules and local policies to promote educational flexibility, restructuring and accountability needed to implement school improvement plans developed by the school site council	46 school districts have been granted waivers

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[Program Improvement, Accountability and Regular Review]

[Original Table of Contents]