Increases the weight allotted for children in poverty for purposes of State School Fund distributions.

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83rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2025 Regular Session
Senate Bill 401
Sponsored by Senator GIROD (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: Sends more money to schools for students who are in poverty. (Flesch Readability Score:
80.3).
Increases the weight allotted for children in poverty for purposes of State School Fund distrib-
utions.
Declares an emergency, effective July 1, 2025.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to State School Fund adjustments for children in poverty; creating new provisions; amend-
ing ORS 286A.801, 327.013, 327.195, 327.254 and 338.157; and declaring an emergency.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1.
ORS 327.013 is amended to read:
327.013. The State School Fund distributions for school districts include the following grants:
(1) General Purpose Grant = Funding Percentage × Target Grant × District extended ADMw.
For the purpose of the calculation made under this subsection:
(a) The funding percentage shall be calculated by the Superintendent of Public Instruction to
distribute as nearly as practicable the total sum of money available for distribution.
(b) Target Grant = Statewide Target per ADMw Grant + Teacher Experience Factor. For the
purpose of the calculation made under this paragraph:
(A) Statewide Target per ADMw Grant = $4,500.
(B) Teacher Experience Factor = $25 × {District average teacher experience − statewide av-
erage teacher experience}. As used in this subparagraph, “average teacher experience” means the
average, in years, of teaching experience of licensed teachers as reported to the Department of Ed-
ucation.
(c) District extended ADMw = ADMw or ADMw of the prior year, whichever is greater. The
calculation of the district extended ADMw must be made as provided by ORS 338.155 if a public
charter school is located in the school district. For the purpose of this paragraph:
(A) Weighted average daily membership or ADMw = average daily membership + an additional
amount computed as follows:
(i) 1.0 for each student in average daily membership eligible for special education as a child with
a disability under ORS 343.035, which may not exceed 11 percent of the district’s ADM without re-
view and approval by the Department of Education. Children with disabilities eligible for special
education in adult local correctional facilities, as defined in ORS 169.005, or adult regional
correctional facilities, as defined in ORS 169.620, may not be included in the calculation made under
this sub-subparagraph.
(ii) 0.5 for each student in average daily membership eligible for and enrolled in an English
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 1453
SB 401
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language learner program under ORS 336.079.
(iii) 0.2 for each student in average daily membership enrolled in a union high school district
or in an area of a unified school district where the district is only responsible for educating students
in grades 9 through 12 in that area.
(iv) −0.1 for each student in average daily membership enrolled in an elementary district oper-
ating kindergarten through grade six or kindergarten through grade eight or in an area of a unified
school district where the district is only responsible for educating students in kindergarten through
grade eight.
(v) [ 0.25] 0.5 times [ the sum of the following: ]
[(I)] the number of students who are in average daily membership and who are also in poverty
families, as determined by the Department of Education based on rules adopted by the State Board
of Education that incorporate poverty data published by the United States Census Bureau, student
data provided by school districts and other data identified by the board[ ;].
(vi) 0.25 times the sum of the following:
[(II)] (I) The number of children in foster homes in the district as determined by the report of
the Department of Human Services to the United States Department of Education, “Annual Statis-
tical Report on Children in Foster Homes and Children in Families Receiving AFDC Payments in
Excess of the Poverty Income Level,” or its successor, for October 31 of the year prior to the year
of distribution; and
[(III) ] (II) The number of children in the district in state-recognized facilities for neglected and
delinquent children, based on information from the Department of Human Services for October 31
of the year prior to the year of distribution.
[(vi)] (vii) The amount determined under ORS 327.077 for each remote small elementary school
and for each small high school in the district.
(B) All numbers of children used for the computation in this paragraph must reflect any district
consolidations that have occurred since the numbers were compiled.
(C) The total additional weight that shall be assigned to any student in average daily member-
ship in a district, exclusive of students described in subparagraph (A)(v) [ and (vi) ] to (vii) of this
paragraph, may not exceed 2.0.
(2) High cost disabilities grant = the total amount received by a school district under ORS
327.348 for providing special education and related services to resident pupils with disabilities.
(3)(a) Transportation grant equals:
(A) 70 percent of approved transportation costs for those school districts ranked below the 80th
percentile under paragraph (b) of this subsection.
(B) 80 percent of approved transportation costs for those school districts ranked in or above the
80th percentile but below the 90th percentile under paragraph (b) of this subsection.
(C) 90 percent of approved transportation costs for those school districts ranked in or above the
90th percentile under paragraph (b) of this subsection.
(b) Each fiscal year, the Department of Education shall rank school districts based on the ap-
proved transportation costs per ADM of each school district, ranking the school district with the
highest approved transportation costs per ADM at the top of the order.
SECTION 2.
The amendments to ORS 327.013 by section 1 of this 2025 Act apply to State
School Fund distributions commencing with the 2025-2026 distributions.
SECTION 3. ORS 286A.801 is amended to read:
286A.801. (1) The Department of Education shall administer a grant program that is financed
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with the net proceeds of Article XI-P bonds and that provides matching fund grants to school dis-
tricts for capital costs of the school districts. Any construction, improvement, remodel, equipment,
maintenance or repair of a building of a school district that is financed with a grant received under
this section is not required to meet the standards specified in ORS 286A.810.
(2) A school district that seeks a grant under this section must prepare and submit a facilities
assessment and a long-range facilities plan to the department with the application for the grant.
(3) A school district is eligible to receive a grant under this section if:
(a) The school district complies with the requirements of this section and rules adopted pursuant
to this section; and
(b) Moneys are available to the school district pursuant to subsection (6) of this section.
(4) A school district that receives a grant under this section must provide matching funds that
meet or exceed the amount of the grant. The matching funds must be from general obligation bonds
approved by the voters of the school district to finance capital costs of the school district.
(5) Grants awarded under this section shall be calculated as follows, subject to subsection (8)
of this section:
(a) For a school district that provides matching funds in any amount up to $6 million, a match-
ing ratio for state to local funds of one to one.
(b) For a school district that provides matching funds in any amount greater than $6 million, a
matching ratio for state to local funds that is based on the funding formula developed as provided
in subsection (7)(c) of this section. Grants awarded under this paragraph shall be for a minimum of
$6 million per grant and a maximum of $12 million per grant.
(6)(a) The department shall award grants to school districts as follows:
(A) Sixty-six percent of funds available for grants shall be based on the priority list established
under subsection (7)(b) of this section; and
(B) Thirty-four percent of funds available for grants shall be provided to school districts based
on the order in which the Department of Education receives the completed applications for the
grants.
(b) To the extent that moneys are available, a school district that receives moneys as provided
by paragraph (a)(A) of this subsection also may receive moneys as provided by paragraph (a)(B) of
this subsection. The total amount the school district receives may not exceed the maximum amount
allowed under subsection (5) of this section.
(7)(a) For the purpose of awarding grants under this section, the department shall develop a
priority list and a funding formula that are based on factors that may include:
(A) The total assessed value of all tangible property located in the school district;
(B) The percentage of poverty families within the school district, as calculated under ORS
327.013 [(1)(c)(A)(v)(I) ] (1)(c)(A)(v) ;
(C) The number of students in average daily membership for the school district, as calculated
under ORS 327.061; and
(D) Other factors adopted by the State Board of Education by rule.
(b) The priority list developed under this subsection shall be used to rank the order in which
school districts may qualify to receive a grant under subsection (6)(a)(A) of this section.
(c) The funding formula developed under this subsection shall be used to determine the matching
ratio for state to local funds. The funding formula must comply with the limits described in sub-
section (5) of this section.
(8) To account for effects of inflation, the State Board of Education shall, by rule, biennially
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adjust the dollar amounts specified in subsection (5) of this section based on the Consumer Price
Index for All Urban Consumers, West Region (All Items), as published by the Bureau of Labor Sta-
tistics of the United States Department of Labor.
(9) The State Board of Education may adopt any rules necessary for the administration of this
section.
SECTION 4.
ORS 327.195 is amended to read:
327.195. (1)(a) Except as provided by paragraph (d) of this subsection, the amount of a grant
awarded from the Student Investment Account = the grant recipient’s ADMw × (the total amount
available for distribution as grants in each biennium ÷ the total ADMw of all grant recipients).
(b) For purposes of this subsection and except as provided by paragraph (c) of this subsection,
ADMw equals:
(A) For school districts, the ADMw as calculated under ORS 327.013[ , except that the additional
amount allowed for students who are in poverty families, as determined under ORS 327.013
(1)(c)(A)(v)(I), shall be 0.5 ].
(B) For an educational program under the Youth Corrections Education Program or the Juvenile
Detention Education Program, as provided in ORS 327.026.
(c) When calculating ADMw for a school district, the Department of Education shall remove
from the calculation any amounts that are attributable to:
(A) A virtual public charter school, as defined in ORS 338.005;
(B) A public charter school that provided notice of the public charter school’s intent to apply
for a grant as an eligible applicant; and
(C) A public charter school sponsored by, or located within, the school district that did not
participate in the grant application or grant agreement.
(d) The amount of a grant distributed under this section may be adjusted by the department to
ensure that:
(A) A grant recipient does not receive any moneys for uses that are not allowed uses under ORS
327.180 (3).
(B) A school district with an ADMw of 50 or less receives a minimum grant amount.
(C) Each site of the Youth Corrections Education Program and the Juvenile Detention Educa-
tion Program receives a grant amount that is no less than the minimum grant amount provided to
a school district under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph.
(2) The State Board of Education shall adopt any rules necessary for the distribution of grants
under this section, including establishing:
(a) The minimum grant amounts under subsection (1)(d) of this section; and
(b) Any percentages and timelines for installment payments and adjustments of those installment
payments.
(3) A grant recipient shall deposit the grant moneys the grant recipient receives under this
section into a separate account and shall apply amounts in that account as provided by the grant
agreement.
SECTION 5.
ORS 327.254, as amended by section 25, chapter 95, Oregon Laws 2024, is amended
to read:
327.254. (1) The Department of Education shall use moneys in the Statewide Education Initi-
atives Account to provide funding for statewide education initiatives, including:
(a) Funding the High School Graduation and College and Career Readiness Act at the levels
prescribed by ORS 327.856;
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(b) Expanding school breakfast and lunch programs;
(c) Operating youth reengagement programs or providing youth reengagement services;
(d) Establishing and maintaining the Statewide School Safety and Prevention System under ORS
339.341;
(e) Developing and providing statewide equity initiatives, including any statewide education plan
developed and implemented by the department;
(f) Providing summer learning programs at schools that are considered high poverty under Title
I of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965;
(g) Funding early warning systems to assist students in graduating from high school, as de-
scribed in ORS 327.367;
(h) Developing and implementing professional development programs and training programs, in-
cluding programs that increase educator diversity and retain diverse educators;
(i) Planning for increased transparency and accountability in the public education system of this
state;
(j) Providing additional funding to school districts participating in the intensive program under
ORS 327.222;
(k) Providing technical assistance, including costs incurred for:
(A) The coaching program described in ORS 327.214; and
(B) The intensive program described in ORS 327.222, including costs for student success teams;
(L) Funding public charter schools, as described in ORS 327.362;
(m) Funding the Early Literacy Success School Grant program, as provided by ORS 327.833;
(n) Funding the Early Literacy Success Community Grant program, as established by ORS
327.843;
(o) Funding any additional amounts for approved recovery schools, as provided by rules of the
State Board of Education adopted under ORS 327.029;
(p) Funding education service districts, as described in subsection (2) of this section;
(q) Funding the Youth Corrections Education Program and the Juvenile Detention Education
Program through the Juvenile Justice Education Fund established under section 22, chapter 95,
Oregon Laws 2024, when necessary as provided by section 23, chapter 95, Oregon Laws 2024; and
(r) Funding costs incurred by the department in implementing this section and ORS 327.175 to
327.235 and 327.274.
(2)(a) The amount of a distribution to an education service district under this section shall be
made as provided by paragraph (b) of this subsection after calculating the following for each edu-
cation service district:
(A) One percent of the total amount available for distribution to education service districts in
each biennium.
(B) The education service district’s ADMw × (the total amount available for distribution to
education service districts in each biennium ÷ the total ADMw of all education service districts
that receive a distribution).
(b) The amount of the distribution to an education service district shall be the greater of the
amounts calculated under paragraph (a) of this subsection, except that, for distributions made as
provided by paragraph (a)(B) of this subsection, the total amount available for distribution to edu-
cation service districts shall be the amount remaining after any distributions required under para-
graph (a)(A) of this subsection have been made.
(c) For purposes of this subsection, ADMw equals the ADMw as calculated under ORS
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327.013[, except that the additional amount allowed for students who are in poverty families, as deter-
mined under ORS 327.013 (1)(c)(A)(v)(I), shall be 0.5 ].
(d) An education service district shall use moneys received under this section as provided by a
plan developed by the school districts located within the education service district. A school district
that declines to participate in the development of the plan or that has withdrawn from an education
service district as provided by ORS 334.015 is not entitled to any moneys distributed to the educa-
tion service district under this subsection.
(e) A plan developed under this subsection must:
(A) Align with and support the meeting of performance growth targets established for recipients
of moneys under ORS 327.195 that are located within the education service district;
(B) Include the provision, to recipients of moneys under ORS 327.195 that are located within the
education service district, of technical assistance in developing, implementing and reviewing a plan
for receiving a grant from the Student Investment Account;
(C) Provide for coordination with the department in administering and providing technical as-
sistance to recipients of moneys under ORS 327.195 that are located within the education service
district, including coordinating any coaching programs established under ORS 327.214; and
(D) Be adopted and amended as provided for local service plans under ORS 334.175 and approved
by the department.
(f) For the purposes of paragraph (e) of this subsection, recipients of moneys under ORS 327.195
that are located within the education service district include, as applicable:
(A) Common school districts and union high school districts;
(B) Any charter school that is an eligible applicant, as defined in ORS 327.185; and
(C) The Youth Corrections Education Program or the Juvenile Detention Education Program.
(g) Each education service district must submit an annual report to the department that:
(A) Describes how the education service district spent moneys received under this subsection;
and
(B) Includes an evaluation of the education service district’s compliance with the plan from the
superintendent of each school district that participated in the development of the plan.
(3) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules necessary for the distribution of moneys un-
der this section.
SECTION 6.
ORS 338.157 is amended to read:
338.157. For purposes of calculating the weighted average daily membership (ADMw) of a public
charter school, it shall be assumed that the public charter school has the same percentage of chil-
dren in poverty families, as calculated under ORS 327.013 [ (1)(c)(A)(v)(I) ] (1)(c)(A)(v) , as the school
district in which the public charter school is located. Based on this percentage, an additional
amount shall be added to the average daily membership (ADM) of the public charter school.
SECTION 7. 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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