Oregon Governor Signs Bill Suspending ‘The 3 Rs’ For Graduation — Math, Literacy No Longer Required

Governor Kate Brown (D-OR) signed into law a “compassionate” bill that will be a recipe for disaster for countless students in her state.

According to The Oregonian, she wasn’t so keen on talking about whether or not she supported Senate Bill 744 that would suspend the requirement that high school students show proficiency in math and literacy prior to graduation for the next few years. Before Bill 744 passed, basic functioning in math, reading, and writing were considered “essential learning skills” that students had to exhibit before graduation.

Gov. Brown signed the bill into law on July 14, but it was not made public until recently “because her office did not hold a signing ceremony or issue a press release and the fact that the governor signed the bill was not entered into the legislative database until July 29, a departure from the normal practice of updating the public database the same day a bill is signed,” the article states.

In June, state lawmakers voted to approve the bill that suspended the requirements for students for three years, KATU reported. Foundations for a Better Oregon said in a statement at the time that the bill is intended to “truly reflect what every student needs to thrive in the 21st century.” Supporters of the bill insist that considering math and reading essential skills has been an unfair challenge for students who do not test well. The report said the requirement was first suspended at the start of the pandemic.

The KATU report pointed out that Republicans have come out against the bill and claim that it lowers “expectations for our kids.” But there was some bipartisan support.

Of course, you realize that the bill is about “equity” and will therefore be implemented to “help” minority students by giving them a low bar and setting them up for failure if they attempt to pursue further education.

Charles Boyle, the deputy communications director from Brown’s office, told the paper in an email that staff from the governor’s office informed legislative staffers about the bill’s signing on the day it was passed. He also said that the new standards for graduation will help benefit the state’s “Black, Latino, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, Tribal, and students of color.”
Source: Fox News

Democrats really seem to think that it’s not right to push basic literacy and numeracy standards on minority students because of “white supremacy” or something.

No, lowering the standard so that these already struggling students are destined to fail is the thing that is blatantly racist.

Unless they’re intentionally creating a non-white underclass who will have to do the menial work while the leftist, white, urban elites enjoy their positions of power and prestige while paying lip service to the “poor, oppressed minorities” who are so very, very downtrodden.

Here’s an idea, how about you just improve the literacy rate by hiring great teachers, providing assistance to get those minority students to help them meet the reading, writing, and math standards, and give poor parents options like allowing the funding to follow the student so that they can be enrolled in private schools.

Oh, is that what some parents are asking for? Would you look at that…

Boyle told the Oregonian that parents from minority communities “have advocated time and again for equitable graduation standards, along with expanded learning opportunities and supports.”

But the article notes, “Lawmakers and the governor did not pass any major expansion of learning opportunities or supports for Black, Indigenous and students of color during this year’s legislative session.”

Democrats aren’t big fans of school choice, though.

It’s almost like Democrats just use minorities and don’t really listen to them.