Senate Bill 155 Implementation Update

In 2019, the Oregon Legislature passed and the Governor signed into law Senate Bill 155 to help ensure the safety of all K-12 students in Oregon. The purpose of this communication is to share the website and tools developed by the Oregon Department of Education to implement SB 155.   

ODE is committed to upholding our shared responsibility, along with our partner state agencies and school districts, to ensure students receive an excellent, equitable education in schools that are safe and nurturing. 

ODE Webpage for Senate Bill 155

The department’s webpage for SB 155 is called Sexual Misconduct Reporting and Investigation. There is a link to the webpage on the department’s homepage under the “Current Topics” section and the webpage is located under the “Health, Wellness and Safety” section of the Student & Families tab on the homepage.

The webpage contains information about reporting suspected sexual misconduct and requesting verification information for applicants before they are hired as school employees and for contractors, agents, and volunteers before they are brought on to provide services to an education provider. The webpage also contains links to tools that education providers can use to report suspected sexual misconduct to the department or to request verification information from the department.

Tools for Reporting Sexual Misconduct

The department has created a Sexual Misconduct Report Form that can be used to submit reports of suspected sexual misconduct that involve employees, contractors, agents, or volunteers who are not licensed with TSPC to the department. That form can be filled out online. Reports of suspected sexual misconduct must be submitted to the department via secure file transfer. 

The department also has created a Sexual Misconduct Reporting Guide that provides additional information and instructions for submitting reports of suspected sexual misconduct.

There are instructions about creating a secure file transfer to the department in the Sexual Misconduct Reporting Guide and on the webpage. A printable version of the Sexual Misconduct Report Form also is available in the Resources section of the webpage.

Tools for Requesting Verification Information

The department has created a Verification Template for education providers to use to submit requests for verification information to the department for applicants before they are hired as school employees and for contractors, agents, and volunteers before they are brought on to provide services to an education provider. The verification template must be submitted to the department via secure file transfer. Instructions for creating a secure file transfer appear in the instructions tab of the verification template and on the webpage. 

If You Need Additional Assistance

If you need additional assistance or have questions about reporting suspected sexual conduct or requesting verification information, please email the Investigations and Complaints Unit or leave a message for that unit on the Sexual Misconduct phone line at (503) 947-4227 and a member of that unit will return your call.