March 2026 - Inside this Issue
In this month’s message, you’ll find information about:
- Charter School Office Hours for March and April 2026
- Interim Assessment Requirement - SB 141 (2025) Information for Charter Schools
- March Civil Rights Webinar Series - Preventing Discrimination in Schools
- Virtual Schools Community of Practice for English Language Learners
- EVE Workforce Survey
- Highlighted Resources for the Month
 Charter School Office Hours
You are invited to join us every second Wednesday of the 2025-2026 school year at 10 a.m. for Charter School Office Hours.
We will use these meetings to provide critical updates to charter school leaders and provide school leaders the opportunity to learn from each other.
The next meeting is Wednesday, March 11th, 2025 from 10:00 am - 11:00 am.
Please register if you plan to attend.
Next month’s meeting will take place on Wednesday, April 8th, 2025 from 10:00am - 11:00am.
We will be joined by Nole Kennedy, Student Wellness and Safety Specialist, who will discuss Adi’s Act and Suicide Prevention Implementation. More from Nole below:
This session will focus on suicide prevention legislation and implementation in Oregon schools, and will provide an overview of Adi’s Act, including background, requirements, and practical guidance applicable to the charter school context.
Participants will explore best practices for suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention in schools; learn about available tools and ready-to-use resources; and review staff training opportunities that support compliance and strengthen school-wide prevention efforts. The session will conclude with time for questions and discussion to address the unique structures and needs of charter schools.
Whether you are refining an existing plan or just getting started, this session is designed to support your team in building clear, consistent, and student-centered suicide prevention practices.
If you would like to hear from a specific team on a particular topic for this school year, please don’t hesitate to let us know so we can arrange a lineup of future guest speakers.
Interim Assessment Requirement - SB 141 (2025) Information for Charter Schools
We are writing to share important information regarding the Oregon Education Accountability Act (Sections 24 & 25, SB 141, 2025), which includes a new requirement for districts and public charter schools serving students in Grades K–8.
Under this law, districts and public charter schools are required to administer interim tests three times per year in Language Arts and Mathematics from the list approved by the Oregon State Board of Education.
At its February 19, 2026 meeting, the Board finalized the following approved interim test options:
- i-Ready (Curriculum Associates)
- MAP (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
- Oregon State Assessment System Interims (Cambium & Smarter Balanced)
- Star (Renaissance)
Charter schools serving Grades K–8 will need to select from this list of approved tests for Language Arts and Math. It’s important to note that charter schools may select and administer interim tests from this list that are different from their sponsoring school district unless otherwise agreed upon by the charter school or as required in the charter contract. We encourage charter school leaders to review their current assessment systems and begin planning, as needed, to ensure alignment with the approved list.
Additional guidance and implementation support will be shared in the coming days to assist with next steps.
If you have questions, please reach out to the Office of RADAR. We appreciate your partnership and your continued dedication to supporting Oregon’s students.
March Civil Rights Webinar Series: Preventing Discrimination in Schools
Description: Participants will learn about:
- Models of prevention
- Oregon initiatives that help prevent discrimination in schools
- Best practices in preventing discrimination
Webinars are open to the public and not recorded. Registration capacity is limited. Once the webinar is full, registration will be closed. If you are unable to attend, please cancel your registration. Contact ODE.CivilRights@ode.oregon.gov with any questions.
Register: Wednesday, March 11, 2026; 12:00-1:00 PM
Audience: Open to all. This webinar content will be particularly of interest to members of the Oregon K-12 school community, including school staff and families, but anyone who would like to learn about civil rights is welcome to attend.
Virtual Schools Community of Practice for English Language Learners
Have you been looking for a way to connect with other virtual school leaders about English language development strategies that work for English learners? We are beginning a community of practice that focuses on upholding students’ linguistic learning rights by providing language development opportunities that work.
Join us to learn how schools across Oregon assure growth in all 4 language domains as required by law and help us create an innovative community that moves language forward for our students to succeed.
Our first Virtual ELD Community of Practice will happen on March 18th from 3 to 4:30.
We'll begin with an overview of topics to be explored monthly by the community. There will also be an opportunity to give input on what virtual schools need to be successful with language learning.
If you are interested, email Myrna Munoz at Myrna.Munoz@ode.oregon.gov for more information.
Elevating Voices in Education (EVE) Workforce Survey
All Public Education Providers are required to provide staff with an opportunity to participate in the EVE Workforce Survey. (ORS 342.676)
The EVE Workforce Survey is an anonymous and confidential survey designed to gather insights from the public education workforce about their workplace experiences in order to supply actionable information to the state and districts.
The law requires all licensed, classified, and contracted staff members to be informed of and provided an opportunity to complete the EVE Workforce Survey, but staff participation in the EVE Survey is voluntary.
The survey will be open from February 2 - March 31, 2026.
The following materials are designed to help you communicate to licensed, classified, and contract staff about the survey.
If you have any questions about accessing or completing the survey, please visit the EVE Workforce Survey website or contact ODE.edstaffsurvey@ode.oregon.gov
Highlighted Resources for the Month
 |
|
Christen Kelly
Charter School Specialist
School Choice, Options, and Recovery Education
E-mail: christen.kelly@ode.oregon.gov
Phone: 503-931-5976 (text preferred to schedule call) |
|
