The debate in Oregon regarding the rights and responsibilities of parents in providing their children's education dates back nearly 80 years. In 1925, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down a 1922 Oregon law that required all children to attend public schools. Writing for the Court, Justice James C. McReynolds declared: "[W]e think it entirely plain that the Act of 1922 unreasonably interferes with the liberty of parents and guardians to direct the upbringing and education of children under their control.... The child is not the mere creature of the state; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations."[1]

In 1990, by a margin of 2 to 1, the voters rejected an initiative known as Measure 11, which would have given parents a tax credit worth up to $2,500 either to send their children to the public or private school of choice or to pay for home schooling. The initiative, introduced by a grassroots parent organization, Oregonians for School Choice, also would have mandated interdistrict public school choice.[2]

In 1997, the Oregon School Choice Task Force initiated House Joint Resolution 33, a resolution to put a school choice referendum on the ballot. Had it passed, it would have allowed voters to amend the state constitution to allow parents to use state funds to send their children to public, private, or religious schools of choice. The bill died in committee.[3]

In 1999, the House Education Committee approved House Bill 2597, which would have provided tax credits for contributions to K-12 public school foundations or private school scholarship foundations. Individuals, joint filers, and corporations would have received tax credits of up to $250, $500, and $1,000, respectively. The bill was approved by the House Education Committee on April 21 but made no further progress.[4]

Efforts to pass a charter school bill failed in 1995 and 1997, but in May 1999, then-Governor John Kitzhaber signed Senate Bill 100, Oregon's charter school law. The law allows both new charter schools and conversions from existing public schools.[5] Local boards may charter schools, and rejected charter applicants may appeal to the Oregon State Board of Education. Charters are granted for five-year periods. Charter elementary schools and middle schools receive 80 percent of the district's average per student funding, and high schools receive 95 percent.[6] In 1999, Governor Kitzhaber also signed H.B. 2550, requiring that half of the teachers in charter schools be state-certified.[7]

In 1998, Portland became one of 40 Children's Scholarship Fund (CSF) "partner cities." The CSF is a $100 million foundation that matches money raised by Portland residents to fund scholarships that enable low-income students to attend a school of choice.[8]

In May 2000, the Portland school board rejected a charter proposal from a school that desired to contract with a for-profit charter management company, arguing that the state charter law did not allow for such an arrangement.[9] In September 2000, the Oregon Attorney General overruled the Portland school board and affirmed the right of charter schools to contract with a for-profit management firm.[10]

In 2000, opponents of the charter school law obtained fewer than half of the 66,286 signatures needed to place a repeal initiative on the November ballot.[11]

In 2001, a proposal (H.J.R. 2) was introduced that would have amended the state constitution to allow the legislature to enact legislation creating tax credits or deductions for contributions to education investment accounts and for the costs of tuition and fees at public or private schools. The resolution would have required a vote by the public in the next general election.[12] Another bill (H.B. 2091) would have provided tax deductions for contributions to education investment accounts and would have made interest on such accounts tax-free. Parents would have been able to make withdrawals on their accounts for expenses associated with public K-12 education, higher education, and home schooling.[13] Both H.J.R. 2 and H.B. 2091 died in committee.

At the beginning of the 2003 session, House Joint Resolution 7 was introduced to provide tax credits for tuition expenses or contributions to education investment accounts. The bill remained in the House Committee on Rules and Public Affairs until adjournment.[14]

Senate Bill 761 was also introduced in 2003 to ease restrictions on home-school students. S.B. 761, which was passed in the Senate by a vote of 20 to 9 in April and approved by the House 34 to 25 on May 29. Under this bill, parents would not have to alert state officials of their intent to homeschool, and testing requirements for home-school students would be removed.[15] Governor Ted Kulongoksi vetoed the bill in June2003.[16]

In late May 2005, Senator Richard Devlin (D-Tualatin) introduced S.B. 1071, that which would create the "Oregon Virtual School District" and provide $2 million in startup costs for the project. In this initiative, the state Department of Education would contract with private virtual school programs to make selected courses, such as AP courses, available to students in smaller districts.[17] In August the bill passed the House (40-19, with 1 not voting) and the Senate (20-10), and Gov. Kulongoski signed the bill into law on September 2, 2005.