(1) As used in this section, ‘approved recovery school’ means a school that is under an agreement with the Department of Education to provide students enrolled in the school with a holistic approach to:

(a) Educational services for grades 9 through 12; and

(b) Health care services related to recovery from substance use disorders.

(2) The department shall provide or cause to be provided appropriate education for students enrolled in an approved recovery school. For the purpose of paying the costs of providing education to students enrolled in an approved recovery school, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall make the following:

(a) Payments from amounts available from the State School Fund under ORS § 327.029.

(b) Payments from the Statewide Education Initiatives Account, as provided by rule adopted by the State Board of Education in collaboration with the advisory committee convened under ORS § 336.685. The rules adopted as provided by this paragraph may include a minimum amount, a maximum amount or both for approved recovery schools.

(3) The Superintendent of Public Instruction may contract with a school district, an education service district or a public charter school to provide or cause to be provided appropriate education to students enrolled in an approved recovery school. Unless otherwise specified, any educational services provided under a contract entered into under this subsection shall be paid as described in this section and not by any other state moneys distributed based on average daily membership that are available to the school district, education service district or public charter school for the purpose of providing educational services.

(4) The State Board of Education shall adopt by rule the standards for a recovery school to become and operate as an approved recovery school. The standards must provide that:

(a) The recovery school must align, to the extent identified by the board, with standards for accreditation established by a nonprofit accrediting organization composed of representatives of recovery schools and individuals who support the growth of recovery schools. The standards must include requirements that:

(A) The recovery school, in compliance with timelines established by the department, be accredited by a nonprofit accrediting organization that establishes standards for recovery schools. Nothing in this subparagraph requires the recovery school to be accredited at the time the superintendent first enters into a contract with the recovery school.

(B) Student enrollment in the recovery school is voluntary. No school district or state or local agency may compel or otherwise require a student to enroll in a recovery school. Students enrolled in an approved recovery school may not be counted in determining the number of pupils in average daily membership for purposes of ORS § 334.175 (5).

(C) All students who reside in this state and who meet the eligibility criteria established under subsection (8) of this section may enroll in an approved recovery school if space is available. If space is not available, the approved recovery school may prioritize for enrollment student groups identified in ORS § 327.180 (2)(b).

(D) The school district, education service district or public charter school with which the department has entered into a contract for a recovery school must agree to award high school diplomas, modified diplomas, extended diplomas and alternative certificates as provided by ORS § 329.451 and 339.877. An entity that awards high school diplomas as provided by this subparagraph:

(i) May not impose requirements for a high school diploma that are in addition to the requirements prescribed by ORS § 329.451 (2)(a) or by rule of the State Board of Education; and

(ii) Must accept any credits previously earned by students in another school or educational program in this state and apply those credits toward the requirements prescribed by ORS § 329.451 (2)(a) or by rule of the State Board of Education.

(E) Except as provided by subparagraph (F) of this paragraph, the recovery school must satisfy the same laws that apply to public charter schools under ORS § 338.115.

(F) All administrators and teachers at the recovery school must be licensed by the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission.

(b) Recovery schools will be approved, to the greatest extent practicable, in a manner that:

(A) Represents a geographic distribution across this state; and

(B) Takes into consideration the needs for services by the community in which the recovery school would be located.

(5) Any school that provides the services of a recovery school may enter into a contract with the superintendent to become an approved recovery school, including schools already providing the services of a recovery school and schools that are proposing to provide the services of a recovery school.

(6) An approved recovery school may enter into agreements with other entities, including community-based organizations and federally recognized tribes of this state, for the purposes of providing educational and health care services to students enrolled in the approved recovery school.

(7)(a) The department shall be responsible for:

(A) Identifying, locating and evaluating students enrolled in an approved recovery school who may be in need of special education and related services; and

(B) Ensuring that eligible students receive special education and related services.

(b) For the purpose of this subsection, the department may enter into a contract with a school district or an education service district.

(8) The department shall establish eligibility criteria for students to enroll in an approved recovery school, based on input from the advisory committee convened under ORS § 336.685 and based on research from a nonprofit organization composed of representatives of recovery schools and individuals who support the growth of recovery schools and other relevant organizations.

(9) For the purposes of administering this section:

(a) The State Board of Education shall adopt any necessary rules.

(b) The department shall collaborate with the Oregon Health Authority, the Youth Development Division, the Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission, the Oregon Youth Authority, the Department of Human Services and local public health and mental health authorities or providers and shall coordinate, to the greatest extent practicable, funding of services provided in relation to approved recovery schools.

(10) Each biennium, the Department of Education shall prepare a report on the progress, successes and challenges of approved recovery schools and submit that report to:

(a) The interim committees of the Legislative Assembly related to education; and

(b) The advisory committee convened under ORS § 336.685. [2023 c.513 § 1]

Sections 2 to 4, chapter 513, Oregon Laws 2023, provide:

No later than January 1, 2028, the Department of Education, in collaboration with the advisory committee convened under section 5 of this 2023 Act [336.685], shall submit the first report to the interim committees of the Legislative Assembly related to education as required by section 1 (10) of this 2023 Act [336.680 (10)]. [2023 c.513 § 2]

Notwithstanding section 1 of this 2023 Act [336.680], the Department of Education may not enter into agreements to establish:

(1) More than a total of three approved recovery schools for the 2023-2025 biennium.

(2) More than a total of six approved recovery schools for the 2025-2027 biennium.

(3) More than a total of nine approved recovery schools for the 2027-2029 biennium. [2023 c.513 § 3]

Section 3 of this 2023 Act is repealed July 1, 2029. [2023 c.513 § 4]