The Legislative Assembly finds that:

Terms Used In Oregon Statutes 327.497

  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization

(1) Within the Oregon Educational Act for the 21st Century in ORS Chapter 329 there are established goals for high academic excellence, the application of knowledge and skills to demonstrate achievement and the development of lifelong learning skills to prepare students for the ever-changing world.

(2) Education is increasingly linked to economic and social issues.

(3) The people of Oregon, through section 8, Article VIII of the Oregon Constitution, have established that the Legislative Assembly shall appropriate in each biennium a sum of money sufficient to ensure that the state’s system of public education meets the quality goals established by law. Furthermore, the people of Oregon require that the Legislative Assembly publish a report that either demonstrates that the appropriation is sufficient or identifies the reasons for the insufficiency, its extent and its impact on the ability of the state’s system of public education to meet those goals.

(4) The Quality Education Commission should be established to define the costs sufficient to meet the established quality goals for kindergarten through grade 12 public education. [2001 c.895 § 1]