School board authority in Oregon

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Oregon state law makes school boards responsible for governing and managing public school districts in the state. This article details the powers and duties Oregon law grants to school boards for governing school districts and the constraints on that authority with regard to certain topics.

HIGHLIGHTS

Oregon law requires that schools teach respect for parents and the home as part of their curriculum.

Oregon is one of five states with laws or policies encouraging school boards to pass policies limiting cellphone use for their districts.

School boards in Oregon are allowed to expand public school choice by contracting with other districts.

Oregon school boards are authorized to remove books from school libraries, though state law prohibits their removal on the basis that the library materials include a perspective, study or story of, or are created by, any individual or group against whom discrimination is prohibited under state law.

Types of legal and contractual constraints on school board authority

See also: Local school board authority across the 50 states

This page presents the results from Ballotpedia research on school board authority and constraints on that authority in all 50 states as of 2024. School board authority comes from state constitutions and state statutes and can be interpreted or specified by state regulations or court decisions. In addition to authority over district budgets, the selection of a superintendent, and administrative responsibilities, school boards have varying levels of authority over district policy on other topics depending on the state and district.

There are several sources of legal and contractual constraints on school board policy-making authority which also vary by state or by district.

• State laws commonly restrict or mandate school board policies on certain topics.
  • Parents' Bills of Rights, which at least 26 states have in statute to some degree, limit the policies school boards are allowed to pass.
• State rules, guidance, and funding incentives can constrain, mandate, or influence school board policies. These include regulation from state education commissions and superintendents, executive orders from governors, or grant conditions.
• Federal and state court rulings can dictate whether or not school district policies are compatible with state law or federal law.
• The federal government, largely through its Department of Education, can promulgate regulations or guidance that influence district policy or make funding contingent on certain policies.
• Collective bargaining agreements between school districts and teacher unions can create contractual constraints on the policies school boards can pass.
• State school board associations can influence school board policy or, in some cases. enter into contracts with school boards that can limit school board policy.

This page features the following sections:

• Oregon law on school boards' authority over district policy. This section features the statutes in Oregon law that establish, enable, or define local school district boards.
• Constraints on Oregon school boards' authority. This section provides an overview of constraints on the school boards' authority in Oregon. It contains information on the constraints by the following topics:
  • Curriculum requirements
  • Curriculum restrictions
  • Book bans, removals, and restrictions
  • Parental notification
  • Discipline
  • School board elections
  • Public school choice and open enrollment
  • Charter schools
  • Cellphone bans
• Collective bargaining agreements
• Parents' bill of rights
• How does Oregon compare to other states?
• Noteworthy Events. This section tracks noteworthy events related to school boards' authority in Oregon.

School board authority over district policy in Oregon

Enabling or authorizing statute for the boards of school districts in Oregon

See also: Enabling statute

Oregon Statute OR Rev Stat § 332.072 creates school district boards and gives them authority to operate according to state law:

“ All school districts are bodies corporate, and the district school board is authorized to transact all business coming within the jurisdiction of the district and to sue and be sued. Pursuant to law, district school boards have control of the district schools and are responsible for educating children residing in the district. ”

Oregon school boards' powers and duties

Oregon public school boards of directors are given 9 specific duties or powers to administer the public schools in Oregon. In addition to budget-related and fiscal duties, school property and facilities management, and administrative responsibilities, the specific powers and duties include

• Adopt textbooks, instructional materials, and courses of study as prescribed by state law.
• Develop and operate secondary career and technical education programs in partnership with other districts or community colleges.

The list of powers and duties school district boards are charged with appears in OR Rev Stat § 332.075 and are as follows:

“ (1) Any district school board may: (a) Fix the days of the year and the hours of the day when schools shall be in session. (b) Adopt textbooks and other instructional materials as provided in ORS 337.120 and 337.141 and courses of study for the use of such schools as provided in ORS 336.035. (c) Authorize the use of the schools for purposes of training students of an approved educator preparation provider, as defined in ORS 342.120, and for such purposes may enter into contracts with the approved educator preparation provider on such terms as may be agreed upon. Such contracts as they relate to student teachers shall have the same effect and be subject to the same regulations as a contract between a licensed teacher and a district school board. (d) Develop and operate with other school districts or community college districts secondary career and technical education programs for pupils of more than one district and fix by agreement the duration of the district’s obligation to continue such activity, subject to the availability of funds therefor. (e) Authorize the school district to be a member of and pay fees, if any, to any voluntary organization that administers interscholastic activities or that facilitates the scheduling and programming of interscholastic activities only if the organization: (A) Implements equity focused policies that: (i) Address the use of derogatory or inappropriate names, insults, verbal assaults, profanity or ridicule that occurs at an interscholastic activity, including by spectators of the interscholastic activity; (ii) Prohibit discrimination as defined in ORS 659.850; (iii) Permit a student to wear religious clothing in accordance with the student’s sincerely held religious belief and consistent with any safety and health requirements; and (iv) Balance the health, safety and reasonable accommodation needs of participants on an activity-by-activity basis; (B) Maintains a transparent complaint process that: (i) Has a reporting system to allow participants of interscholastic activities or members of the public to make complaints about student, coach or spectator behavior; (ii) Responds to a complaint made under sub-subparagraph (i) of this subparagraph within 48 hours of the complaint being received; and (iii) Strives to resolve a complaint received under sub-subparagraph (i) of this subparagraph within 30 days of the complaint being received; (C) Develops and implements a system of sanctions against schools, students, coaches and spectators if a complaint made under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph is verified; and (D) Performs an annual survey of students and their parents to understand and respond to potential violations of equity focused policies adopted under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph or violations of ORS 659.850. (f) Accept money or property donated for the use or benefit of the school district and, consistent with the laws of this state, use such money or property for the purpose for which it was donated. (g) Enter into an approved written agreement with the governing body of a federally recognized Native American tribe in Oregon to allow the use of a mascot that represents, is associated with or is significant to the Native American tribe entering into the agreement. An agreement entered into under this paragraph must: (A) Describe the acceptable uses of the mascot; (B) Comply with rules adopted by the State Board of Education that: (i) Are adopted after consultation with the federally recognized tribes in Oregon pursuant to ORS 182.164 (3); and (ii) Prescribe the requirements for approval; and (C) Be approved by the State Board of Education, which the board must provide if the agreement meets the requirements of this paragraph and the rules adopted under this paragraph. (2) All contracts of the school district must be approved by the district school board before an order can be drawn for payment. If a contract is made without the authority of the district school board, the individual making such contract shall be personally liable. (3) Notwithstanding subsection (2) of this section, a district school board may, by resolution or policy, authorize its superintendent or the superintendent’s designee to enter into and approve payment on contracts for products, materials, supplies, capital outlay, equipment and services that are within appropriations made by the district school board pursuant to ORS 294.456. A district school board may not authorize its superintendent or the superintendent’s designee under this subsection to enter into and approve payment on contracts that are collective bargaining agreements or service contracts that include the provision of labor performed by employees of the school district. ”

Constraints on Oregon school boards' authority by topic

This section features constraints on Oregon school boards' authority on policies related to the following topics:

• Curriculum requirements
• Curriculum restrictions
• Book bans, removals, and restrictions
• Parental notification
• Discipline
• School board elections
• Public school choice and open enrollment
• Charter schools
• Cellphone bans

Curriculum requirements

Oregon requires the following specific topics to be included in each district's curriculum:

• The U.S. Constitution and history of the U.S.
• Child sexual abuse prevention
• Instruction in honesty, morality, courtesy, obedience to law
• Respect for the national flag
• The Constitution of the U.S. and the Constitution of the state of Oregon
• Respect for parents and the home
• The dignity and necessity of honest labor and other lessons that tend to promote and develop an upright and desirable citizenry
• Respect for all humans regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, age, sex or disability
• Acknowledgment of the dignity and worth of individuals and groups and their participative roles in society
• Humane treatment of animals
• Effects of tobacco, alcohol, drugs, and controlled substances on the human system
• Human sexuality
• CPR and the uses of automated external defibrillators for grades 7-12
• Oral health
• Instruction on organ and tissue donation for grades 9-12
• Climate change

Curriculum restrictions

Ballotpedia could not identify any curricular content prohibited by state statutes, regulations, case law, or collective bargaining agreements.

Federal law and guidance

Federal executive orders:

President Donald Trump (R) issued an executive order (E.O.) on January 29, 2025, entitled Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling, prohibiting federal funding that directly or indirectly facilitates K-12 instruction regarding what the bill calls gender or equity ideology. It directs federal executive agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education, to create a plan to relinquish federal funds from school or teacher certification programs that include what the E.O. called gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology. The order defined discriminatory equity ideology as ideology that treats individuals as members of preferred or disfavored groups rather than as individuals and minimizes agency, merit, and capability in favor of immoral generalizations.

Book bans, removals, and restrictions

Oregon school boards have the authority to remove books from school libraries. Oregon law grants school boards the authority to select and manage instructional materials and library resources, which includes the ability to remove books that do not align with district standards or educational objectives. However, state law prohibits the removal of books on the basis that the library materials include a perspective, study or story of, or are created by, any individual or group against whom discrimination is prohibited under Oregon law.

Case law:
The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed local school boards' authority to remove school books in Island Trees Sch. Dist. v. Pico by Pico in 1982 but held that school library books are distinct from curricular books, which school boards have more authority to regulate. The ruling held that school boards are charged with inculcating community values and may make curricular decisions accordingly. In Zykan v. Warsaw Community School Corp. in 1980, the Supreme Court held that school boards had discretionary power over curriculum, textbooks, and other educational matters but could not impose religious creeds or "permanently the student’s ability to investigate matters that arise in the natural course of intellectual inquiry,” according to the opinion.

Federal guidance

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights rescinded all guidance against the removal of books and no longer employed a coordinator to investigate local district book removals as of January 24, 2025. The Department said they believed removing books from school libraries was a question of parental and community judgment, not civil rights, and that the office had no role as it related to book removal.

Parental notification

Oregon requires parental notification on the following topics:

• unplanned absences

Case law: The United States Supreme Court ruled in Mahmoud v. Taylor on June 27, 2025, that Montgomery County Board of Education's introduction of LGBTQ+ related storybooks, along with its decision to withhold opt outs, placed an unconstitutional burden on the parents’ rights to the free exercise of their religion.

Discipline

See also: How does Oregon compare to other states on school board authority over disciplinary policy?

Oregon is one of 47 states that gives school boards authority over district disciplinary policy.

The text of OR Rev Stat § 339.240 is as follows:

“ (1) The State Board of Education in accordance with ORS chapter 183 shall adopt rules setting minimum standards for pupil conduct and discipline and for rights and procedures pertaining thereto that are consistent with orderly operation of the educational processes and with fair hearing requirements. The rules shall be distributed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction to all school districts. (2) Every district school board shall adopt and attempt to give the widest possible distribution of copies of reasonable written rules regarding pupil conduct, discipline and rights and procedures pertaining thereto. Such rules must comply with minimum standards adopted by the State Board of Education under subsection (1) of this section. (3) Every district school board shall enforce consistently and fairly its written rules regarding pupil conduct, discipline and rights. This subsection does not apply to a pupil who is eligible for special education as a child with a disability under ORS 343.035. ”

Federal guidance

President Donald Trump (R) issued an Executive Order (E.O.) titled Reinstating Common Sense School Discipline Policies on April 23, 2025, that required the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Attorney General, to issue guidance local educational agencies (LEAs) and State educational agencies (SEAs) regarding "school discipline and their obligations not to engage in racial discrimination under Title VI in all contexts, including school discipline," according to the order. The first Trump administration rescinded guidance issued in 2014 under the Obama administration that suggested that higher rates of discipline for racial minorities could be evidence of discrimination and could cause schools to lose federal funding. Trump's 2025 E.O. argued that the guidance "effectively required schools to discriminate on the basis of race by imposing discipline based on racial characteristics, rather than on objective behavior alone." Though the guidance was rescinded in 2018, the U.S. Department of Education continued to collect data regarding the racial breakdown of disciplinary actions taken across the country. Trump's 2025 E.O. prohibits schools from engaging in what it called racial discrimination in the application of school discipline.

School board elections

See also: Rules governing school board election dates and timing in Oregon, How does Oregon compare to other states on school board authority over election timing?

Oregon is one of 42 states in which school boards do not have authority over the timing of school board elections because state or municipal laws determine school board election dates.

Click here to read about the laws governing school board elections in Oregon.

Public school choice and open enrollment

See also: School choice in Oregon

Oregon state law allows district school boards to voluntarily contract with other district school boards for the admission of pupils, with the contract required to be in writing on forms provided by the Department of Education, and expenses incurred to be paid from the school funds of the sending district for nonresident pupils:

“ (1) The district school board may contract with the district school board of any other district for the admission of pupils in schools of the other district. The contract shall be in writing upon forms furnished by the Department of Education. Expense incurred shall be paid out of the school funds of the district sending such pupils. If the district sending the pupils fails to pay the expense so incurred according to the terms of the contract, the administrative office for the county containing such school disoltrict, after satisfactory proof of such failure, shall deduct the amount of the unpaid expense from the amount due the school district at the next regular apportionment. The county treasurer shall pay the amount of the reduced apportionment out of the county school fund. (2) In case the school district sending the pupils is a joint district, jurisdiction shall be exercised by the administrative office for the county in which the most populous part of such district is situated, according to the latest school census. The office’s action in the matter is final. ”

Charter schools

See also: Charter schools in Oregon, How does Oregon compare to other states on school board authority over charter schools?

Oregon is one of 36 states that grant school boards at least some authority over whether charter schools are issued in their district.

A charter school may be sponsored by either the school district board or the State Board of Education.

“ (4) An applicant seeking to establish a public charter school shall submit a proposal pursuant to ORS 338.045 to the school district board of the school district within which the public charter school will be located by the date identified by the school district board. The school district board shall identify a date that is at least 180 days prior to the date on which the public charter school would begin operating and that provides a reasonable period of time for the school district board to complete the approval process described in ORS 338.055 and for the public charter school to begin operating by the beginning of a school year. An applicant may consult with the school district board prior to submitting a proposal, and the school district board may require an applicant to submit a letter of intent within a reasonable period of time prior to submitting a proposal. ”

Cellphone bans

See also: How does Oregon compare to other states on cellphone laws?

Oregon is one of 26 states with state laws or executive orders prohibiting or limiting cell phones in classrooms and/or schools, including through requiring school boards to pass certain policies. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek (D) issued an executive order on July 2, 2025, requiring school districts to adopt a policy prohibiting cellphone use in K-12 classrooms by October 31, 2025, to take effect by January 1, 2026. The policies must include exceptions for students with individualized health or education plans. 

Collective bargaining agreements

Teacher union collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) can constrain school board authority. Teacher CBAs are agreements between a school district and a teachers’ union to establish rights and other contract details for public school employees. CBAs do not have the force of law, but are contractually binding for a set period of time. Within the time set out in the agreement, the school board must comply with the stipulations that were agreed to in the contract. In this way, CBAs can constrain school board authority by giving teachers authority over curriculum, prohibiting school boards from banning books, and establishing certain student or parental rights. They can also determine rights and protections for educators, and conditions for students (such as required recess periods or the amount of standardized testing), among other provisions.

CBAs vary greatly within and across states in size, topics covered, and constraints they put on school boards. Not all states allow teachers to bargain collectively. As of January 2022, 35 states and the District of Columbia guaranteed K-12 teachers some right to bargain collectively, and six states prohibited public-sector employee collective bargaining by law, which includes public school teachers. The other nine states have no statewide bargaining framework, but local jurisdictions within these states can grant bargaining rights if they choose.

Oregon school boards are authorized to engage in collective bargaining agreements with school employees, which can constrain their authority over certain district policies.

For example, although school boards in the state might typically have the ability to determine sick leave, under their general authority, the 2022-2025 CBA between Springfield Public Schools and the Springfield Education Association sets sick leave that the board can't violate:

“ Sick leave is granted at the rate of ten (10) days per year and will accumulate. A licensed staff member absent from work on sick leave will be paid their full salary for the period of such absence not exceeding the total amount of sick leave the licensed staff member has accumulated. ”

Parents' bill of rights

See also: How does Oregon compare to other states on Parents' Bills of Rights?

Oregon is one of 24 states that does not have a statewide Parents' Bill of Rights.

How does Oregon compare to other states?

This section compares Oregon's school board authority and constraints with those of other states on select topics. These topics include authority over discipline policy, school board election timing, charter schools, cellphone use policy, as well as constraints on school boards' authority from Parents' Bills of Rights.

Book bans, removals, and restrictions

Twenty-two (22) states have no laws regulating the curation of school library books. Twenty-eight (28) states, however, have passed laws restricting school board authority over school library book curation. These laws typically fall into one of the following categories:

• Twelve states require school boards to develop a policy for the removal of books, including creating a way for the public to challenge school library books.
• Ten states prohibit school boards from removing books on the grounds that they represent specific ideologies or perspectives.
• Six states prohibit books if they contain specific material, including sexual content or anything deemed harmful to minors.
• Five states require school boards to establish local boards to review challenges to library books.
• Two states require school boards to allow parents to view a catalogue of books.

Some states have adopted multiple types of these policies.

Discipline

• School boards in 47 states have authority over disciplinary policy in their district.
• School boards in two states have authority over disciplinary policy for specific circumstances, such as suspension, expulsion, or bullying.
• Individual schools in one state create their own disciplinary policy.

School board elections

School boards' authority over the timing of school board elections varies by state.

• School boards in 42 states do not have authority over election timing;
• School boards in five states can choose from limited options when to hold school board elections;
• School boards in two states can choose from a date range when to hold school board elections;
• The school board in Hawaii is not elected.

The map below shows the types of authority school boards in the states have to determine the timing of school board elections.

Charter schools

See also: Charter schools in the United States

Some school boards in the U.S. are authorized to approve or deny applications for charter schools in their district, while state boards of education hold the authority in other states. In some states, school boards can authorize charter schools, but there are other entities besides school boards that can also authorize charter schools or to which a school board decision can be appealed.

• 10 states do not authorize school boards to make decisions on whether to approve new charter schools in their districts.
• 36 states do authorize school boards to approve new charter schools in their districts, deny approval to new charter schools, or both.
• 3 states do not have laws governing charter school authorization.
• 1 state allows school districts to apply to the state board of education to be a charter school district.

State cellphone laws

See also: State policies on cellphone use in K-12 public schools

In most states, school boards or superintendents often set policies on cellphones in public schools. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), around 76% of schools said they banned the non-academic use of cellphones or smartphones during school hours during the 2021-22 school year, down from 91% in 2010.

Beginning with Florida in 2023, some states enacted laws or policies to regulate student cellphone usage in public schools. Twenty-six (26) states had statewide laws or policies restricting cellphone use in K-12 classrooms or schools as of June 2025. Four states had requirements for all school district boards to adopt a policy on cellphones but without specific requirements for those policies. Five other states had policies encouraging school districts to establish restrictions on cellphone use in the classroom.

Parents' Bill of Rights

See also: Parents' Bill of Rights in education

If state law explicitly provides certain rights to parents, it can constrain the policy-making authority of school boards. These sections of statute are often referred to within statute and are categorized here as Parents' Bills of Rights. In some states, they are education-specific, regarding the rights a parent has to be involved in their child's public education. Common examples include notification requirements, opt-out rights, and records access. Other Parents' Bills of Rights are more general, commonly affording parents a right to direct the upbringing of their child.

• 26 states have enacted a statewide Parents' Bill of Rights
• 24 states have not enacted a Parents' Bill of Rights.

Noteworthy events

See also: Overview of trends in K-12 curricula development

• Oregon governor issues executive order to ban cellphone use in K-12 classrooms (2025): Oregon Governor Tina Kotek (D) issued an executive order on July 2, 2025, requiring school districts to adopt a policy prohibiting cellphone use in K-12 classrooms by October 31, 2025, to take effect by January 1, 2026. The policies must include exceptions for students with individualized health or education plans. 

• Oregon adopts climate change curriculum requirements (2025): Oregon Governor Tina Kotek (D) signed House Bill 3365 on June 26, 2025, to require climate change instruction as part of science content standards. The bill was effective upon signing.

• Coalition of attorneys general files amicus brief in support of incorporating LGBTQ+ books in curriculum (2023): A coalition of 19 attorneys general filed an amicus brief on October 31, 2023, in support of Maryland's Montgomery County Board of Education’s policy to allow LGBTQ+ books to be incorporated into the curriculum. Montgomery County Public Schools faced legal challenges from a group of parents after implementing a policy in the 2022-2023 school year to incorporate LGBTQ+ books into their curriculum. The coalition included attorneys general from California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.

See also

• Local school board authority across the 50 states
• K-12 curriculum authority, requirements, and statutes in the states
• State policies on cellphone use in K-12 public schools
• Rules governing school board election dates and timing
• Charter schools
• School choice
• Parents' Bill of Rights in education
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