Mother, Daughter Wait 5 Years for Discrimination Ruling as Oregon Department of Education Delays Mount

The Oregon Department of Education (DOE) has this week been called upon by lawmakers to explain why the agency is unable to clear a backlog of school discrimination complaints.

This follows an investigation by journalists from the Oregonian/Oregon Live, who revealed that the DOE routinely takes more than 15 months to decide if school districts have violated the state’s anti-discrimination laws.

The news source stated that a mother and daughter have been waiting for five years for their complaint to be resolved.

The lawmakers are demanding an explanation for the protracted time taken by the DOE, despite the legislature’s approval of more funding to tackle the backlog in 2024.

The DOE Has Met only 12.6% of Discrimination Complaint Deadlines

Deadlines to complete discrimination investigations were set by the state in 2019. Since then, the DOE has met the deadline in only 12.6% of the cases.

In terms of mandated union contracts, the DOE froze all external job recruitment in mid-May to allow temporary employees to apply for permanent positions. Apparently, the DOE expects to finalize the two investigator posts by December.

The lawmakers have requested that the DOE keep them informed of progress made to clear the backlog of discrimination cases.