HIGHER EDUCATION COORDINATING COMMISSION November 12, 2020 Docket Item#: 6.0

Docket Item: November Legislative Update Summary: Prior to each odd-year legislative session, agencies have an opportunity to recommend to the Governor the introduction of legislative concepts affecting the agency’s work and policy responsibilities. Over the last year, staff have been developing a series of legislative concepts for the Governor’s consideration. Prior to submission to the Governor, the Commission must approve each concept.

June 3: (COMPLETE) Submit proposed legislative concept requests to DAS. July 15: (COMPLETE) DAS provides approval for concepts that can be submitted to

Legislative Counsel for drafting. Legislative Counsel begins to draft concepts and provides drafts to agency for refinement. Agencies have one opportunity to refine each concept

October 2: (COMPLETE) Last day for agencies to submit redraft requests November 6: (COMPLETE) Legislative Counsel stops work on agency concepts November 12: (ACTION TODAY) Commission approves final concept list November 13: Final agency concept packages due to Governor December 18: Governor-approved legislative concepts pre-filed with legislature for introduction

as 2021 legislative session bills The following table provides legislative concept numbers and subjects for active legislative concepts: LC Number LC Title 591 Lake County Boundary Change 592 Boundary Change Process Fixes 593 Lane County Boundary Change 594 Transfer of Responsibility for Cosmetology Curriculum Development 595 Spending Authority for the Deceased and Disabled Public Safety Officer Program 596 Oregon Youth Employment Program 597 Financial Aid Redesign 598 Placeholder for Reforming Education Delivery 599 Credit Transfer 600 Minor Revisions 603 Placeholder for Reform of Education Structure 604 Placeholder for Reform of Workforce System Concepts are detailed in the attached materials. Material: 2021 Legislative Concepts Summary Document Legislative Concept Detail Documents Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends the Commission approve legislative concepts 591-600, 603, and 604 for submission to the Governor to consider for introduction in the 2021 legislative session.

HECC 2021 Legislative Concepts

November 12, 2020

LC 591 – Klamath Community College Boundary Change: The Higher Education Coordinating Commission is tasked with determining the boundaries of community college service districts. When the Commission issues a boundary change order, ratification by the legislature is required. This concept proposes to ratify an order by the Commission to include an unincorporated portion of Lake County into the Klamath Community College district. LC 592 – Boundary Change Process Modifications: Over the last two years, the Commission and staff have worked on two boundary change issues, the first such issues the Commission has considered since its founding. The Commission has determined that the statutes, written in the 1970s, require clarification and modernization to account for current processes and college funding mechanisms. LC 593 – Lane Community College Boundary Change: This concept proposes to ratify an order by the Commission to include an unincorporated portion of northwest Lane County into the Lane Community College district, if such an order is approved by the Commission. LC 594 – Cosmetology School Curriculum: The Commission licenses private career schools, and in doing so ensures they have trained staff, healthy finances, and appropriate academic policies to operate as schools. In most career fields, accrediting bodies or licensure boards are responsible for curriculum oversight, except for cosemetology. This concept proposes to shift the responsibility for curriculum oversight from HECC to the Board of Cosmetology, placing it in the hands of experts in the field. LC 595 – Deceased or Disabled Public Safety Officer Program Funding: This concept solidifies the Commission’s authority to utilize Oregon Opportunity Grant funds to provide awards to qualified recipients of aid under the Deceased or Disabled Public Safety Officer Program, replacing a prior authority that has eroded over the course of years as statutes have been modified. LC 596 – Oregon Youth Employment Program: Youth, particularly minority youth, are chronically underserved by entry-level jobs that provide the basis for positive development of employment skills and history. The Oregon Youth Employment program is a statutory program that has never been funded. HECC is proposing funding the program, requiring the majority of opportunities go to identified underserved youth, and partnering with those communities directly to provide job and experiential opportunity to youth through the state workfore system. LC 597 – Financial Aid Redesign: The state funds two primary financial aid programs, the Oregon Opportunity Grant and the Oregon Promise. HECC intends to redesign these programs to emphasize financial need as the primary method of determining financial aid eligibility, to provide for differentiated programs for pipeline and returning learners, and to fund students on a first dollar basis, ensuring the neediest students can use other forms of aid for their expenses. LC 598 – Placeholder for Reforming Higher Education Delivery: For students of color, early-generation students, low-income students, and rural students, the current higher education delivery model has not provided equitable opportunity, and these effects have and are likely to continue to be exacerbated by the pandemic and recession. HECC is working on building support for a process that forces difficult conversations around what it means to educate all students in today’s context, and guides institutions to retool with equity and state goals at the forefront. LC 599 – Credit Transfer: HECC has been working with institutions on credit transfer since the passage of HB 2998 in 2017, and has identified opportunities to improve on the work by updating statutes to account for the new

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transfer tools, enhance reporting requirements, and provide for technology needs that smooth the articulation process and help communicate transfer pathways to students, parents, advisors, and counselors. Elements of this bill may ultimately be transitioned into other developing credit transfer proposals sponsored by legislators. LC 600 – Minor Revisions: This concept proposes to make minor and technical revisions to statutes. These changes typically cover issues such as program name changes, statutory clarifications, and repeals of outdated language. LC 603 – Placeholder for Reforming Higher Education System Structure: This proposal serves as a placeholder for concepts that may be developed related to the need to make non-education delivery related changes (i.e. changes more related to institutions as business entities) in order to make institutions more resilient given the medium term pandemic and economic outlook. Further information regarding the state budget, student enrollment, and federal aid to states and institutions is required before development. LC 604 – Placeholder for Workforce System Reform: This proposal serves as a placeholder for concepts that may be developed related to the need to retool the state workforce system in light of the pandemic and associated recession.

2021 Legislative Concept Proposal LC 591 – Lake County Boundary Change

Problem

The Commission was petitioned by residents of the northernmost portion of Lake County to be removed from the

Central Oregon Community College Service District and become unincorporated. Through an extensive process

that included multiple public hearings and conversations with the petitioners, local education leaders, county

commissioners, Central Oregon Community College, and Klamath Community College, the Commission passed an

order in December 2019 to transition the territory into the KCC district. This order requires legislative approval

before taking effect.

Background

The Commission, pursuant to ORS 341.575 to 341.579, serves as the Community College District Boundary Board,

authorized to make recommendations to the Legislative Assembly regarding the inclusion or exclusion of territory

in a particular district, and conduct elections to resolve questions of annexation or succession on its own motion

or through the receipt of a remonstrance petition.

Public hearings and the broader investigation and stakeholder engagement process support the transition of the

concerned territory from COCC to KCC. Particularly, the process resulted in several key findings:

The territory is currently being served by distance learning technology offered by KCC

Residents present at the hearing believe KCC offers programming that is more aligned with the

educational needs of the territory that that offered by COCC

Lake County has a current contractual relationship with KCC and the Lakeview ESD has a positive

relationship with KCC

COCC does not have current plans to increase or improve educational services provided by COCC to the

territory

The current district boundaries are not aligned with the current contracts, relationships, and interests of

the territory or broader Lake County

The administrations of both COCC and KCC support the transition of the territory

The COCC Board of Directors has taken formal action to support the transition

The majority of residents present at the hearings supported the transition of the territory

The tax liability of residents of the territory will decrease, as the KCC mill rate is currently lower than the

COCC mill rate, without any loss in educational services

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Proposed Solution

The Legislature is required to approve the Commission’s order. In 2020, the Legislature passed the order out of

the House Education Committee and the House floor unanimously, prior to the failure of the Legislature to

achieve a quorum.

The Commission seeks expedited passage of this bill. If the bill is signed before March 31, 2021, the order will take

effect at the beginning of July, 2020; otherwise the boundary change will take one additional year to be

effectuated.

2021 Legislative Concept Proposal LC 592 – Community College Boundary Change Process

Problem

The statutes that govern the process of altering community college boundaries are unclear, and they rely on

processes for funding institutions that are not practiced. The original statutes were written in the early 1970s and

require updating to be relevant in the current context.

Background

The Higher Education Coordinating Commission, pursuant to ORS 341.575 to 341.579, serves as the Community

College District Boundary Board, authorized to make recommendations to the Legislative Assembly regarding the

inclusion or exclusion of territory in a particular district, and conduct elections to resolve questions of annexation

or succession on its own motion or through the receipt of a remonstrance petition.

HECC is engaged in its first two such requests to change boundaries. In the process, HECC has had to undertake

extensive legal consultation to interpret outdated and unclear statutes and develop workarounds in instances

where statutes run contrary to current practices, funding formula changes, and other legal requirements created

after the time the statutes were adopted.

Proposed Solution

HECC proposes to provide for technical changes to statues for administrative feasibility and charity. There are no changes to the underlying policy of when, how, or why the Commission should handle boundary change matters. HECC proposes to:

Limit the petition circulation period to 90 days. Currently the circulation period is unbounded, and it is

hard to gauge public sentiment if a petitioner may circulate for an unlimited period of time

Ensure the Commission can provide an ADA compliant public hearing when an ADA compliant public

facility does not exist in the petitioned territory

Alter the remonstrance petition period from before the commission issues an order until after, so that

residents understand if a remonstrance is required

Allow HECC to resubmit orders if those orders are not acted upon

Require HECC to hold an election on a boundary change question only if funds are appropriated to pay for

such election

Clarify how community college assets and liabilities are to be divided in the case of secession

Clarify responsibility for debt payments via property taxes

Clarify how current services funding is to be allocated after a territory switches districts

2021 Legislative Concept Proposal LC 593 – Lane County Boundary Change

Problem

Residents in the NW corner of Lane County have petitioned the Higher Education Coordinating Commission for

inclusion in the Lane Community College Service District. Currently, this portion of Lane County is not located in

any community college district.

Background

The Commission, pursuant to ORS 341.575 to 341.579, serves as the Community College District Boundary Board,

authorized to make recommendations to the Legislative Assembly regarding the inclusion or exclusion of territory

in a particular district, and conduct elections to resolve questions of annexation or succession on its own motion

or through the receipt of a remonstrance petition.

Benefits of being in a service district include representation on a community college board of education and the

ability to vote for board members, as well as in-district tuition rates for community college courses. This corner of

Lane County is the only portion of the county not included in the Lane Community College Service District.

The Commission held public hearings at Lane Community College, in the petitioning territory, and direct mailed

all registered voters in the territory to solicit feedback on inclusion. The Commission did not receive any negative

feedback, although participation was minimal from all parties. The Commission is slated to approve an order for

inclusion at the November 2020 meeting.

Proposed Solution

The legislature is required to approve the Commission’s order prior to the order taking effect, and the LC serves as

the vehicle for approval.

2021 Legislative Concept Proposal LC 594 – Curriculum Development for Cosmetology Schools

Problem

The Higher Education Coordinating Commission is responsible for approving curricular standards for

cosmetology schools. Cosmetology is the only program of postsecondary study over which HECC exercises

curricular oversight, and does so despite the existence of the Board of Cosmetology.

Background

HECC’s Private Career Schools Unit (PCS) has managed cosmetology curriculum rules since the unit was

transferred to HECC from the Oregon Department of Education in 2014. However, the PCS unit has no staff with

relevant expertise in the teaching or training of barbers, hairdressers, estheticians, or nail technicians. It relies

upon the voluntary assistance of practitioners within the field to maintain and interpret these rules.

HECC PCS manages no other field of study or professional curricular standards. These fields, such as massage,

tattoo artistry, trucking, and other professions have their educational standards managed by an appropriate

licensure board (e.g. Oregon Board of Massage Therapists, Oregon Tax Board, etc.); or where no relevant board or

authority exists, are managed by the schools themselves in voluntary associations.

The Board of Cosmetology meets under the authority of the Oregon Health Authority’s Health Licensing Office

(HLO). In addition, HLO has recently taken on the regulation of the “Advanced Esthetics,” a relatively new

discipline. The Board of Cosmetology creates, and HLO administers, all relevant statewide licensing exams for

which the schools and their curriculum prepare cosmetology and barbering students.

Proposed Solution

Repeal and/or amend portions of 345.400-450. Transfer these authorities and responsibilities to HLO and the

Board of Cosmetology.

HECC should retain the authority to license cosmetology and barbering schools to make sure they meet the state

minimum standards for student safety, teacher qualification, consumer protection, and financial responsibility as

currently outlined in statute (ORS 345, generally) and rule (OAR 715-045, generally). In particular, HECC should

maintain its consumer and student protection role in the receipt and investigation of student complaints against

schools, where a school’s possible violation of standards under ORS 345 or OAR 715-045 is at issue.

2021 Legislative Concept Proposal LC 595 – Funding for DDPSO Scholarships

Problem

The Higher Education Coordinating Commission administers a scholarship program for the qualified dependents

of deceased or disabled public safety officers (DDPSO). Over time, the statutory authority to fund these recipients

has eroded, and HECC requires new authority to issue these awards as envisioned.

Background

HECC administers the DDPSO grant program, established under ORS 348.270. The program provides state grant

funds to the dependents of public safety officers who are injured or killed while in service to the public, in order to

help those individuals defray the cost of attending a higher education institution in Oregon. This program was

established in 1973 and initially operated by the standalone Oregon State Scholarship Commission (OSSC), later

the Oregon Student Assistance Commission (OSAC), which is now an office of the HECC. For the upcoming

academic year, HECC-OSAC may award up to $160,000 in grant funds based on current estimates.

When the program was established, as far as HECC can determine, state appropriations for financial aid were

made generally and not to specific programs. Additionally, for most of the history of the program, ORS 348.230

provided the director of the OSSC with broad authority to determine which Oregon resident students would

receive state grants. Finally, prior to being amended in 1999, ORS 348.260 stated in part, “In addition to any

other form of student financial aid authorized by law, the Oregon Student Assistance Commission may award

grants to qualified residents of this state.” This statute may have also provided broad authority to OSAC to make

awards to DDPSO students.

However, beginning in 1999, the agency’s statutory authority to make awards to DDPSO students appears to have

eroded. First, ORS 348.260 was amended to become the first iteration of the Oregon Opportunity Grant (OOG).

Subsequent budget reports began to refer to funds that were appropriated in budget bills for “financial aid

payments to individuals and institutions” (see 2001 SB 5542 as an example) as funding explicitly for the OOG. At

the time, OSAC may have still relied on authority in ORS 348.230 in awarding DDPSO grants. In 2011, however,

this statute was repealed.

The Legislature should have been notified at this time that no funding had been appropriated for the DDPSO

program, and awards to students likely should have ceased for lack of agency authority to grant other funds.

Proposed Solution

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The proposal restores HECC’s statutory authority to utilize OOG funds for DDPSO award recipients.

2021 Legislative Concept Proposal LC 596 – Youth Employment Opportunities

Problem

Oregon youth, particularly those from communities of color, rural communities, and/or experiencing generational

poverty, lack access to career-connected learning opportunities that help develop essential employability skills,

offer career exposure, and provide workforce training to prepare them for a successful transition into

postsecondary education or the workforce. This is particularly problematic in light of the COVID-19 pandemic’s

impact on the unemployment rate and overall economy.

Background

Even during a strong economy, youth experience a significantly higher unemployment rate than other

populations. History shows that when the economy slows and unemployment rises, the disparity between youth

and adults is compounded, and recent data suggests this holds true during the current economic downturn. In

April 2020, the national unemployment rate among 16-19 year-olds was 31.9 percent – more than double the

overall unemployment rate. 20-24 year-olds faired a little better with an unemployment rate of 25.7% in April.

Further, the racial/ethnic disparities in unemployment among the general population are mirrored among youth.

In the first quarter of 2020, Black or African American teenagers and Hispanic or Latino teenagers had an

unemployment rate of 22.8 percent and 14.8 percent, respectively, compared to an overall teenage unemployment

rate of 12.7 percent. These rates do not reflect the major impacts of COVID-19, but we do know that the pandemic

has disproportionately harmed communities of color in a number of other ways.

In order to close these gaps, particularly for youth from underserved and underrepresented communities, we must

provide young Oregonians with work experience – to put money in their pockets now and to ensure that they are

competitive job candidates in the future. Yet, the initiatives in Oregon that provide this type of career-connected

learning and essential employability skills development are underfunded and can align better to the needs of

communities of color.

Proposed Solution

The proposal makes several changes to the Oregon Youth Employment Program to improve opportunities for

underrepresented communities, in particular by adding a minimum wage requirement for interns in state work

programs, adding minimum requirements for inclusion of individuals from communities of color in programs and

consultation with communities of color in designing work programs, and targeting opportunities to in-demand

occupations. The proposal also requests better funding of youth employment programs.

2021 Legislative Concept Proposal LC 597 – Financial Aid Redesign

Problem

Student costs for public higher education are increasing significantly faster than wages and inflation.

Simultaneously, Oregon’s principal need-based financial aid program has failed to adequately keep up with cost

increases. In 2008 the Oregon Opportunity Grant covered 81% and 53% of tuition and fee costs at colleges and

public universities, respectively, while in 2018 they covered only 48% and 32%. The grant also serves fewer than

40% of students with demonstrated financial need. Oregon is failing to keep up. While the average US state

spends $352 on financial aid per traditional college age student, Oregon spends $197.

Despite the exceedingly low base of funding for need based financial aid, Oregon operates a secondary financial

aid program, the Oregon Promise. This $36.9 M program serves Oregon pipeline students that enroll in a

community college and meet academic requirements, regardless of need. Forty percent of program funds serve

students from families making over $100,000 per year, and over three-quarters of funds go to students above the

Pell grant cutoff.

In addition to these issues, Oregon does not offer program flexibility that allows returning adults to easily access

financial aid.

Background

By redesigning the Oregon Opportunity Grant and Oregon Promise financial aid programs and increasing funding

to the HECC’s proposed levels, students with the greatest financial need will receive the greatest level of state

support. When combined with federal aid, eligible students would receive aid in excess of tuition and fee costs at

public institutions, meaning aid would be available for other items affecting the cost of attendance, such as: books,

transportation, food, and housing, This approach is designed to reduce financial barriers that lead to lack of

persistence amongst low income students, and improve graduation rates.

The proposal seeks to correct for several observed deficiencies in current program.

1. Equity: A financial aid structure should provide more resources to students that need the additional

support.

2. Scalability: Award amounts should reliably increase or decrease as student needs change.

3. Flexibility: Award requirements should not be so stringent as to disqualify or revoke awards from

students making meaningful progress.

4. Goal-Oriented: Financial aid programs should support state needs, and provide a mechanism by which

the state can encourage needed completions

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Proposed Solution

The Commission proposes to award state financial aid based on need, to remove restrictions on institutional

choice, and to provide a mechanism for policy makers to award recourses to adult learners. Under the

Commission proposal, two separate financial aid programs exist, each with slightly different features, but both

portable between community colleges and universities under one lifetime cap.

2021 Legislative Concept Proposal LC 598 – Placeholder on Higher Education Delivery

Problem

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant and abrupt shift in the higher education environment, and the

resulting financial and economic effects may force long term rethinking about how education is delivered. At the

very least, the higher education market, in terms of demographics and student decision making, is at high risk of

being permanently altered. Market and demographic factors that signal a need to rethink pedagogy, student

services, and campus environments may accelerate.

Proposed Solution

This proposal is a placeholder. It is more likely than not these issues will be considered after the 2021 legislative

session, but this bill may serve as a vehicle to establish the parameters for this process.

2021 Legislative Concept Proposal LC 599 – Credit Transfer

Problem

Transfer students who complete a Bachelor’s degree do so at the expense of greater time, greater number of

credits taken, and greater cost. On average, transfer students who earn a Bachelor’s degree take eight more credits

and are enrolled in school two semesters longer than university students who began as first-time freshmen. The

number of excess credits varies substantially by field of study, with larger excess credits observed particularly in

STEM fields.

The reasons students start at community college are varied, but include greater affordability, more open

admission policies, and lower class sizes. Attractive to many, these reasons may hold particular salience for BIPOC

students, who come disproportionately from lower-income backgrounds than white students, and who in general

are not afforded the same opportunities for academic preparation and postsecondary enrollment as their white

peers during elementary and secondary education. Although starting a postsecondary pathway at a community

college should not result in a windier, more uncertain path to a Bachelor’s degree and the future earnings power it

confers, the reality is that it does.

Background

In 2017, the Oregon Legislature passed HB 2998, which directs the Higher Education Coordinating Commission

(HECC), community colleges and universities listed in ORS 352.002 to streamline transfer pathways. (ORS

350.400)

In the two years since the bill’s passage community colleges, public universities and the HECC met the following

required mandates:

• Established Core Transfer Maps (General Core and STEM Core): paths for community college students to

take courses guaranteed to transfer as general education at any Oregon public university.

• Developed three Unified Statewide Transfer Agreements (USTAs) now referred to as Major Transfer Maps

(MTM) for transfer students intending to major in English, Biology, and Elementary Education.

• Determined a measurable definition of “excess credit” in order to gather “apples to apples” data to further

identify barriers to smooth transfer pathways.

Progress on this work has been made. However, three years of experience has informed HECC staff’s view that the

structure of the law is not sufficient to resolve intractable cross-institutional issues. Though HB 2998 forced

institutions into the room and required them to examine systemic transfer issues, it did not set clear enough

expectations for structural reform and course alignment, firm enough deadlines for definitive action, or provide

for an accountability mechanism to ensure the work was completed. Without these elements, some of the transfer

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work becomes an exercise in drawing a good map to describe transfer pathways to students, when the work should

be about at least partially about building a straighter road.

Proposed Solution

HECC proposes to introduce a version of SB 1521 from 2020. This bill modifies the existing statutory “Transfer

Student Bill of Rights and Responsibilities” to include HB 2998 transfer terminology, enshrines a role for the

Oregon Transfer and Articulation Committee into law, strengthens reporting requirements, and develops

expectations around establishing a transfer portal.

HECC recommends introducing this proposal to place some of these ideas and needs on the record for legislative

debate. At the same time HECC staff are engaged with institutions and legislators on the possibility of other

proposals to further the transfer work. In these discussions, HECC staff is promoting the principles of explicit

expectations of curricular alignment, clear deadlines, and an accountability mechanism if agreement cannot be

reached.

2021 Legislative Concept Proposal LC 600 – Minor Revisions

255 Capitol Street NE, Sa lem, OR 97310

www.oregon.gov/HigherEd

Problem

A number of minor and technical revisions are required to align agency structure, statutes, and terminology to

current practices, change names and references to offices, repeal unused or outdated terminology, and make other

similar changes.

Background

HECC proposes a minor revisions bill each long session that makes a number of technical changes to clean up the

statutes. Proposals must have no tangible policy, fiscal, or equity impact, and must be assumed to be completely

non-controversial and primarily technical in nature. Typically, these items are too minor or trivial to be

considered as a standalone bill.

Proposed Solution

Highlights this year include shifting reporting dates to better align with data submissions, and changing the name

of Oregon Volunteers to OregonServes.

2021 Legislative Concept Proposal LC 603 – Placeholder on Higher Education Structure

Problem

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant and immediate shift in the higher education environment, and

the resulting financial and economic effects may force long term rethinking about how education is delivered. Due

to anticipated challenges in the short- and long-term with state support for higher education, a challenging

enrollment environment, and unpredictable auxiliary revenues, institutions may be in the position where

restructuring is required.

Proposed Solution

This proposal is a placeholder. It is more likely than not these issues will be considered after the 2021 legislative

session, but this bill may serve as a vehicle to establish the parameters of such a discussion.

2021 Legislative Concept Proposal LC 604 – Placeholder on Workforce and Talent Development

Problem

Anticipating the possibility of a deep and/or lengthy recession and recovery period, there may be the need for

statutory alterations addressing the State Workforce and Talent Development Board and broader workforce

development system. Any necessary provisions are unlikely to be immediately identified, and would likely be part

of a process that occurs later in the year.

Proposed Solution

This proposal is a placeholder. It is more likely than not these issues will be considered after the 2021 legislative

session, but the potential for federal funding and policy changes in the next Congress make having a placeholder

bill prudent.