Senators heard April 14 on House Bill 3,041, which would replace the current intergovernmental agreement (IGA) that establishes the Educator Advancement Council (EAC) with a statutory structure supported by staff from the Oregon Department of Education (ODE).

Dr. Karen Perez, executive director of the Educator Advancement Council, told the Senate Education Committee the council serves about 80,000 educators across Oregon and provides professional learning resources to align educator advancement supports across the P–20 continuum. Perez said the current IGA mechanism has proven inefficient because routine changes trigger an eight‑step legal and administrative process across member agencies, requiring in‑house counsel or Department of Justice review.

“House Bill 30 41 is largely a technical fix and would remove the requirement of the IGA and instead establish the council in state policy, maintaining its existing purpose and improving efficiency of administrative process,” Perez said. She told senators the change would not alter council membership or governing structure, would empower the council to use a subcommittee to propose procedural changes and would reduce the need for repeated legal consultation.

Perez said the changes have no anticipated financial impact at the time of the hearing and would increase transparency and collaboration by clarifying the relationship between ODE as the administrative agency and the council. She said the proposed model would allow the council to focus staff time on educator supports rather than repeated procedural revisions.

The EAC is currently connected by IGA to ODE, the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission, the Department of Early Learning and Care, the Higher Education Coordinating Commission, one Oregon school district and one education service district; HB 3,041 would maintain the council’s purpose while shifting administrative support to ODE under statute. No committee vote was taken on April 14.

Ending

Proponents asked senators to weigh the written testimony and meet with council staff; the committee closed testimony and continued consideration of other House bills on the calendar.