Keep Portland's Online Learning Academy Open
Donation protected
Please see the update shared on 24 May 2023.
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Even $10 helps. We've exhausted other approaches, so this is the last chance to protect these students who don't fit in in-person schools.
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In January 2023, Oregon's Portland Public Schools announced they would close the Online Learning Academy, its only virtual school, at the end of the school year. After months of attempting to discuss it with the administration and the School Board, with very little response, a few parents are resorting to a lawsuit to try to keep it open.
- The administration implied that the federal pandemic relief money used to fund OLA was gone, but parents discovered that the funding is still there.
- The administration said that enrollment was dwindling, but 50 additional students had just enrolled in January, and more students apply every month.
- The administration said that OLA was only for COVID-19, but there are many other reasons students and families continue to choose it.
Why does it matter? For many students, OLA is a "safety net", allowing them to thrive where they couldn't in PPS's in-person schools. It serves 230 students; 160 of them are "underserved," essentially meaning students with disabilities, students experiencing poverty, and students of color. Their families chose OLA for reasons such as:
- disabilities that prevented them from being successful in the classroom;
- living with medically vulnerable family members, for whom ordinary student illnesses could be life-threatening;
- escaping bullying, whether due to racism, sexual orientation, weight, or other reasons;
- safety fears at in-person schools;
- other reasons, or combinations of several reasons.
The administration expected all of these students to "transition" back to in-person school. In reality, they're finding that only a small fraction are willing to reluctantly switch back. Some families have said they'll drop out of school completely. Currently, it looks like more than 50% will leave PPS, further cutting the district's funding for all students.
Families have spent hundreds of hours researching and attempting to engage with the district, with almost no response. Public records requests have been stalled. The administration has declined to schedule a town hall, and the few comments they've made repeat the same debunked assertions above. The School Board hasn't scheduled a vote or even put OLA discussion on their agenda.
Without other options, some parents have chosen to file a lawsuit to protect these students by keeping OLA open. Lawsuits are very expensive! It might not be successful, but it looks like our only path forward and we need your support!
The money donated will be used to keep Online Learning Academy open, especially including legal expenses.
Keep OLA Online!
Organizer
Hollis Blanchard
Organizer
Portland, OR