As Oregon Defies Trump On DEI In Schools, Its Students Are Falling Through The Cracks

When Oregon’s Democrat governor announced her state would defy President Donald Trump’s ban on diversity, equity, and inclusion, she said she was doing it for a good reason: the kids.

“Since the start of the new federal administration, I promised Oregonians that I would not back down from a fight when it comes to safeguarding Oregon values,” Tina Kotek said Thursday. “Making sure every child has the opportunity to meet their future promise with a strong public education is one of the most fundamental responsibilities of government and one of my top priorities as Governor.”

That’s ironic. Because, under Kotek’s leadership, Oregon’s students are struggling to get by.

Nearly half of Oregon fourth graders scored below “basic” levels in reading, meaning they lack important reading comprehension skills like being able to determine the main idea of a text. In math, about a third of fourth graders scored below basic, meaning they likely struggle with simple concepts like odd numbers.

Eighth graders’ scores were just as concerning, with nearly half (45%) scoring below basic in math, and over a third (35%) scoring below basic in reading.

“It’s a bold strategy, Cotton,” school choice advocate Corey DeAngelis told The Daily Wire. “Let’s see if it works out for them.”

“Oregon should lose all federal funding if they want to indoctrinate kids with DEI Marxism. Tax dollars shouldn’t prop up divisive ideologies that pit students against each other and their country,” DeAngelis told The Daily Wire.

That’s exactly what the Trump administration says it will do if Oregon doesn’t comply with its DEI ban. The Department of Education informed states earlier this month that “The continued use of illegal DEI practices may subject the individual or entity using such practices to serious consequences,” including “eliminating federal funding.”

But despite that threat, Oregon Democrats are, in DeAngelis’s words, “doubling down on failure.” To him, it’s because they “see the school system as a tool to control the minds of other people’s children as opposed to an education initiative.”

“Oregon Democrats are all-in on indoctrinating kids with their socialist worldview,” DeAngelis said. “Telling kids that they’re going to be failures based on their immutable characteristics holds them down.”

“This latest stunt proves their anti-parent agenda is even more about control than money,” he added. “These control freaks need to do their job, stay in their lane, and stick to the basics so kids can get an education.”

The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress — called “the Nation’s Report Card” — Oregon fourth graders ranked second-worst in the country in math, tying with five other states, and third-worst in reading, along with 11 other states.

But as scores plummeted over the last decade, Oregon schools did not drill down on phonics or multiplication tables. Instead, they focused on flashy, progressive wish-list items.

After the coronavirus pandemic, Portland-area parents erupted at school board meetings over schools’ embrace of gender ideology, including the availability of alleged “pornographic” books in school libraries, and subpar academic performance.

In Portland, the teachers’ union decided in 2023 that they would take gender identity and race into account before disciplining students, according to the union’s collective bargaining agreement. After the pandemic, Portland teachers said they were seeing “more students in crisis” with mental health issues, which can lead to fights.

In 2022, Oregon updated its science standards to teach that humans cause climate change.

Defending Education, a group that fights indoctrination in public schools, said Oregon should be focused on improving its dismal test scores.

“Oregon’s education leaders should be hanging their heads in shame,” Sarah Parshall Perry, the group’s vice president, told The Daily Wire.

“Instead, they’ve doubled down on divisive and racially discriminatory DEI programs that have done nothing to boost educational outcomes,” she said. “That’s not only a violation of federal law, it’s foolhardy and misguided. And the students of Oregon deserve better. They deserve an education focused on the academic fundamentals the state has so clearly failed to deliver.”

Jeanette Schade, a former Oregon teacher who ran for school board in the Portland area in 2021, blamed the state’s failing school system on a laundry list of problems, including “dumbed-down” teacher education programs.

“Teachers are being indoctrinated in their teacher education programs,” Schade told The Daily Wire, saying those teachers go on to expose children to DEI, Critical Race Theory, and sex education that includes gender ideology.

Schade also noted that Oregon scrapped its graduation requirements during the pandemic and never went back.

In 2021, Oregon made the controversial move to stop requiring high schoolers to pass an “essential skills” standardized test showing basic proficiency in reading, writing, and math in order to receive their diploma.

Advocates for pausing the graduation requirement argued that the test put minority students at a disadvantage. Now, critics simply point to the sinking test scores.