In the US state of Oregon, the bill signed on July 14 by Governor Keith Brown to abolish the requirements for reading, writing and math skills for high school students was criticized.

Local authorities believe that a law that will allow high school students to waive graduation exams such as math, reading and writing will help African American, Indian, Asian, and other racial minority students feel more at ease in the United States. 

“Last month, Oregon Governor Keith Brown quietly signed a bill that would no longer require high school graduates in the state to have good reading, writing and math skills.

The goal of this measure is to help “students of color,” according to The Oregonian. 

Brown signed the bill without a ceremony or a press release on the subject.

On the contrary, the newspaper notes, the governor preferred to give legal force to the document as quietly as possible.

The document also appeared in the legislative framework only two weeks after signing, which is a deviation from the accepted procedure - as a rule, laws are introduced there on the day of signing.

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  • © Josh Edelson

As Gov. Charles Boyle's deputy director of communications explained, the suspension of requirements for reading, writing and math skills will help students of color until the state compiles a new set of “fair” standards for graduates.

Until then, the measure is expected to help “blacks, Hispanics, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Island, tribal,” Boyle said.

According to him, "leaders from these communities have repeatedly advocated for fair standards for graduates - along with increased opportunities and support for learning."

However, the state legislature this year has not adopted any documents on specific measures to support these groups, the newspaper notes.

It is clarified that the new graduation requirements in any case will not come into force until 2027.

Thus, within five years, students will be able to graduate without the need to demonstrate proficiency in skills in the three basic areas.

The bill was opposed by Republicans, whose House of Representatives leader Christine Drazan said such a measure would "lower our expectations of children" at a time when COVID-19 "caused us to have a year of social isolation and lost learning."

Despite this, the Democratic-controlled State Legislative Assembly voted by a majority in favor of the change.

Republican Vic Degrammont, a congressional candidate from Florida, called the bill "insane."

Oregon Republican senators also said that "this is probably the worst bill passed in the current session, and Democrats cannot find a worthy justification for it."

Democrat Barrington Martin, a politician and columnist who has repeatedly run for elections in the state of Georgia, noted that while the bill was intended to give "a chance to races facing hardship," it only sets them up for failure. In a conversation with RT, Martin expressed the opinion that the state authorities did not publish the law and did not hold the signing ceremony, as they realized that the document would cause outrage, "and not only in Oregon, but in the United States as a whole."  

“It is not only fraught with the opposite effect, this law can undermine the future of our country.

If you take away from people the fundamental opportunity to independently get out of poverty, which is education, as well as set arrogantly low expectations, and in fact simplify all requirements, they will have problems not only with admission to a university, but also with employment ... And most importantly, every citizen of America will suffer, because we are lowering the bar for our future, that is, for our children, ”he said.

Former Oregon GOP chairman Perry Atkinson also noted that the fact that the initiative only became public now, and was signed a few days earlier, caused strong resentment among many Oregonians, especially parents, as well as school boards around state.

“The point is that this is a somewhat racist initiative. You belittle one class of people, and thus bring everyone down, while education should give everyone an uplift. So the prospects are not very good. As a result, educational standards will be revised. And besides, over time, colleges will have to lower their requirements in order to have someone to enroll and how to pay bills. This is a blow to the entire education system, ”he explained on RT.