The Port Orford-Langlois School Board approved five curriculum requests for its remote learning programs Monday but excluded a sixth after board members found religious teachings in the material.
Families can request specific curriculum through Family Academy, a remote learning program for students who might otherwise be homeschooled. Administrators screen the materials to ensure they meet state standards before bringing proposals to the board for approval.
Board Chair Judy Miles said she found overt Christian language in the Biology 1 instructor materials.
“It says, ‘The Noeo philosophy: the essence of science is simply observing and describing God's creation. When scientists make a new discovery, they are seeing another part of creation revealed,’” she quoted from the material. “I've gotten far enough that this does not meet the standards of what we can pay for with public education dollars.”
“[I’m] not saying that the families can't use that curriculum," Miles said. "I'm just saying we, as a school district, can't pay for that curriculum."
Superintendent Aaron Miller said the district had overlooked the religious content during its initial review and would screen future requests more carefully.
“I don't want to have anything come in front of you again that has religious connotations,” he said.
Board members also asked administrators to develop clearer criteria for accepting curriculum requests. They unanimously approved the other five programs.
Enrollment is up
Port Orford-Langlois schools began the year with more students than officials expected.
Miller told the board that enrollment had reached 246, up from 228 last year. Officials had expected it to remain about the same. He said some students returned to the district and others moved into the area.
Of this year's 246 students, 45 are enrolled in Family Academy, roughly the same number the program had at the end of last school year. Miller said that suggests most of the increase is in the district’s school buildings.
He said the kindergarten class is larger than the senior class, which could help sustain enrollment in coming years.
"We are one of the few that is growing," Miller said.
Statewide, Oregon public school enrollment fell each year since the pandemic, according to the Oregon Department of Education’s most recent statewide report.
Miller said the numbers are only estimates, and the district will continue to monitor enrollment because it is still early in the school year.
