WE WON! The Adjunct Health Care Bill PASSED and will be signed into law by the governor later this summer!

Thank you to everyone who wrote letters and spoke with your legislators! We did it! 

This is nationally significant legislation: It is the first time that a state has acknowledged its  responsibility to help cover the cost of insurance for us as necessary public employees who make public higher education possible. 

We still have many implementation details to figure out, so we don’t yet know when this coverage will be available for us, but we do know that people who teach 18 credits/year or more at PSU or the equivalent FTE across multiple public universities and colleges in Oregon will qualify. Those who are eligible will have access to their employers’ health plans and the state will pay 90% of our insurance premiums.

Adjunct faculty and our parent union AFT Oregon have been working to pass a version of this bill for 13 years, so this is a HUGE win. We absolutely still need to fight for access to affordable health insurance and healthcare for all people, but there is reason to believe that this bill is a meaningful step towards state-supported healthcare for all.

Other Legislative Wins for Oregon Education

Higher Education

  • Public University Support Fund: $900 million

  • Community College Support Fund: $703 million

  • Oregon Opportunity Grant: $200 million (nearly $30 million increase)

  • Funding to help cover health insurance costs for adjuncts who are newly eligible through the adjunct healthcare bill

  • $337 million for university construction projects and deferred maintenance at all public universities

  • $77 million for matching funds to help finance 11 community college construction projects

  • $5 million for new Benefits Navigator positions at community colleges and public universities (HB 2835)

K-12 State School Fund: $9.3 billion

  • Increased funding for the Student Success Act, including $892 million in student investment grants and $436 million for Early Learning

  • $17.5 million for broadband access for schools

  • Establishment of an education plan for LBGTQ+ student success

  • Increased funding for the Latinx student success plan

  • STEM program funding targeted for diverse students

  • $125 million for capital improvement matching funds and $110 million for seismic rehabilitation grants

Early Learning

  • $68 million to expand preschool programs, adding more than 4,000 slots

  • $9.5 million to establish the Early Childhood Suspension and Expulsion Prevention Program, establish a statewide social emotional learning framework, and enact provisions to diversify Oregon's educator workforce (HB 2166)

  • Start-up costs for the new Department of Early Learning and Care (HB 3073)

  • Increased funding for relief nurseries, the Early Childhood Equity Fund and for parenting education

  • Establishment of a new Tribal Early Learning Hub (HB 2055)