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Backers Submit Signatures For Initiative Aimed At Boosting Graduation Rates In Oregon

Supporters of IP-65 prepare to submit boxes of signatures to the Oregon Secretary of State's office.
Chris Lehman
/
Northwest News Network
Supporters of IP-65 prepare to submit boxes of signatures to the Oregon Secretary of State's office.

Backers of an initiative aimed at boosting Oregon's high school graduation rate submitted a final round of signatures Thursday to the Oregon Secretary of State's office.

The initiative would require the state to invest in dropout-prevention, as well as college and career readiness programs in Oregon high schools.

Toya Fick, one of the chief petitioners, is also the executive director of the education advocacy group Stand for Children Oregon.

"It ensures all of our districts have the tools to make vocational education available to students so they can get hands-on learning experiences and really understand and be prepared for the job market in their communities,” Fick said.

The initiative would require Oregon lawmakers to use state money to fund those programs above and beyond what the legislature already invests in K-12 education.

If enough signatures are deemed valid, the initiative will appear on the November ballot.

Copyright 2016 Northwest News Network

Chris Lehman
Chris Lehman graduated from Temple University with a journalism degree in 1997. He landed his first job less than a month later, producing arts stories for Red River Public Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana. Three years later he headed north to DeKalb, Illinois, where he worked as a reporter and announcer for NPR–affiliate WNIJ–FM. In 2006 he headed west to become the Salem Correspondent for the Northwest News Network.