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Oregon House Bill Tackles Verbal Assaults & Ridicule At School Events

As schools across the country grapple with addressing racist behavior at sporting events, a bill in the Oregon Legislature could hold districts accountable. 

If passed, House Bill 3409 would require schools to have policies when derogatory acts occur. Its chief sponsor, Democratic Rep. Barbara Smith Warner of Portland, said the Oregon School Activities Association doesn’t do enough to hold students, or teams accountable. 

"If you’re getting called racist names on the field or on the court that doesn’t just impact you there it effects your selfworth and can impact you in the classroom too," said Smith Warner, "I don’t think we can do enough to support our kids.”  

Smith Warner said consequences for schools should include losing games, or forfeiting future events. The legislation passed the House and is awaiting a vote in a Senate committee next week. 

Melorie Begay is a multimedia journalist for KLCC News. She was the Inaugural KLCC Public Radio Foundation Journalism Fellow. She has a bachelors in Multimedia Journalism from the University of New Mexico. She previously interned at KUNM public radio in Albuquerque, NM and served as a fellow for the online news publication New Mexico In Depth.