OR SB978

School districts and education service districts must prepare annual reports detailing legal expenditures, including payments to outside law firms, in-house attorney compensation, and costs for special education and labor relations legal services

Reports must include counts of legal processes such as mediations, formal complaints filed with the Department of Education, discrimination complaints, lawsuits in state or federal court, and contested employment actions

Settlement and judgment payments must be disclosed and disaggregated by whether paid to students/families, employees/volunteers, or other parties, and whether for attorney fees or other costs

Districts must publish reports on their websites and submit to the Department of Education by October 15 following each school year; the department must compile a statewide report by January 15 and provide summaries to legislative committees

Requirements first apply to the 2025-2026 school year