In 2016, Oregon voters approved public funding for outdoor school, which dedicated funds from the Oregon Lottery to support outdoor school for all Oregon public school students. These OSU Outdoor School funds are distributed by the Oregon State University (OSU) Extension Service Outdoor School program.
Every 5th and 6th grade student enrolled in an Oregon public school is eligible to use OSU Outdoor School funds a single time (in either 5th or 6th grade). Schools and Districts determine the appropriate grade to participate in outdoor school. Funds are available to support the full participation of students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and Section 504 plans.
Funding is legislatively allowed once for each Oregon 5th or 6th grade student. Districts (or their schools) decide which grade will participate in their program. Some schools (due to the size of their classes or for convenience) chose to apply for funding biennially, thus permitting both 5th and 6th grade classes to attend outdoor school in the same year.
While the OSU Extension Service Outdoor School program works to fund everything associated with your 5th or 6th grade students, what other sources are available for other grades? Your 3rd or 4th grade teachers might want to provide single-day trips to the outdoors for their students – to give them a taste for the wonders that outdoor school will bring. Oregon Parks Ticket2Ride is a way for teachers to make this happen by applying to cover transportation costs.
Throughout Oregon’s outdoor schools, high school students often serve as cabin leaders and assistant field instructors. Oregon outdoor school programs have the agency to recruit, train, and involve high school leaders in whatever ways work for their programs.
Outdoor school programs must be located in the state of Oregon to qualify for funding. ORS 327.390 defines outdoor school as:
If the program your school or district is planning does not meet primary experience requirements, please contact your Regional Coordinator or the OSU Outdoor School program at [email protected] to request an exception. We can discuss ideas on extending the length of programming days (for example, through creative busing solutions) or increasing the number of programming days. Programs seeking reimbursement for a non-compliant outdoor school event will not be reimbursed without a pre-approved exception.
Outdoor school programs are required (by ORS 327.390) to:
To learn more about ORS 327.390 and outdoor school curriculum, visit our Curriculum webpage.
Yes. A public charter school interested in applying for funds should contact their sponsoring district or ESD to request inclusion in the district’s application. Funding is disbursed to the district, and the district will disburse their funds to applicable charter schools. All districts should ensure they include in their application all eligible charter schools that wish to participate in outdoor school.
OSU is committed to providing an outdoor school experience to Oregon 5th and 6th graders within the funding allocations and requirements of the law. Outdoor School funds are limited to students who reside in Oregon and attend outdoor school with a public or charter school (district or state sponsored). Families of homeschool and/or private school students can access Outdoor School funding by working with their public school district and attending if the public school district is willing to sponsor (contract and pay) for their outdoor school experience.
Yes. If Saturday or Sunday is part of the continuous period of an outdoor school program, then a day beyond the normal school day is allowed. For example, if students stay Friday evening and return Saturday or depart for outdoor school on Sunday, a weekend day would qualify as one of the days of the program.
To be eligible for reimbursement with state outdoor school funds, outdoor school programming must occur within the academic year, not between terms or academic years.
Yes. A district/school could choose to schedule their outdoor school program during the winter season if desired. Outdoor school programming must occur within the academic year, not between terms or academic years.
In the future, the Outdoor School program will limit funding to cover the cost for a high number of students who opt-out of attending outdoor school. Our collective priority is for all students to attend the primary outdoor school experience, and we encourage both schools and providers to plan extensive parent/guardian outreach to ensure that students can and want to attend this primary outdoor school experience.
Additionally, we recognize that some students are opting out because this primary outdoor school experience may not work for all students or their families. Because of this, we recommend both schools and providers should work to establish an alternative, and qualifying outdoor school experience for students who opt out of the primary experience, particularly if that number of students exceeds 10% of the total count you entered into your application.
Districts can contract with (and use state outdoor school funds to pay) other districts to provide goods or services related to providing outdoor school. These contracts and transactions would be between the districts; therefore, payment of the contracted district (outdoor school provider) and reporting of outdoor school outcomes to OSU would be the responsibility of the contracting district.
The actual amount awarded to each district is determined by the application and available funding. OSU’s goal is to continue to fully fund all award requests.
The application requires schools to estimate their outdoor school costs for the upcoming year. Our Estimating Costs for Outdoor School Applications tool is designed to support schools in this process.
We strongly encourage those schools or districts using a provider to contact them for a quote prior to applying, and to initiate a contract to lock in your quoted price. Cost estimates and planning should also take into consideration any needs of the students. If you are new to outdoor school planning or have concerns that the past costs will not be enough, feel free to contact your regional coordinator for help in developing costs.
Please see the Budget Categories and Fiscal Policies document for details on the four cost categories and expenditures approved for reimbursement. All outdoor school programs funded with state outdoor school funds must adhere to Oregon Department of Education, state, and federal law, policy and regulations governing public schools.
Providers are welcome to use the Cost Model Report. Some aspects will be helpful, but some may require a fair amount of modification. Our hope is to generate a document specific to providers, so if you have ideas for how we could modify this model, please don't hesitate to let us know.
After six years of providing baseline values (estimated per-student amounts of funding for different program lengths/types), we've found that they are not as effective as we'd hoped. We're now asking that the requested amount in every district/school application be generated by the school or district using our cost estimation tool.
If you are interested in learning more about outdoor school costs, you can view funding data for previous years on the Outdoor School Explorer.
Please don't hesitate to contact your Regional Coordinator should you have questions regarding this tool or the cost estimation process.
Full funding will be dispersed from OSU upon:
Details on the reporting process can be reviewed at the Application and Reporting page.
Funding can be spent for direct costs incurred during the approved school year. Deposits to providers or facilities can be invoiced/paid outside of the approved school year, as long as the service occurs within the approved school year.
OSU encourages that no funds be spent or contracts signed until the approved work order has been signed and executed.
As with other grant awards, Outdoor School funds are limited. When a grantee discovers costs will exceed the awarded amount, they must contact OSU ([email protected]) to request a Change Order. Change Orders are determined based on the reason and funds available.
In limited circumstances, a district may be approved for additional funding above the amount they originally requested. The district must have a reasonable justification for the request, such as costs associated with a weather-related cancellation of their outdoor school program or unexpected costs to support full inclusion of students with disabilities. Generally, requests are not granted for additional funds for costs that could have been anticipated and estimated prior to submitting the original application (such as an increase in provider fees). No change order is necessary for additional students attending.
Districts requesting additional funding must contact their Regional Coordinator and submit a change order. Upon receipt of the district’s request and review of their justification and cost estimating documentation, the OSU Extension Service Outdoor School team will review the request and determine if funds are available to support the increase.
No. Districts should not include overhead or administration costs in their outdoor school funding requests. Please see the Budget Categories and Fiscal Policies document for details.
The OSU Extension Service Outdoor School Program Office is pleased to announce the Outdoor School Columbia Pro Purchase Program!
Columbia Sportswear has a strong history of supporting outdoor school in Oregon. And as District Leaders, Educators, and Outdoor School Providers begin to consider outdoor school equipment and apparel for their students, teachers, and staff, the OSU Extension Service Outdoor School Program Office would like to announce an exciting opportunity for districts and providers to purchase high-quality “tough tested” products at a discounted price. Most products are available at wholesale costs!
Please contact us to find out how outdoor school providers and districts can join Columbia’s Pro Discount Program. We hope districts and providers use this program to develop an inventory of high-quality equipment designed for heavy use that will hold up over time in Oregon’s harsh conditions, while ensuring every student has what they need to participate in outdoor school in both safe and comfortable conditions.
Yes, a 30-day cancellation policy would be acceptable, as long as the site’s costs are reasonable and justified.
Fully executed contracts should be in place between the provider/site and the school district that address a cancelation policy. If a district cancels outdoor school, their justification for cancelation must be approved by the OSU Extension Service Outdoor School program in order to be reimbursed. If the justification is not approved, it is the districts’ responsibility to meet the terms of their contract. (Weather related cancellations that cause unsafe conditions for traveling and participating in outdoor school is an example of a justified cancelation that would be reimbursed)
Yes. This deposit payment should be included in the costs provided to the OSU Extension Service Outdoor School program in the district's Outdoor School Report.
Each year (typically in the summer), a district submits a single application for funding for the upcoming school year. This single district application includes requests for funds for all schools within the district that plan to participate in outdoor school. The applying district must have an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with OSU for outdoor school.
The application requires schools to estimate their outdoor school costs for the upcoming year. Our Estimating Costs for Outdoor School Applications tool is designed to support schools in this process.
Schools/teachers who wish to apply for Outdoor School funding should contact their district’s outdoor school coordinator. If you do not know who to contact in your district, reach out to [email protected] for assistance.
No. OSU can only award grants to Oregon School Districts (“district”), Education Service Districts (ESD), or to the four state-sponsored charter schools. Individual schools and local charter schools must coordinate activities with their district or ESD.
No, districts need to request an IGA from OSU at [email protected].
Reporting is essential to tell the outdoor school story, continue support and funding, and to improve the program.
Districts/ESDs are required to submit one report annually for all participating schools. As soon as a school finishes their outdoor school experience, they can begin their report. Once all schools in the district have completed outdoor school and all reporting details are collected, the district/ESD will submit the report to OSU Outdoor School. While there is one district designate/account owner responsible for submitting the report, each school's report can be ‘delegated’ to other individuals for collaboration.
In addition to quantitative and qualitative questions about the program, each school’s report must include an uploaded program summary with a daily agenda and a curriculum summary. We have examples and templates for reference.
Once the report has been reviewed and approved by OSU Outdoor School, a reimbursement will be issued to the school district.
Please see the Application and Reporting page for details regarding the requirements of your next annual report and related helpful resources.
See a list of individual Outdoor School team members, and the general team email address is [email protected].
See cost estimating tools and more about funding budgets.