In July 2026, a rumor spread that Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat, signed a bill to remove math, reading and writing requirements for graduation to help students of color.
The claim began circulating on Facebook and X on July 9. The posts shared a photo of Kotek, with text on the image that read: "Oregon Governor Signs Bill Removing Reading, Writing, and Math Requirements for High School Graduation to Help 'Students of Color'"
One X post shared the image with a post that read, in part, "Supporters say the change will help remove barriers that have disproportionately affected students of color and other underserved groups" (archived):
The story spread as some polls showed Kotek's opponent in the state's gubernatorial race, Republican candidate Christine Drazan, had a slight lead. As some users seemed to interpret the rumor about dropping literacy standards as true, Snopes readers contacted us to investigate its legitimacy.
However, the claim originated from an account that posts satirical content.
A 'comedian's' Facebook account
To investigate the rumor's legitimacy, we first used search engines such as DuckDuckGo, Google and
We identified the rumor's earliest source: the Facebook page of someone who described himself as a "comedian." Terrence K Williams shared the rumor on July 9 (archived).
We reached out to Williams for his response to the fact the rumor had been stripped of its satirical markings, and the fact that some people mistook the satirical story as real news. We will update this story if we receive a response.
Williams' page contained other fictitious stories based on real events or people. For example, he posted a claim that television journalist Don Lemon said people were asking him for forgiveness for voting for U.S. President Donald Trump. We found no evidence Lemon said such a thing.
Oregon's literacy issue
Literacy has been a significant issue in Oregon for years. The state ranks among the lowest of the nation in academic achievement, according to studies and credible rankings, such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress and Harvard University's Center for Education Policy Research.
It is true that following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, then-Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, signed a bill to suspend standardized testing — but not literacy requirements — until 2024 (this suspension was extended to the 2027-28 school year). This suspension did not preclude students from being required to complete courses, nor did it preclude regular testing in each subject during the school year.
After she was elected in 2023, Kotek created a council dedicated to finding solutions to improve literacy in Oregon. In early 2026, the state announced it would implement an "Education Accountability Plan" establishing new statewide standards by which to measure schools' performance.
Snopes reached out to Kotek's office asking her stance on the 2021 essential skills assessment suspension and we will update this report should we receive a response.
Snopes has debunked similar pieces of media before. For example, we alerted readers to a fake story about famous Jewish eatery Katz's Deli in New York City asking Mayor Zohran Mamdani not to come. The rumor had comparable origins.
Because satire is subjective, we use "originated as satire" or "labeled satire" ratings based on creators' description of their work. It's your call whether you agree.