Oregon Advisory Committee

Religious Freedom in Correctional Institutions within Oregon

The Oregon Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (Committee) seeks to examine whether the right to religious freedom is adequately safeguarded in correctional institutions within Oregon. The Committee’s inquiry includes examining whether any civil rights concerns exist related to the discrimination or a denial of equal protection of the laws under the Constitution based on race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, national origin, or in the administration of justice. The Committee seeks to determine if any barriers to freely exercising religion exist and identify areas for improvement and develop recommendations accordingly. This project does not assume the presence or absence of civil rights violations; rather, it seeks to assess, based on available evidence, whether religious freedom protections are implemented consistently and equitably across Oregon’s correctional facilities.

As part of this study, the Committee will hold a series of virtual public briefings, each with specific focus areas, to hear testimony from subject matter experts, community leaders, and impacted individuals.

Agendas and other public records for each briefing will be uploaded as they become available at the link below:

Written testimony relevant to these briefings may be submitted at the link below:

If you are interested in providing public comment during a briefing, you can sign-up at the link below until Noon the day before each briefing:

Closed captioning is available through Zoom by selecting "CC" in the meeting platform. Individuals requiring additional accommodations should contact Angelica Trevino at atrevino@usccr.gov at least 10 business days prior to the meeting.

A public comment period is held near the end of each briefing, allowing members of the public to provide oral comments for up to three minutes on the topic. Written testimony will also be accepted — members of the public may submit written testimony through the online form linked above to be considered by the Committee.

Please note that the Committee is advisory in nature and does not have enforcement authority. As such, the Committee is unable to investigate or resolve individual civil rights complaints.

For questions, please contact:

Kayla Fajota, Designated Federal Officer

kfajota@usccr.gov

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