Portland Public Schools

At Mt. Tabor were, from left, PPS Board chair Julia Brim-Edwards; seventh-graders Athena Wooters and Luca Larsen Utsumi; Gov. Kate Brown; seventh-grader Lola Hatakeyama; and Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero. (Photo by Beth Conyers)

At Mt. Tabor were, from left, PPS Board chair Julia Brim-Edwards; seventh-graders Athena Wooters and Luca Larsen Utsumi; Gov. Kate Brown; seventh-grader Lola Hatakeyama; and Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero. (Photo by Beth Conyers)

CLOSE

In a ceremony at Mt. Tabor Middle School on Monday, Gov. Kate Brown signed House Bill 4155. The new law, a response to the Federal Communications Commission repealing net neutrality protections in December, makes it illegal for state agencies to work with internet service providers that use discriminatory practices, such as paid prioritization and blocking content.

The ceremony took place at Mt. Tabor because of leadership on the issue shown by seventh-graders Athena Wooters, Lola Hatakeyama and Luca Larsen Utsumi, who testified before a legislative committee in Salem.

Also attending Monday’s ceremony were Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, House majority leader Jennifer Williamson, Rep. Allisa Keny-Guyer (whose district includes Mt. Tabor), PPS Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero and PPS Board chair Julia Brim-Edwards. Rosenblum and Brim-Edwards both had children who attended Mt. Tabor.

In addition to the ceremony, several members of the party visited the classroom of Matthew Bacon-Brenes, the Oregon Teacher of the Year.

See also:

• More photos from Monday's ceremony
• Report from KGW
• Report from KPTV