Hello and welcome to ATP’s really dumb things, they said. I’m Barry Nussbaum. Get ready for a really, really dumb statewide policy just adopted in Oregon.

An Oregon High School Diploma no longer guarantees that students who earned it can read or write or do math at a high school level.

Gov. Kate Brown dropped the requirement that students demonstrate they’ve achieved those essential skills by signing Senate Bill 744 into law. The bill was not entered into the legislative database in a timely manner by the departure from the standard practice of updating the public database the same day a bill is signed. And this was probably done to keep her really dumb policy out of the press.

Charles Boyle, the governor’s spokesperson, said in an email statement that suspending the reading, writing, and math proficiency requirements will benefit “Oregon’s Black, Latino, Latina, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, tribal and students of color. And leaders from those communities have advocated time and time again for equitable graduation standards, along with expanded learning opportunities and support.”

So now, an Oregon High School Diploma does not guarantee that the students who earned it can read or write or do math. Dumb policy, which will guarantee dumb kids coming out of Oregon.