Oregon Public Broadcasting

President Obama’s back-to-school speech was broadcast to schools across the country Tuesday.

Ethan Lindsey reports that the political debate surrounding the speech reached Oregon’s classrooms.

Teachers and students in the Redmond school district had their hands full, as students returned to class.

Administrators also fielded dozens of calls from parents about the President’s speech.

Teachers in Redmond didn’t air the speech live but but may rebroadcast it later – students can be excused with a parent’s note.

Many parents called schools in eastern Oregon districts, but Nyssa superintendent Don Grotting says he would ‘have a hard time with anyone calling the speech indoctrination.’ The President spoke mostly about staying in school.

President Obama: “And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of education will decide nothing less than the future of this country.”

Lake Oswego, Salem, and Portland teachers were given the authority to decide if they wanted to show the speech.

In the rural Jordan Valley district in southeastern Oregon, teachers can't show the speech – not for political reasons, but because the schools don’t have televisions.