HB 837 establishes a statewide Retired Teacher Induction and Mentoring Program to support new teachers by pairing them with retired teachers from the same school district. School districts can optionally participate, matching a new teacher with a former teacher for up to three months of guidance. Participating districts compensate retired teachers hourly for up to 36 hours, and the Office of Public Instruction then reimburses these costs. The program, funded by an annual $100,000 state appropriation, aims to provide new teachers with support such as classroom feedback, administrative assistance, and help with district policies.
HB 51 proposes to increase the supplemental employer contribution rate paid by employers within the Montana University System (MUS) to the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS). Currently, MUS employers contribute 4.72% of the total compensation for employees participating in the MUS Retirement Program. This bill would raise that contribution rate to 14.21%. The increased contributions are intended to help amortize the past service liability of the Teachers' Retirement System for university system members by July 1, 2033, with the changes taking effect on July 1, 2025.
HB 405 proposed to increase the maximum reimbursement rates that school districts receive from state and county sources for student transportation. The bill specifically raised the per-mile rates for school buses of different passenger capacities, as well as for non-bus mileage. The intent was to lower school district property taxes designated for transportation expenses. These changes would have applied to school district transportation budgets starting July 1, 2025.
HB 508 aimed to establish media literacy as a legislative goal for Montana's public elementary and secondary schools. The bill proposed amending state law to include strengthening media literacy within the state's educational objectives. This would involve teaching students to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act using various forms of communication. Additionally, it sought to help students reduce their susceptibility to disinformation, misinformation, propaganda, and indoctrination. The overall goal was to integrate these media literacy skills into the learning environment for all public school students.
HB 265 proposed changes to how Montana school districts manage their general fund budgets, primarily affecting school boards and local taxpayers. The bill would have allowed school boards to increase a previously voter-approved local property tax levy (an "over-BASE levy") by the same inflationary adjustment provided by the legislature for state school funding. This adjustment would not require a new vote from district electors, provided the increase was solely due to the legislative inflation adjustment and stayed within overall budget limits. The bill aimed to improve the alignment of school funding with the defined "basic system" and ensure annual inflationary adjustments are included in the funding formula.
HB 922 proposes to establish a new education tax credit for resident taxpayers who are parents or legal guardians of children attending nonpublic schools. This bill would allow a $250 credit per eligible student each year, applied against the taxpayer's income tax liability. Any unused credit could be carried forward for up to three years. The legislation also revises the review schedule for existing tax credits and aims to provide parity in aggregate limits for educational programs in public and nonpublic school settings.
HB 654 aims to support and expand early literacy targeted intervention programs within school districts. The bill clarifies how school districts can count students participating in these programs, including those offered in partnership with community organizations, for Average Number Belonging (ANB) calculations, which affects state funding. It also proposes creating a temporary grant program to help districts establish or expand classroom-based early literacy intervention initiatives.
HB 373 aimed to revise the allocation of excess state lottery revenue, dedicating it to education funding instead of the state general fund. The Office of Public Instruction would distribute these funds quarterly to school districts based on a per-quality-educator formula. Districts would deposit these funds into their school flexibility funds, which could be used for various expenditures, including teacher salaries, benefits, housing, technology enhancements, and facility improvements.
HB 771 aimed to revise university housing policies for the Montana University System. It would have prevented universities from requiring students to live on campus if they live with an immediate family member whose principal residence is within a one-hour drive of the campus. Students could be required to submit a form confirming their off-campus residence with a parent, guardian, grandparent, aunt/uncle, or adult sibling. Universities would have had two business days to approve or deny such requests, provided the student met the specified conditions.
HB 168 revises state school funding laws to include 3- and 4-year-old children with disabilities in a school district's annual number belonging (ANB) calculations. This change enables school districts to receive state financial support for providing special education services to these preschool-aged children. Previously, these children were not included in ANB counts, meaning there was no state funding mechanism for their education, despite districts being obligated to provide these services. The bill amends Section 20-9-311, MCA, to allow their inclusion based on aggregate hours of pupil instruction.
