Education

SB 177 authorizes the Community Choice School Commission to seek and receive public funding. The bill also clarifies the commission's existing ability to accept and spend gifts and donations from private individuals and entities. These changes directly impact the financial operations of the Community Choice School Commission, which is responsible for approving authorizers for choice schools across the state. This allows the commission to broaden its sources of financial support.

HB 449 is a bill that eliminates the statutory reference to the Adult Basic Education Fund and its distribution within the Montana Code Annotated. It achieves this by repealing section 20-7-712, which outlines this fund and its distribution. This change primarily affects the legal framework governing adult basic education funding in Montana by removing this specific statutory provision, with an effective date of July 1, 2025.

HB 591 establishes "Celebrate Freedom Week" in Montana public schools during the last full week of September each year, effective July 1, 2025. This bill requires social studies classes to provide at least three hours of instruction on the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Montana Constitution, including their historical context and impact on American history. Additionally, students in grades 3 through 12 are mandated to recite a specific passage from the Declaration of Independence daily during this week. Exceptions for student recitation are provided for parental requests, conscientious objections, or children of foreign diplomatic representatives.

HB 400, titled the "Free to Speak Act," prohibits public schools and the state from taking disciplinary or adverse actions against students and employees. This protection applies if they decline to state their own pronouns or to address another person using a name, pronoun, or title that is inconsistent with that person's sex or not their legal name. The bill allows individuals harmed by such violations to bring a civil lawsuit seeking injunctive relief, monetary damages, and attorney fees. This act aims to protect specific speech choices for students and employees within public education and interactions with the state.

HB 28 clarifies operational rules for Montana's public charter schools, directly affecting new and existing charter schools and the Board of Public Education. It specifies that timeline requirements (like proposal deadlines) count as business days, exempts approved charters from standard school opening rules, and changes first-year funding: charter schools won't receive per-pupil "per-anb" funding, and basic funding will be based on planned enrollment with potential clawbacks if actual enrollment falls short. The bill also requires the Board to report charter school status to the Office of Public Instruction and county superintendents, and mandates annual performance reports comparing charter school outcomes to traditional public schools. These changes aim to streamline the charter school approval and funding process while ensuring accountability.