Education

signed · Montana · Senate May 13, 2025

SB 278: Revise education laws to support advanced opportunities

SB 278 revises education laws to enhance "advanced opportunities" for qualifying students in grades 6-12. The bill establishes and defines "Advanced Opportunity Facilitators" to coordinate learning opportunities between school districts, students, families, and external organizations. School districts employing these facilitators can use a portion of their existing Advanced Opportunity Aid to pay them and receive additional Quality Educator Payments for these positions. This aims to support individualized pathways for career and postsecondary educational success for students.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationEstablishes Advanced Opportunity Facilitators, uses existing aid + adds payments to expand access for grades 6-12, directly enhancing educational opportunities.90% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✗ Opposes Education

vetoed · Montana · Senate May 12, 2025

SB 258: Revise school funding laws to clarify the legislature's authority related to inflationary adjustments

SB 258 clarifies the state legislature's authority regarding how public school funding is adjusted for inflation. It amends existing law that outlines how the Superintendent of Public Instruction calculates an annual inflation factor for various school entitlements, which is capped at 3%. This bill explicitly states that the legislature can, through its appropriation and lawmaking authority, provide inflationary adjustments that differ from these standard calculations and may exceed the 3% cap. This affects the financial resources allocated to public schools across the state.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationRemoves 3% cap on inflation adjustments, enabling potential increases in school funding authority per legislative discretion.90% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✗ Opposes Education

Track

signed · Montana · House May 8, 2025

HB 359: Generally revise TRS laws on when retired teachers can return to work after retirement

HB 359 revises the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) laws concerning retired teachers returning to work. It temporarily reduces the required break-in-service period for retired teachers from 150 to 120 days if they retired on or after January 1, 2024. The bill also creates an exception, allowing retired teachers to work for up to 45 days during this break-in-service period specifically to mentor new teachers. These provisions, which also extend existing temporary rules, are effective until June 30, 2029, after which the previous requirements will apply.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationBill facilitates retired teachers mentoring new educators by reducing break-in-service period, supporting teacher development and retention in schools.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✗ Opposes Education

signed · Montana · House May 8, 2025

HB 573: Revise transformational learning laws to create a phase II grant program

HB 573 revises laws related to "transformational learning" in Montana's public schools. The bill moves up the termination of the existing transformational learning grant program by one year and establishes a new Transformational Learning Phase II Grant Program. This new program offers incentives and flexibilities for school districts to implement personalized, proficiency-based learning systems. Districts must apply with strategic plans and proficiency definitions, with the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Board of Public Education overseeing the program's administration and qualification process, which includes a lottery system if funds are limited.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationBill establishes a new Phase II grant program with incentives for personalized, proficiency-based learning systems in K-12 schools, advancing educational innovation through funding and strategic planning requirements.90% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✗ Opposes Education

signed · Montana · House May 6, 2025

HB 266: Establish education inflation reconciliation process

HB 266 revises the annual inflation adjustments for K-12 public school funding in Montana, directly affecting school districts and the Superintendent of Public Instruction. It updates the method for calculating the inflation factor for various school entitlements, using the Consumer Price Index over a three-year period, with an annual cap of 3%. The bill also establishes a new "inflation reconciliation factor" and requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to submit a biennial report comparing budgeted funding increases with actual inflation. This reconciliation factor will then be incorporated into future funding calculations to ensure base aid accurately reflects inflation.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationUpdates inflation adjustment for school funding to maintain real value via CPI-based calculation with 3% cap, preventing budget erosion for K-12 districts.92% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✗ Opposes Education

signed · Montana · House May 6, 2025

HB 251: Generally revise laws related to public charter schools

HB 251 revises laws concerning public charter schools, establishing a definition for "public charter school district" to clarify its governing authority as a non-taxing entity. The bill requires the Office of Public Instruction to provide a fiscal analysis for charter school applications and mandates the Board of Public Education to limit costs for new schools, prioritizing those emphasizing personalized and proficiency-based learning. It removes the Board of Public Education's authority to waive statutory requirements in charter contracts. Additionally, the bill allows public charter school districts to receive other forms of public funding and donations, and defines financial obligations for a child's resident school district when serving students with disabilities.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationBill establishes regulatory framework for charter schools, mandates fiscal analysis, and prioritizes proficiency-based learning - supporting charter school development within education policy.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✗ Opposes Education

signed · Montana · House May 5, 2025

HB 449: Eliminate statutory reference to the adult basic education fund and its distribution

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.

Topics ✗ EducationOpposes EducationBill eliminates statutory reference to Adult Basic Education Fund, removing legal basis for its distribution and effectively defunding adult education programs under education topic.90% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✗ Opposes Education

signed · Montana · House May 5, 2025

HB 509: Revise the quality educator loan forgiveness program to expand eligibility

HB 509 expands Montana's educator loan forgiveness program to cover all newly hired public school teachers in the state, with priority given to those hired in schools designated as "impacted" (where critical teacher shortages exist). It allows eligible teachers to receive up to $5,000 annually in loan repayment assistance over four years ($3,000-$5,000 per year for state-funded aid, plus an additional $5,000 from schools/districts). If funding falls short, the program prioritizes teachers in impacted schools and prorates payments proportionally among them. The bill takes effect July 1, 2025, applying to applications submitted on or after that date.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationExpands loan forgiveness for teachers, providing up to $5,000/year in aid to attract educators, especially in shortage areas, directly funding teacher retention.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✗ Opposes Education

signed · Montana · House May 5, 2025

HB 471: Revise education laws related to human sexuality and identity instruction

HB 471 revises education laws concerning human sexuality and identity instruction in public schools, impacting students, parents, and school districts. The bill requires written parental or guardian permission for a child to attend "identity instruction" and allows parents to withdraw their child from "human sexuality instruction" as an excused absence. It mandates that schools provide advance notice to parents about these instructions and make all related curriculum materials publicly available for inspection. Additionally, the bill prohibits entities that provide abortion services from offering or furnishing materials for human sexuality or sexually transmitted disease instruction to students or personnel.

Topics ✗ EducationOpposes EducationRequires parental consent for identity/sexuality instruction, restricting curriculum content and academic freedom in schools per bill's explicit mandates.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✗ Opposes Education

signed · Montana · House Apr 17, 2025

HB 357: Provide funding for middle school career and technical education

HB 357 provides state funding specifically for career and technical education (CTE) programs in middle schools, junior high schools, and 7th and 8th-grade programs. It directs the Superintendent of Public Instruction to annually distribute these funds to eligible elementary and K-12 school districts. The bill appropriates $100,000 from the general fund for fiscal year 2027 to support these programs. The Superintendent will adopt rules to ensure equitable distribution and proper use of the funds, enhancing existing federal support without school size restrictions.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesAllocates $100,000 from general fund for middle school CTE programs, directly increasing state budget allocation for education as per Appropriations subject.95% confidence ✓ EducationSupports EducationAllocates $100k for middle school CTE funding, directly advancing vocational education programs through state financial support.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✗ Voted No ✗ Opposes Education