SB 565 creates a permanent Montana Endowment for Early Childhood, funded by quarterly state transfers and fees from renewed childcare facility licenses. It establishes a 7-member board (including state agency staff and community representatives) to manage the endowment and allocate funds from the Montana Early Childhood Account. The bill directs funds toward grants for childcare workforce development, quality improvements (like safety upgrades), affordability programs (including subsidies), and emergency assistance for childcare providers. These funds directly support early childhood programs, providers, and families accessing childcare services across Montana.
HB 557 would revise Montana education laws to limit how schools can use teacher professional development days. Specifically, it prohibits using "pupil-instruction-related days" (PIR days) for attending state teacher organization meetings, removes the requirement for school boards to close schools for these annual meetings, and changes attendance policies so teachers who skip these meetings may not be paid. The bill directly affects public school teachers, school districts, and the state's education funding structure by altering how professional development time is structured and compensated. These changes would have taken effect July 1, 2025, but the bill died in committee on May 22, 2025.
HB 663 prohibits Montana public universities and eligible educational institutions from considering race, color, ethnicity, or national origin in admissions, hiring, scholarships, financial aid, or program participation. The bill bans using applicant or student demographic data for decisions and requires institutions to withhold such information from admissions officers until decisions are final. It creates a private right to sue for violations, including a fixed $4,000 statutory penalty per violation, plus compensatory or punitive damages, and waives state immunity for such cases. The bill, which stalled in committee in May 2025, would have taken effect October 1, 2026, if enacted.
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.
HB 515 revises state laws concerning funding for school facilities and technology, directly affecting school districts across the state. The bill consolidates two existing state special revenue accounts and increases the amount and multiplier in the state's major maintenance aid formula. These changes are intended to provide more funding to school districts for significant upkeep projects without impacting property taxpayers. Additionally, it revises statutes related to state school technology payments and allows natural resource development payments to support state major maintenance aid and debt service assistance.
HB 602 requires school districts in Montana to provide written notice to their board of trustees when staff cuts occur due to insufficient funding. The district superintendent (or principal in districts without one) must submit this notice, prompting the board to add it to the next meeting agenda and allow public comment. This applies specifically to reductions in force affecting teachers, excluding routine nonrenewals under existing law. The bill takes effect July 1, 2025, ensuring transparency around funding-driven staffing decisions.
SB 350 revises Montana's education laws concerning extracurricular participation for home school students. The bill allows school districts or athletic organizations to restrict a home school student's ability to participate in extracurricular activities if that student is not a United States citizen or not a resident of Montana. Previously, such restrictions were generally prohibited solely based on the student's home school enrollment. All other existing rules, such as home school students meeting the same participation standards as full-time students, remain in effect.
HB 343 requires school districts to establish a program allowing students to be released from regular school attendance for religious instruction, upon written request from a parent or guardian. This program must provide at least one hour of released time per week for religious instruction. The bill also mandates that school districts adopt a policy to award academic credit for completed religious instruction courses. Credit evaluation must be based on secular criteria, such as class hours and course materials, without regard to the religious content. Public school property or funds cannot be used for the religious instruction itself.
SB 182 revises the Montana Indian language preservation program to strengthen the state's commitment to preserving American Indian cultural integrity and languages. The bill provides greater flexibility for Montana tribes to partner with various educational entities, including public, nonpublic, and tribal schools, and postsecondary institutions. It encourages integrating program efforts with school district immersion programs and emphasizes collaborative professional development and the use of existing tribal language materials. The Office of Public Instruction administers the program, distributing funds equally to participating tribal governments who submit applications detailing their language preservation strategies.
HB 462 aimed to enhance academic excellence by revising education laws related to curriculum and instruction. It would have established a process for the Superintendent of Public Instruction, in collaboration with a committee and an external nonprofit partner, to identify and recommend high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) during content standard revisions. Contingent on legislative funding, the bill would have provided reduced-cost access to these recommended HQIM and aligned professional development for school districts choosing to adopt them. This initiative sought to support teachers and improve curriculum for students across the state.
