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Do Montana teachers need their own bill of rights? Why is the Treasure State still struggling with starting teacher pay?
And, how should the state fund education for students who are English Language Learners?
The Montana Legislature kicks into action on Monday, and in advance of the session, Democratic lawmakers discussed their priorities for education in a news conference, and in phone calls, Republicans identified key issues they expect to see debated.
Rep. Connie Keogh, a Missoula Democrat, said a study of school funding, mandated in statute and taking place every fifth interim, is already a topic of discussion, including who will serve on the decennial commission and its scope of work.
The commission, made up of six members from each chamber and four members of the public, studies educational needs and costs of Montana’s system of free, quality public education, according to a report from the Legislative Services Division.
It recommends changes if necessary.
“I do think it’s going to be a pivotal point in our state’s funding of education,” said Keogh.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle said paying starting teachers more money remains a priority.
In June 2024, lawmakers heard the Office of Public Instruction had bungled a key program to boost teacher pay, a program of the 2023 TEACH Act.
According to data from OPI, only roughly half of the school districts had used it in the 2025 fiscal year compared to previous years.
This session, Rep. David Bedey, a Hamilton Republican slated to serve as chairperson of the joint appropriations subcommittee on education, said he expects a bill to address starting teacher pay will be the “centerpiece” of a legislative push in education.
Bedey said the Student and Teacher Advancement for Results and Success, or STARS, Act, to be carried by Rep. Llew Jones, R-Conrad, will also aim to close an inflation gap in education.
Sen. John Fuller, a Kalispell Republican and incoming chairman of the Education and Cultural Resources Committee, said he anticipates the debate on starting pay will begin “very quickly in the first couple of weeks” of the session.
Keogh said she believes the STARS Act is a good start. However, she also said it focuses on the least-paid teachers, not mid- or late-career teachers, so “it’s raising the floor without raising the walls or the ceiling.”
“This bill has good possibilities. Devil’s in the details,” Keogh said.
Keogh also said she wants to support funding for English Language Learners in Montana, whose “population has expanded greatly.”
She said Montana is the only state that does not fund districts ELL programming on a per-student basis, and instead relies only on funds from Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
EducationWeek, a publication dedicated to news in K-12 education, described Title III grants as funding that goes “toward supplemental services for English learners.” Keogh described it as “only a drop in the bucket.”
Rep. Melissa Romano, a Helena Democrat, said generally, education bills from Democrats will focus on three areas — strengthening K-12 funding, supporting students and teachers, and finding and keeping educators.
“Recruitment is important, but retention is just as important,” Romano said.
She also said Rep. Eric Matthews, a Bozeman Democrat, will be carrying legislation to adopt a teacher bill of rights, which is coming from “this unprecedented time where teachers have really been sort of attacked.”
“He wants to have teachers protected, especially from bad actors,” Romano said.
In the 2023 session, lawmakers adopted a bill to expand public charter schools, and it was so popular, the Board of Public Education saw and approved more proposals than expected.
Bedey said this time around, legislators may take a closer look at the budget for it. Montana has to balance its budget, he said, “unlike in Washington, D.C.”
“I’m encouraged by the public charter school program, but we are going to have to look at how we can fund it in a sustainable manner,” Bedey said.
Funding for public schools also will be a topic of discussion in the upcoming session, which will have a Republican majority, although not the supermajority it had in 2023.
The Montana Constitution spells out an obligation for the state to fund public schools, but Bedey said how it happens, or whether money comes from property taxpayers or income taxpayers, is a question for consideration.
Given the “explicit obligation to fund the public schools,” Bedey said he would like to retain a state school levy as a stable source of funding.
That money comes from property taxes, though.
Residential taxpayers’ pocketbooks have been hit especially hard recently, and they also are shouldering the largest portion of the property tax bill — and a growing portion, now 59% compared to 45% in 2015, according to the Department of Revenue.
In the recent interim session, Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s property tax task force studied the issue, and a subcommittee on education reviewed the effects of property taxes on school funding.
The task force’s proposals for the upcoming legislature to consider include a change designed to equalize taxes between poorer and wealthier districts, setting turnout or supermajority minimums for mill levy elections, and other recommendations.