Superintendent Check-in: 3/17/2021

As the Montana Legislature only convenes every 2 years for a 90-day session, the next 6 weeks is an important period of time. There are several bills continuing to make their way through legislative committees of the House and Senate that I am monitoring, which may impact Whitehall Schools. Here is a summary of a few key pieces of legislation with recent action:

• HB435 would generally revise civil liability laws for government entities and sets conditions on civil actions for exposure to COVID-19. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Bill Mercer, includes COVID-19 liability lawsuit protections for schools and narrowly passed the House on March 1. The bill also has a provision to allow up to 6 guests at extracurricular activities, including graduation, for each student. No Democrats voted in favor of HB435 in the House. The bill has been assigned to the Senate’s Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs Committee, with the next hearing scheduled for March 19. If the bill gets out of committee, it will need a 2/3 vote on the floor of the Senate or 34 votes to pass. There are 31 Republicans in the Senate, so passage would require the support of every one of them and at least 3 Democrats. The legislature previously passed SB65, which Governor Gianforte already signed into law, to revise civil liability laws for businesses, churches, and property owners.

• HB46, sponsored by Rep. David Bedey, would revise special education funding and put inflationary increases for state special education funding into statute. The bill proposes applying the inflation factor calculated under MCA 20-9-326 for base aid (general education) dollars to special education dollars also. This bill would replace an antiquated system of funding special education, which did not previously account for inflation. HB46 was transmitted from the House to the Senate and has been referred to the Education and Cultural Resources Committee with a hearing slated for March 22.

• HB246 would revise education laws to enhance local control and opportunities for pupils and is sponsored by Rep. Marta Bertoglio. This omnibus bill addresses many topics including 1) Supporting a personalized approach to learning, including proficiency-based and offsite instruction as well as work-based learning and courses; 2) Ensuring school district access to qualified educators, including successful educators licensed in other states and professionals with life experience in a trade rather than exclusively those with a college degree; 3) Improving recognition of the constitutional authority of school board trustees who have been elected by their communities. HB246 was transmitted from the House to the Senate and is currently in hearings of the Education and Cultural Resources Committee.

If you are interested in contacting a legislator or legislative committee regarding any bill, there is an online form for comment submission located at https://leg.mt.gov/web-messaging/