Lawmakers in the Montana House advanced a pair of dueling proposals this week that outline distinct and contradictory paths toward a K-12 charter school system in the state, hinting at a fundamental divide among Republicans about how to resolve a long-standing debate over educational choice.
The first of those measures to appear on the House floor Wednesday was House Bill 562, which would authorize the creation of “community choice schools” under the jurisdiction of a new, autonomous statewide commission attached to the Montana Board of Public Education. Parents and community groups could, under HB 562, seek approval for such a school directly from the new commission or from an authorized local school board. Choice schools would be subject to the same federal laws as K-12 public schools, but governed at the state level by their own set of curricular, licensing and academic reporting regulations.
“The intent of this bill is to create options that empower parents, encourage students to develop their full educational potential, provide a variety of professional opportunities for teachers and encourage educational entrepreneurship,” the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Sue Vinton, R-Billings, said Thursday. She added that HB 562 would provide “ample oversight” of newly established community choice schools.
Vinton’s introduction kicked off a heated discussion as Republican supporters sought to promote the bill as a way to improve educational freedom, increase institutional competition and break what Rep. Terry Falk, R-Kalispell, called the “monopoly” of the current public school system. Critics within the Democratic caucus countered that HB 562 would commit taxpayer dollars to an educational model without adequate accountability measures or teacher certification requirements. Rep. Mark Thane, D-Missoula, directly challenged the legality of the proposal, noting that the Montana Constitution vests oversight of public education in the Board of Public Education and locally elected school boards.
Thane and others struggled to comply with procedural rules preventing them from discussing another piece of charter school legislation, sticking primarily to veiled references. That dam broke loose several hours later when the second proposal — House Bill 549 — came to the floor. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Fred Anderson, R-Great Falls, is part of a package of Republican-led education reform bills introduced this session and seeks to place state oversight of charter schools directly in the hands of the Board of Public Education. Anderson’s public charter schools would be governed by the same laws and administrative rules applied to public schools, and be under the local jurisdiction of either an existing elected school board or a locally elected charter school board.
In his opening statements, Anderson highlighted that parents or any concerned group of citizens who seek educational opportunities not currently offered by their school district have the option to approach local trustees with a charter application. This allows the board an initial opportunity to address these concerns by either expanding programming in existing public schools or approving the charter. If these efforts prove unsuccessful, parents or citizens can subsequently bring their request to the Board of Public Education.
According to Anderson, this ensures that local control remains the primary decision-making authority for the local board. If the board chooses not to take action, it opens the possibility for any external organization to submit an application.
During the discussion on the floor, HB 549 received minimal criticism, except for one concern regarding a possible “conflict of interest” if a current public school board is given the responsibility of overseeing a charter school. However, supporters took advantage of the situation to highlight how HB 549 effectively addresses the constitutional and regulatory issues that were raised in relation to the prior proposal.
HB 549 and HB 562 successfully cleared their first votes in the House, with HB 549 receiving a 79-21 bipartisan vote and HB 562 garnering a 63-37 vote predominantly along party lines. These bills now need to go through the House Appropriations Committee for further consideration before the final House vote. Since both bills necessitate state funding for implementation, they are exempt from the transmittal deadline on Friday, thanks to an agreement reached among the leadership.
According to Lance Melton, the executive director of the Montana School Boards Association, HB 549 and HB 562 have achieved a significant milestone in the legislative process, surpassing all previous charter school proposals in the last twenty years. Notably, HB 549 stands out as it is the first charter school bill in this period to receive backing from the majority of Montana’s public education associations, including Melton’s.
