Lawmakers eye deep changes to K-12 education

Earlier this month, amidst morning committee meetings and a busy afternoon agenda on the House floor, a group of seven Republican representatives convened in a small meeting room within the Montana Capitol. Among them were influential figures in the state’s budgeting process and leaders of the committee dedicated to matters of education. Together, their combined influence extends to various ongoing deliberations in the Legislature that directly affect teachers, students, and parents.

The current focus of discussion revolved around a multitude of policy suggestions that group members are endorsing to tackle the diverse issues confronting Montana’s K-12 public schools. Every legislator has chosen a distinct objective, including early childhood literacy, college and career preparedness, and teacher recruitment and retention. Collectively, these goals constitute a comprehensive set of reforms.

“This is really a team effort amongst the people that — we have different views on various things, but we’re pretty committed, we’re very well aligned in the education arena,” said Rep. David Bedey, R-Hamilton, who chairs the subcommittee tasked with crafting Montana’s public education budget. “It makes it so much easier to get good legislation put together when you have a couple of different people looking at it.”

So far, most pieces of that package have found strong footing in the 2023 legislative session, drawing bipartisan support and buy-in from organizations representing teachers, school administrators, parents and elected trustees. One proposal from Rep. Marta Bertoglio, R-Montana City, adding a definition of remote instruction to state law passed the House unanimously last month. Other bills still in the pipeline are primed for a mixed reception from public education advocates, namely a pitch from House Education Committee Chair Fred Anderson to establish public charter schools in the state. But regardless of any particular bill’s reception, an underlying message is clear: Public education is one of the biggest issues on the minds of legislators this spring.

The package being carried by Bedey, Bertoglio, Anderson, and other Republican colleagues underscores the importance of their point. However, Democratic lawmakers are also putting forth a significant number of education-focused recommendations, some of which have gained support from legislators on both sides. On the right flank of the Republican caucus, there are emerging bills that showcase a significant divide regarding the functioning of Montana’s education system. Additionally, the Senate is actively engaged in discussions surrounding curriculum and has even advanced a Democratic proposal aimed at incentivizing new teachers to begin their careers in rural districts affected by the state’s ongoing shortage of educators.

It is not a coincidence that education has become a major focus of policymaking in 2023. This is mainly due to the significant financial investment made by the Legislature, with public schools receiving approximately $2.4 billion, which accounts for about one-third of the state’s two-year budget. Additionally, lawmakers have dedicated a substantial amount of time during the recent interim to understanding the challenges faced by the public education system. The urgency to address these issues was further emphasized when Jason Dougal, the President of the National Center on Education and the Economy, informed a group of legislators during the first week of the session that only 60% of American students possess the skills to accurately compare distances or convert currencies. This statement unsettled several legislators in the room. Dougal then went on to reveal that only 14% of students can differentiate between fact and opinion, causing a collective discomfort among the legislators.

I am concerned that if we cannot make progress in this situation, despite the significant attention from parents and the school board, the public model might face difficulties and eventually cease to exist.

Rep. Llew Jones, R-Conrad

Rep. Llew Jones, R-Conrad, is well aware of such stats. Over the past two years, he’s served on a bipartisan group of 20 state legislators from across the country convened by the National Convention of State Legislatures to study the world’s highest-performing public education systems — and better understand why the U.S. isn’t one of them. The group’s work culminated last December in the release of a report titled “The Time Is Now” that outlines a high-level blueprint for where state and local leaders can most effectively direct their efforts. As the chair of Montana’s House Appropriations Committee, Jones is passing those insights along to his in-state cohorts.

“The time is now,” Jones told Montana Free Press this month. “If this can’t happen now and we can’t, with this much parental attention, this much school board attention, if we can’t move the needle here, then I fear that the public model will be in trouble and die.”

THE CASE FOR CHANGE

Something out of the ordinary occurred at the Montana Capitol in June 2022. Around thirty representatives, spanning various branches and levels of government, who were directly involved in the state’s public education system, gathered together in a single room. Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers socialized with members of the Board of Public Education and Board of Regents. State Superintendent Elsie Arntzen sat close to Commissioner of Higher Education Clayton Christian, while Lance Melton, representing Montana’s widespread local school boards, prepared to address the room.

In the opening week of the 2023 session, Jones looked back and realized that the summer meeting was a historic event. It was the first time in known history that all of the state’s educational authorities gathered together in one room. The main objective of the meeting was to discuss how these authorities could collaborate to enhance Montana’s public school system and provide better learning opportunities for students. However, before any progress could be made, they needed to reach a consensus on one crucial question: Is change necessary?

The short answer was yes. Montana’s dismal national ranking on teacher pay and declining proficiency of students in core subjects such as reading and math both featured heavily in the conversation. So did Dougal’s repeated reminders that American students are lagging a year or more behind their academic peers in countries like China, Singapore and Canada, a situation he attributed not to any one school or teaching style but rather to the country’s outdated education model. At that early-session confab, Jones deployed the same comparison he later used in talking with MTFP: the former retail giant Sears, now reduced to fewer than two dozen stores nationwide.

Prior to COVID, it appeared that numerous individuals recognized the necessity for educational reform on a broader scale. However, the advent of COVID has provided us with the realization that we are capable of implementing swift modifications.

Sen. Shannon O’Brien, D-Missoula

“This month, Jones shared with MTFP that despite the dedicated efforts of Sears employees, their hard work alone did not lead to success. The reason behind this failure was their inability to adapt and transform themselves into a Walmart or an Amazon-like entity. Jones emphasized the importance of updating one’s business model, even if it means changing from a once esteemed institution like Sears, which once accounted for approximately 1% of the country’s gross national product. Failing to evolve and embrace change can ultimately result in the disappearance of even the most established entities.”

Montana schools have been wrestling with the symptoms of decline for years. Local officials across the state are routinely unable to hire for hundreds of open educator positions annually through traditional recruitment, often relying on substitutes or retirees to fill vacancies. And according to data from the state Office of Public Instruction, the number of high school students testing as “novice” in English Language Arts has increased 10% since the 2015-16 academic year. In math, it’s increased nearly 15%.

The COVID-19 pandemic served to both deepen many of those challenges and heighten public awareness of them. Educators frequently talk about the long-term impacts of instructional disruption on student learning, and about the lingering social and emotional struggles students are experiencing, particularly in lower grade levels. But Sen. Shannon O’Brien, D-Missoula, also sees the pandemic as a valuable lesson in Montana’s ability to be nimble in meeting the emerging needs of students, parents and teachers.

According to O’Brien, a member of both last year’s Education Interim Committee and this session’s Senate Education and Natural Resource Committee, many individuals recognized the necessity for educational reform even before the onset of COVID. However, the pandemic served as a catalyst for realizing that swift alterations were indeed possible. O’Brien acknowledged that the process was arduous and came with its fair share of pain, yet they remain optimistic that COVID played a crucial role in instigating the changes that lie ahead.

During a separate interview, Bertoglio reiterated the same point on the House side. Alongside other Republican leaders driving the reform package, she expressed how COVID-19 had provided a unique chance to wholeheartedly embrace change, with the public closely observing. She further added that if such transformations couldn’t be accomplished by the Legislature at present, she questioned when they ever could be.

THE VISION

In addition to the existing case for change, there are additional factors that have contributed to the need for action, including the increasing cost of living for educators in larger districts across the state. Amanda Curtis, the President of the Montana Federation of Public Employees, which represents a majority of public school employees, highlights low wages as the primary reason for Montana’s ongoing teacher shortage. She suggests that the Legislature has the opportunity to bring about significant change in this area by 2023.

At the top of her list of bills that could move the needle on teacher recruitment and retention is House Bill 332, a proposal carried by Bedey that would invest $60 million in one-time federal funds to create a statewide health insurance trust for public school districts. Sen. Edie McClafferty, D-Butte, characterized it as a “good bipartisan bill” to MTFP last month, and it passed a preliminary vote on the House floor Feb. 21 with 68 Democrats and Republicans banding together in support.

Curtis emphasized that he has repeatedly heard from our members about the financial struggle they face due to their health insurance costs, despite their pay appearing decent compared to the town’s average. He proposed that if districts choose to participate in this health insurance pool and if the Legislature establishes and funds it, we could witness a significant improvement in teachers’ take-home pay. This, in turn, would be a compelling factor for them to stay and work here instead of seeking opportunities elsewhere.

Sen. Dan Salomon, R-Ronan, who chairs the Senate Education and Natural Resources Committee and helped craft the bill, noted that the potential benefits extend not just to teachers but to “the whole staff,” from custodians to cafeteria workers. He added that, as with other education reforms proposed this session, the state’s $2 billion budget surplus presents a rare opportunity to implement such a significant change.

“The insurance trust presents us with a singular opportunity to accomplish something,” Salomon expressed. “Therefore, we seized it.”

HB 332 isn’t on the list of bills Bedey provided to MTFP that he considers the most significant pieces of the reform package he’s helped spearhead. But a proposal that is on that list would expand an incentive program created in 2021 to increase pay for teachers in the first three years of their careers. House Bill 588, introduced by Jones last week, extends eligibility for that incentive to include teachers working under provisional licenses, which are issued by OPI to individuals who don’t qualify for a full teaching license but are working to fulfill those requirements. HB 588 would also clarify that the incentives do not apply to educators operating under an emergency employment authorization from the state.

Elsewhere in the package, Rep. Brad Barker, R-Roberts, is sponsoring an effort to bolster reading proficiency among Montana’s youngest students. The interim featured several lengthy discussions between lawmakers and educators about federal requirements to provide educational opportunities for special needs students under the age of 5. Those conversations also touched on a broader ambition to increase student literacy by third grade — the prevailing argument being that, by that point, students need to be reading to learn rather than learning to read.

Barker’s House Bill 352 allows locally elected school boards to provide targeted intervention for young children who aren’t expected to meet grade-level reading benchmarks, and directs the Board of Public Education and OPI to come up with a research-based method for gauging those students’ trajectories. Rep. Linda Reksten, R-Polson, framed the proposal as “building a better foundation” for K-2 kids so they can “attack the science and history and complex reading” they’ll encounter later in school. Barker concurred, noting that 2021 assessment data from OPI indicates 54% of Montana students in grades 3-8 can’t read at grade level.

Barker expressed that the issue at hand does not solely concern the sufficiency and standard of education statewide. In fact, there is a compelling argument for taxpayers, parents, workforce, and employers throughout the state to play a proactive role in addressing these concerns at an earlier stage, with a specific focus.

Further up the academic chain, Rep. Courtenay Sprunger, R-Kalispell, has taken lead on a piece of the Republican puzzle aimed at college and career readiness in grades 6-12. House Bill 257 revisits a Jones-sponsored law passed in 2019 that helps districts establish STEM courses and career and technical education programming. Sprunger’s changes would increase the amount of district funding dedicated to efforts under the Advanced Opportunity Act and raise the total that districts are required to spend on out-of-pocket costs that would otherwise be incurred by the parents of participating students.

According to OPI’s latest report, 31 Montana schools received money through the act last year to support community college partnerships, workplace learning initiatives, college tours and career exploration efforts — all of which must be approved by the state to qualify for funding. For Sprunger, it’s one of numerous programs directed toward individualized learning that schools in her district have embraced.

According to Sprunger, while there may be controversial subjects in the field of education, there are certain aspects that receive widespread agreement. These include career and technical education, practical learning opportunities, and personalized experiences for students. Sprunger also noted that constituents from various political affiliations consistently express their desire for these elements.

On Tuesday, HB 257 made its inaugural appearance on the House floor and was successfully passed with a bipartisan vote of 88-11.

Melton, the executive director of the Montana School Boards Association, connects each of these proposals, as well as several others being discussed in the Capitol, directly to the issues that were emphasized during the interim. The constitutional authorities involved in the noteworthy June meeting, as well as a subsequent meeting in September, agreed on four primary areas of focus for policy development: proficiency-based learning, career and technical education, teacher retention and professional transformation, and early childhood education. According to Melton, he is currently “excited” about the potential for progress in all four areas during this spring.

MTFP was informed that the individual said, “It’s still early in the session, so give me a call after a month. By then, I might either feel completely demotivated or perhaps even more enthusiastic than I am now. However, I believe we have proposed a perfect combination of ideas to the Legislature, which provides them with ample opportunities to successfully implement all of those priorities outlined in our strategic planning.”

In an emailed response to questions regarding education reform policies this session, OPI did not reference any of the bills Jones and his colleagues have sponsored. According to OPI spokesperson Brian O’Leary, Superintendent Arntzen’s top four legislative priorities are primarily budgetary in nature: a 3% inflationary adjustment for education funding, which has already cleared both chambers; money for long-term maintenance of the agency’s new teacher licensing system; a one-time increase for audiology equipment; and tuition coverage for residential mental health treatment, which passed the House this month.

“On behalf of Arntzen, O’Leary expressed gratitude for the emphasis on transparency in education during this session. Additionally, he acknowledged the significant attention given to legislation centered around families, parents, students, and Montana teachers, all aimed at prioritizing the well-being of our Montana students.”

O’Leary also listed seven other bills Arntzen believes will result in direct improvements for students and teachers. Those include a measure expanding eligibility requirements for career coaches, a bill requiring school boards to adopt grievance policies, a bill prohibiting schools from disciplining students who refer to transgender peers by a gender or name they no longer identify with, and a bill granting the state superintendent authority to “deny the use of textbooks that, for example, include CRT.” CRT stands for “critical race theory.”

THE REST OF THE PUZZLE

Charter schools remain a contentious topic in Montana’s ongoing public education discourse, and not all proposals in the House Republican package are expected to garner the same level of support as Barker’s targeted intervention or Bedey’s insurance trust. A recent bill introduced by Anderson focuses specifically on this matter.

The stated intent of House Bill 549 is to “create a limited number of innovative and high-performing public charter schools.” Melton, whose organization helped to craft the legislation, said the bill is “180 degrees away” from other charter school proposals that have debuted in the Legislature in that it assigns authority over those schools to locally elected school boards and the Board of Public Education. Anderson considers HB 549 a continuation of work done in past sessions to remove “impairments” to innovation in the public school system.

Anderson stated that there are no limitations in public schools compared to charter schools. However, the issue lies in the long-standing tradition of education, which has made school boards and administrators unaware of the flexibility and options available to them. Consequently, it is challenging to introduce and implement changes in their mindset.

Curtis anticipates that her union will strongly oppose the measure, as it has routinely opposed past proposals to establish charter schools in the state. Others may frame HB 549 as a carefully crafted compromise, she said, but MFPE still sees charter schools as a move toward “privatizing — for profit — our public education system.”

Curtis expressed similar concern about a non-package proposal from Rep. Sue Vinton, R-Billings, to establish education savings accounts for special needs students. Under House Bill 393, funding for those accounts would come from per-student state payments to local districts, and allow parents of students with disabilities to seek reimbursements for tuition, textbooks, tutoring, online programming and other educational materials and services. 

Last week, during the presentation of the bill to the House Education Committee, Vinton described it as a means to guarantee equal educational opportunities for all students by providing them with the necessary instruction and materials to reach their maximum educational capabilities. However, opponents such as MFPE argued that HB 393 would divert public funds towards private organizations and decrease funding for local resources that will still be essential for special needs students who choose not to participate.

Jenny Murnane Butcher, deputy director of Montanans Organized for Education, emphasized that although certain families have the means and flexibility to explore alternative educational avenues for their children, many others are not as fortunate. These families depend on the public school system to provide essential services such as education, occupational and speech therapy, and more. Instead of diverting funds from public schools, it is crucial to enhance support for existing programs in order to ensure equal access to services for all students.

On the Senate side, the push for education reform has manifested in a series of proposals impacting students and teachers alike. O’Brien received a shout-out from Gov. Greg Gianforte during his second State of the State address Jan. 25 for carrying a measure defining what proficiency-based learning means in state law. The gist of Senate Bill 8, O’Brien told MTFP, is to make clear that student performance in Montana isn’t measured by seat-time or advancement from one grade to the next, but rather on students’ grasp of the material in front of them.

O’Brien has also set her sights on the teacher recruitment and retention side of the equation with a bill to expand the eligibility requirements for teachers in Montana’s educator loan assistance program. Senate Bill 70 passed the Senate earlier this month on a bipartisan 46-4 vote. From the Republican caucus, Salomon introduced a bill this week to create an alternate pathway to full licensure for teachers, one that mirrors regulatory licensing changes that were discussed by the Board of Public Education last year but drew stiff opposition from MFPE and other education advocates.

Teacher retention in particular is the thrust of House Bill 445, carried by Rep. Melissa Romano, D-Helena. The freshman legislator, former two-time candidate for state superintendent and 2018 Montana Teacher of the Year has proposed a new statewide program to provide structured one-year mentoring for early career teachers administered through the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education. 

In a recent interview with MTFP, Romano highlighted “teacher burnout” as one of the toughest consequences of the post-pandemic era in education. She explained that educators are putting in double the effort to address both the academic and social-emotional needs of their students. Additionally, with inflation and the increasing cost of housing, teachers are experiencing heightened stress levels. Romano believes that creating a collaborative and supportive atmosphere for teachers is crucial in tackling this issue.

Romano expressed her reflection on the factors that contributed to her career success, highlighting the significant role played by exceptional teachers. She emphasized the importance of mentorship programs, which she prominently advocated for during her 2016 campaign for superintendent. Romano emphasized that this has been a long-standing passion of hers.

All of the aforementioned policy efforts represent only a fraction of the education-centric legislation making the rounds this session. Legislators have already engaged in heated debates over obscenity laws, the treatment of transgender students and the distinction between scientific fact and scientific theory — many of them driven by the conservative-leaning parental rights movement. Other bills holding the promise of similar contention are just now making their appearance, among them a proposal from Sen. Theresa Manzella, R-Hamilton, to enshrine an extensive list of parental rights in state law. 

However, there is also some bipartisanship involved, which gives Melton hope that the shared goal of enhancing Montana’s current public education system will prevent any attempts to undermine or completely abandon it.

Melton expressed that the Legislature is brimming with various proposals aimed at enhancing schools and their ability to effectively serve children. Even if we may not fully agree with or share the same perspective on some of these ideas, it is crucial to acknowledge the disparity between legislators who aim to strengthen and expand public schools versus those who are seeking an exit strategy.