Revise laws related to the school funding interim commission.
HB 153 revises the laws governing Montana's School Funding Interim Commission, which is responsible for studying public school educational needs and funding. The bill alters the commission's membership to include various state education officials and sets an April 1 appointment deadline. For the 2025-2026 interim, it creates an "Innovation and Excellence in Education Working Group" to compare Montana's education policies with high-performing systems and develop improvement recommendations. The bill also designates a presiding officer and appropriates $10,000 for early commission activities.
This bill revises the Montana School Funding Interim Commission to focus specifically on the 2025-2026 interim, requiring the formation of a new 'Innovation and Excellence in Education Working Group' to develop recommendations before the main study begins. The commission's composition is updated to include specific public representatives and state officials, and the appointment deadline is set for May 1 of the year the commission forms.
Scope change
The bill's scope is narrowed to the 2025-2026 interim, introducing a new working group requirement and updating the commission's membership structure to include public members, school board officers, and the superintendent of public instruction.
REQUIREMENT
Created a new 'Innovation and Excellence in Education Working Group' that must form before the commission's main study to develop an implementation plan.
TIMELINE
Set a specific deadline of May 1 for making appointments to the commission.
ELIGIBILITY
Updated commission membership to include the presiding officer of the board of public education, the superintendent of public instruction, and the governor as members.
Adjusted the number and selection method of public members, specifying that two are appointed by the House Speaker and two by the Senate President.
DEFINITION
Revised the legislative title and summary to reflect the new focus on the 2025-2026 interim and the creation of the working group.
HB0153_X(7).pdf→HB0153_3(13).pdf·1 edit
MINOR
The bill was renumbered from HB 153 to HB0153.3 and updated with new line numbers. The substantive text of the act remains identical, retaining the same requirements for the School Funding Interim Commission, including its composition, duties, and the creation of a working group for the 2025-2026 interim.
Scope change
No change in scope or applicability; the bill's subject matter and legal effect are unchanged.
TECHNICAL
The bill number was changed from HB 153 to HB0153.3, and the internal line numbering was reformatted to reflect a new version of the document.
HB0153_X(1).pdf→HB0153_X(2).pdf·4 edits
MODERATE
The bill title was updated to reflect a shift in the commission's focus for the 2025-2026 interim period and to establish a new Innovation and Excellence in Education Working Group. A new working group was created with specific duties to address educational innovation during this interim session. Additionally, the bill now explicitly amends a specific section of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA) and clarifies the effective date of the legislation.
Scope change
The bill's scope expanded to include the creation of a new working group and a specific amendment to existing state code, while also refining the commission's strategic focus for the upcoming interim session.
REQUIREMENT
Created a new 'Innovation and Excellence in Education Working Group' to operate during the 2025-2026 interim period with specific duties.
Added explicit language amending Section 5-20-301 of the Montana Code Annotated.
TIMELINE
Updated the bill title to reflect a modified commission focus for the 2025-2026 interim instead of a general focus.
TECHNICAL
Corrected a grammatical error in the title by changing 'designating a an' to 'designating a'.
HB0153_3(12).pdf→HB0153_X.pdf·5 edits
MODERATE
The bill was updated from a draft version to its final enrolled form, incorporating substantive policy changes to the School Funding Interim Commission. Key updates include extending the commission's formation schedule to every fifth interim starting in 2025-2026, creating a new Innovation and Excellence Working Group for the current interim, and adjusting the commission's membership composition to ensure equal representation from both political parties. The bill also modernized the language to remove outdated references to 2015 and clarified the commission's duties to prioritize current student needs over prior year enrollment.
Scope change
The bill's scope was expanded to include a new Innovation and Excellence Working Group for the 2025-2026 interim and updated the commission's formation schedule to occur every fifth interim starting in 2025-2026, rather than the previous 2015-2016 cycle.
TIMELINE
Changed the commission formation schedule from the 2015-2016 interim to every fifth interim starting with 2025-2026.
REQUIREMENT
Added a requirement to form an Innovation and Excellence in Education Working Group for the 2025-2026 interim to develop recommendations for improving the school system.
Updated the commission's study criteria to prioritize funding for current year students rather than systems based on prior year enrollment.
ELIGIBILITY
Modified commission membership rules to require equal representation (three from majority and three from minority) for both House and Senate members, replacing previous party-specific appointment structures.
TECHNICAL
Corrected formatting errors and removed draft markers (e.g., HB0153.3) to reflect the final enrolled bill text.
HB0153_3(7).pdf→HB0153_3(8).pdf·1 edit
MINOR
The bill text was updated to remove unnecessary spacing and line breaks in a specific subsection regarding the formation of an education working group. This change is purely technical and does not alter the bill's meaning, scope, or requirements.
TECHNICAL
Removed extra line breaks and spacing in the text describing the working group formation timeline.
HB0153_3(3).pdf→HB0153_3(4).pdf·4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was restructured to establish a comprehensive education funding reform process. The primary change is the creation of a new 'innovation and excellence in education working group' to develop recommendations before the main commission begins its study. The commission's composition was clarified to ensure specific leadership roles from legislative committees are included, and the study's mandate now explicitly prioritizes transparent, equitable funding formulas that reward student growth over simple enrollment counts.
Scope change
The bill's scope expanded to include a preliminary working group phase and clarified the specific roles and appointment criteria for the commission members to ensure bipartisan representation and legislative oversight.
REQUIREMENT
Added a new requirement to form an 'innovation and excellence in education working group' to develop objectives and an implementation plan before the commission conducts its study.
Clarified the commission membership structure to specify that certain committee presiding officers must serve as members, ensuring direct legislative expertise is included.
Added specific criteria for the funding formula, including reducing administrative burdens, allowing parental choice, eliminating tuition payments between districts, and minimizing property tax impacts.
FISCAL
Modified the commission's study mandate to explicitly strive for funding formulas that are understandable, transparent, equitable, and prioritize student academic growth rather than just head counts.
HB0153_3.pdf→HB0153_3(1).pdf·3 edits
MINOR
The bill underwent a significant structural reorganization, shifting from a continuous list of funding principles to a renumbered, nested format. The most substantive change is the addition of a requirement to reduce administrative burdens and drive funding toward classroom instruction, which was previously buried in the text. Additionally, the composition of the new education commission was clarified and expanded to include specific leadership roles from both legislative chambers and the public.
Scope change
The scope of the bill's funding principles was expanded to explicitly include reducing administrative burdens and directing funds to classroom instruction.
REQUIREMENT
Added a specific requirement that the funding formula must reduce administrative burdens and prioritize classroom instruction.
Reorganized the list of funding principles from a flat list into a nested structure with clear lettered sub-points.
Clarified the appointment process for the new education commission, specifying exact roles for House and Senate leadership and public members.
HB0153_2(22).pdf→HB0153_3.pdf·3 edits
MINOR
The bill text was renumbered and reorganized to insert a new set of eight specific funding principles that the commission must follow. These principles mandate that future funding formulas be transparent, equitable, and based on student academic growth rather than just enrollment counts. The changes also streamline the commission's composition by removing redundant appointment clauses and clarifying the roles of public members.
REQUIREMENT
Added a new list of eight specific principles for designing education funding formulas, including requirements for transparency, equity, stability, and prioritizing current-year funding over prior-year enrollment.
Reorganized the commission's appointment structure by removing duplicate text and clarifying the specific roles and appointment methods for legislative and public members.
TECHNICAL
Adjusted line numbers and formatting throughout the document to accommodate the insertion of the new funding principles.
The bill was renumbered and significantly rewritten to establish a new School Funding Interim Commission for the 2025-2026 legislative session. The changes replace the previous broad mandate with a specific requirement to form an 'innovation and excellence in education working group' to develop recommendations and an implementation plan. The commission's membership was expanded to include representatives from the Board of Public Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, alongside existing legislative and public members.
Scope change
The bill's scope shifted from a general review of funding formulas to a targeted mandate for creating an innovation working group specifically for the 2025-2026 interim.
REQUIREMENT
The commission's primary duty was changed to form a specific 'innovation and excellence in education working group' that must develop recommendations and an implementation plan.
New provisions require the commission to be staffed by the Legislative Services Division and attached to that division for administrative purposes.
ELIGIBILITY
New members were added to the commission, including the presiding officers and designees from the Board of Public Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
TIMELINE
The commission is now explicitly designated to operate during the 2025-2026 interim session.
This amendment restructures the School Funding Interim Commission to prioritize stable, transparent, and equitable funding formulas that reduce administrative burdens and support parental choice. It adds specific criteria requiring the new formula to minimize property tax impacts and reward schools based on student academic growth rather than just enrollment numbers. The changes also clarify the commission's composition and duties to ensure these modern educational goals are met in the 2025-2026 interim.
Scope change
The bill's scope expanded to include specific mandates for funding formula design (e.g., parental choice, academic growth metrics) and refined the commission's membership structure to better reflect these new priorities.
REQUIREMENT
Added eight specific criteria for the school funding formula, including transparency, stability, prioritization of current-year funding, reduction of administrative costs, parental choice, elimination of inter-district tuition payments, minimization of property tax impacts, and rewarding student academic growth.
Modified the commission's duties to include forming an 'innovation and excellence in education working group' specifically for the 2025-2026 interim to develop recommendations and implementation plans.
ELIGIBILITY
Revised the commission membership rules to clarify appointment processes for legislators and public members, including specific provisions for handling dual roles by senators.
HB0153_1(12).pdf→HB0153_2(10).pdf·4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was renumbered from HB 153.1 to HB 0153.2 and updated to reflect the 2025 legislative session. The core policy changes focus on restructuring the School Funding Interim Commission's membership and leadership for the 2025-2026 interim. Specifically, the role of the presiding officer was changed to an 'Interim Presiding Officer' who serves until a permanent leader is selected, and the commission's composition was altered to include additional majority party members and specific committee officers.
Scope change
The bill's scope remains focused on school funding reform, but the applicability of the commission's leadership structure and membership rules has been updated for the 2025-2026 legislative cycle.
REQUIREMENT
The commission's presiding officer role was modified to an 'Interim Presiding Officer' who serves only until a permanent presiding officer is selected at the first meeting.
The working group duties were updated to include a benchmarking or gap analysis study comparing Montana's education policies to others.
ELIGIBILITY
Commission membership requirements were changed to include specific standing committee officers and additional majority party members, replacing the previous requirement for a presiding officer to serve as the commission chair.
TECHNICAL
The bill number was updated from HB 153.1 to HB 0153.2, and formatting inconsistencies in the header and page numbering were corrected.
HB0153_2(9).pdf→HB0153_1(7).pdf·3 edits
MINOR
The bill was renumbered from HB 153.2 to HB 153.1 and updated for the 2025 legislative session. The most significant substantive change involves the composition of the Innovation and Excellence in Education Working Group, which now explicitly requires the commission to include representation from teachers, school administrators, school trustees, and parent advocacy groups. Additionally, the appointment criteria for public members on the commission were clarified to specify that one appointee must be a current or former school board trustee.
Scope change
The bill's scope regarding the composition of the education working group was expanded to mandate specific stakeholder representation.
REQUIREMENT
The appointment criteria for public members on the commission were clarified to ensure one appointee is a current or former school board trustee.
The working group composition was updated to explicitly require representation from teachers, school administrators, school trustees, and parent advocacy groups.
TECHNICAL
The bill number was changed from HB 153.2 to HB 153.1, and formatting was adjusted to standardize the header layout.
HB0153_1(6).pdf→HB0153_2.pdf·2 edits
MINOR
The bill was renumbered from HB 153.1 to HB0153.2. Substantive changes were made to the composition of a public education commission, replacing a requirement for two public members with a requirement for one public member who must be a current or former school board trustee. Additionally, the working group tasked with studying education policies was updated to explicitly require representation from teachers, school administrators, school trustees, and parent advocacy groups.
Scope change
The scope of the commission's membership was narrowed regarding the number of public members but made more specific regarding their professional background, while the working group's scope was expanded to mandate inclusion of specific stakeholder groups.
ELIGIBILITY
Changed the commission membership requirement from two public members to one public member who must be a current or former school board trustee.
REQUIREMENT
Added a mandate that the innovation and excellence in education working group must include representation from teachers, school administrators, school trustees, and parent advocacy groups.
LC1443.pdf→HB0153_1.pdf·2 edits
MINOR
The bill was renumbered from LC 1443 to HB 153, indicating it has moved from a committee or legislative committee bill to a formal House Bill. The most significant substantive change is the addition of specific sponsors (D. Bedey, E. ButtreY, J. Fuller, L. Jones, B. Barker) to the document header, which formalizes the bill's introduction. No substantive policy changes, funding adjustments, or scope modifications were found in the provided text excerpts.
TECHNICAL
Bill number changed from LC 1443 to HB 153.
Names of five sponsors (D. Bedey, E. ButtreY, J. Fuller, L. Jones, B. Barker) were added to the bill header.
