This bill revises Montana's school funding laws by creating new financial incentives and adjusting how districts receive state aid. It directly affects school districts, teachers, and administrative staff by establishing a new "Future Ready" funding component focused on postgraduate preparation and expanding eligibility for certain educator funding programs. Key provisions include increasing budget authority for districts facing high housing costs, renaming the Quality Educator Funding component, and adding requirements for district clerks to perform specific financial and administrative duties. The legislation also sets a minimum student enrollment threshold for elementary districts seeking to expand into K-12 districts and requires the Legislative Fiscal Analyst to create a school funding data dashboard.
This bill allocates $100,000 from the state general fund to support career and technical education programs in Montana's middle schools and junior high schools. The Superintendent of Public Instruction will distribute these funds to accredited school districts and establish rules for how the money is allocated, ensuring it is not limited by school size. The state funding is intended to supplement existing federal Perkins grants and expand access to career exploration courses for middle grade students. The appropriation is designated as a base funding level that may continue in future legislative sessions.
This bill creates a state program to provide replacement funding to Montana school districts that choose to eliminate reduced-price copayments for school lunches and breakfasts. It directly affects families eligible for reduced-price meals under federal programs and school districts administering those meals. The state will distribute up to $600,000 annually from the general fund to cover the costs districts incur when removing these fees from eligible students. The bill also allows the state superintendent to accept private donations and request additional funding if the initial appropriation is insufficient, with the program becoming effective on July 1, 2025.
This bill increases the state reimbursement rates that school districts receive for on-schedule transportation services, directly affecting Montana school districts that operate bus routes. The key provision raises mileage reimbursement rates based on the size of the school bus, with larger buses receiving higher per-mile payments ranging from 85 cents to 299 cents. The changes apply to school fiscal years beginning on or after July 1, 2025, and include adjustments for nonbus mileage when drivers travel to overnight locations more than 10 miles from school.
This bill proposes amending the Montana Constitution to allow a statewide 4% sales and use tax specifically to reduce property taxes for K-12 education. If approved by voters, the amendment would require the legislature to dedicate the revenue from this tax to lowering property taxes for school funding, unless a three-fourths vote in both legislative chambers decides otherwise. The measure would take effect on July 1, 2027, and requires a two-thirds legislative vote to pass before appearing on the November 2026 ballot for public approval.
This bill amends Montana's school funding law to allow state financial support for preschool children with disabilities by including them in the Average Number Belonging (ANB) calculations used to determine school district funding. Previously, only preschool programs created at the discretion of school trustees were excluded from these calculations, which meant children with disabilities receiving mandatory special education services had no mechanism for state funding. The key provision adds a new clause to the existing statute that permits counting preschool children with disabilities in ANB based on their aggregate hours of pupil instruction, aligning their eligibility with other special education students. This change directly affects school districts by creating a funding pathway for the special education programs they are already required to provide for three- and four-year-old children with disabilities.
This bill allows Montana school districts to increase their voter-approved property tax levies without holding a new election, provided the increase matches the inflation adjustments applied to state funding. It amends existing school funding laws to ensure that when the legislature raises state aid for inflation, school boards can automatically adjust their local tax levies by the same amount without requiring another vote from taxpayers. The measure also requires districts to offset any new over-BASE tax increases by reducing other nonvoted property tax levies by an equal amount, maintaining overall tax neutrality. These changes apply to school districts across Montana and take effect immediately upon becoming law.
This bill establishes Montana's Academic Prosperity Program for Scholars (MAPPS), a voluntary program allowing parents to use income tax credits to fund private education expenses for eligible students. The program creates a council to oversee operations and a program manager to administer tax credits for donations and qualified education expenses, which can include private school tuition or other instructional costs. Participating parents gain flexibility to direct their children's education while schools must transfer student records, and the program operates alongside the state's existing public school funding system.
This bill requires Montana's Superintendent of Public Instruction to identify up to five sets of high-quality instructional materials that align with state content standards and estimate the costs for districts to adopt them. It defines high-quality materials as resources that support proficiency-based learning, include built-in professional development, and are vetted by an independent nonprofit partner. If approved by the legislature, the state would provide reduced-cost access to these materials and related teacher training for school districts that choose to adopt them. The law also mandates that economic impact statements for new academic standards include analysis of whether districts can afford and implement the required materials within existing resources.
SB 558 proposed replacing school property taxes with a statewide sales tax to fund public schools. It would create a new general sales tax, redirect all revenue to a dedicated school funding account, and repeal existing statewide property tax levies for schools. The bill would directly affect school districts and property taxpayers by shifting funding responsibility from local property taxes to a statewide sales tax, with certain exemptions (like agricultural sales) specified. However, the bill was tabled in committee and died in the legislative process in 2025, so it never became law.
