Education

Montana’s Office of Public Instruction is unsure if its new draft plan to raise student achievement will comply with federal law.

State education leaders are required to submit a plan to the U.S. Department of Education in September, as part of the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA, which is the federal replacement for No Child Left Behind. 

Montana’s K-through-12 schools could face millions of dollars in cuts next month if state revenues don’t improve. The state Office of Public Instruction warned education groups and teachers’ unions about the possible hit to the agency’s budget during a meeting Thursday afternoon.

The U.S. Department of Education will now reconsider the University of Montana’s grant application for a low-income college prep program.

UM’s application for Upward Bound requested just under $2 million to fund the program for 75 students from this year through 2022. But it was rejected because of a technicality; one page was single-spaced, instead of double-spaced.

Democratic U.S. House candidate Rob Quist is traveling around Montana holding rallies where he emphasizes  his stand on protecting public lands. He's also been in the news for unpaid debts and tax liens on his property.

MTPR's Sally Mauk talks with the nominee about his positions on everything from gun rights to healthcare and what he thinks of President Trump.

A bill entering the Montana House of Representatives Monday would create a voluntary preschool program for four-year-olds from lower income families.

House Bill 563, or the Montana Preschool Grant Program, would give children who qualify access to what Rep. Kathy Kelker, D-Billings, says is high quality preschool education.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke acknowledges that the agency he now oversees, "unfortunately, has not always stood shoulder to shoulder with the tribes and communities it represents." 

But Zinke met with the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee this week to help identify Native American-related priorities for the new Trump administration. It's a job that will likely pull him and his staff in many different directions, because as Zinke puts it, "Tribes are not monolithic":

A package of bills aimed at addressing youth suicide in Montana is working its way through the legislature. One of those bills, House Bill 381, would allow school districts to create policies and procedures for suicide prevention and response specific to their communities.

A bill that its sponsor says would provide additional educational opportunities by establishing a public charter schools act passed the House of Representatives on a vote of 55-44 on Monday.

Montana’s Superintendent of Public Instruction visited the chambers of the state capitol today, speaking to lawmakers about the future of Montana’s education system. Elsie Arntzen, the first Republican to hold the seat as Montana’s top education official in three decades, delivered her Education Address to a crowd of lawmakers and statewide officials.

Senate Republicans in Montana released a plan today to tear down Governor Steve Bullock’s proposal for state funded preschool and instead start work on delayed state highway projects.

Last month, current Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau lost a hard-fought campaign against Ryan Zinke for Montana’s sole House seat. On Friday, we chatted about the legacy she leaves as superintendent, her reflections on her campaign for Congress and what comes next.

The federal government this week released its final rules to help states improve their schools and narrow achievement gaps. In November, Montana released its first draft plan explaining how it will comply with those rules.

That means all the pieces are in place to succeed the much-maligned No Child Left Behind Act, right? Not exactly:

The federal government released rules today designed to help states improve schools and narrow achievement gaps. The ‘Every Student Succeeds Act’ provides states a broad framework to support troubled public schools and struggling students.

The first draft of Montana’s plan to comply with the new federal law was released earlier this month.

Almost 200 people gathered at the Outlaw Convention Center in Kalispell on Thursday night to talk about Islam, public school curriculum, and American values.

The event was put on by the Flathead Chapter of ACT! For America, a national nonprofit whose website boasts more than 1,000 chapters across the country. On their business cards, the ACT! slogan reads: “Rising in defense of our security, our liberty, and our values.”

The Republican and Democratic candidates for governor focused on education today in campaign stops in Helena.

State lawmakers are working on bills to allow funding for K through 12 special education programs to keep up with inflation. One said the funding was "overlooked" last session.

The Blackfeet Tribe is working to expand teacher education on the reservation. It will soon offer a full four-year degree program that will allow local residents to become fully qualified teachers without leaving the reservation. A goal is to increase the number of Native American teachers teaching Native students.

Today, Montana's Republican candidates for governor and superintendent of public schools called for policy changes to grow computer science education in the state.

What does it mean to speak a language? Fundamentally, it means you can communicate with another person.  Yet when the language is that of your Indian ancestors who go back to the mists of time it means that you carry that unique tradition.

Montana Public Schools have received a $100,000 grant to help health sciences programs in schools. The grant will focus on getting students in rural areas and reservations a clearer path to careers in health sciences.

Newly-released enrollment numbers for the University of Montana show there are now about 1,000 fewer students on its Missoula campuses compared to spring semester last year.