Indian Education For All (IEFA) is a landmark provision in the Montana Constitution that “recognizes the distinct and unique cultural heritage of the American Indians and is committed in its educational goals to the preservation of their cultural integrity.” The Montana Legislature provides IEFA funding to school districts and requires school districts to report IEFA expenditures to the Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI).

In 2023 the Legislature passed HB 338, by Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy (HD 32), which included several new reporting requirements and provided a reduction of future funding for school districts that fail to report expenditures of all IEFA revenue. This frequently asked questions (FAQ) document provides OPI guidance to help school districts navigate the legal and financial landscape for IEFA finance reporting.

What new IEFA provisions for school districts are in HB 338 (2023)?

Although HB 338 must be read in its entirety, the new reporting provisions are in Section 4(4) of the bill and address reporting of instruction and instruction development. Section 4(5) of the bill provides a reduction of, or ineligibility for, future funding for a school district’s failure to report expenditures of all IEFA revenue in the Trustee Financial Summary (TFS).

When do the new IEFA reporting provisions apply to school districts?

Section 6 of the bill provides an effective date of July 1, 2023. Section 7 of the bill provides that the new requirement for reporting of instruction and instruction development applies to IEFA funds for FY 2024 and later. The reporting of annual expenditures is not a new requirement. The requirement for reduction in funding does not have a later applicability date and, thus, applies to the FY 2024 reporting of the FY 2023 expenditures, which impacts the FY 2025 IEFA funding.

How might IEFA finance reporting impact future IEFA funding?

If a school district fails to report IEFA expenditures in its TFS, the district “is ineligible
for the funding under this section for subsequent school fiscal years until the report is filed.” If a school district fails to report expenditures in its TFS for all IEFA revenue, the “district's BASE budget and funding under this section for the subsequent fiscal year must be reduced by the amount of funding received that was not spent” on IEFA.

How and when can a school district correct an inaccurate TFS it filed with OPI?

A school district may file a corrected TFS (per ARM 10.10.504) with OPI as soon as the inaccuracy is discovered, but no later than December 10, by submitting a School Data Error Correction Request Form to opischoolfinance@mt.gov.

Superintendent Arntzen appointed Marietta Croft from Colstrip to the Montana 250^th Commission. The Commission was established through House Bill 377, by Rep. Linda Reksten (HD12) during the 2023 legislative session to “promote civic engagement and increase public awareness of United States and Montana government and history, including the history of tribal nations, leading up to the United States semiquincentennial”.

The Commission is made up of 11 members:

• The Montana Historical Society director or the director's designee;
• Two members of the legislature, one from the minority party and one from the majority party appointed as follows:
  • first, a member of the Senate appointed by the President of the Senate; and
  • second, a member of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
• A high school social studies teacher who teaches a course in United States government appointed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction;
• A college-level United States history or political science professor appointed by the Commissioner of Higher Education;
• A tribal representative appointed by the State Director of Indian Affairs; and
• Five members appointed by the governor representing various civic, veteran, military, tourism, history, museum, library, arts, or local and tribal government organizations

Marietta Croft is a 6th-year social science teacher in Colstrip Montana. She graduated from Chadron State College in May of 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Education and started working in Colstrip in August of 2017. In 2020 she received a Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from the American College of Education. She teaches a variety of Social Science classes in Colstrip; the two core classes are US History and American Government. She also teaches one section of US History and one section of American Government as Honors classes in collaboration with Chief Dull Knife College. Other courses taught are Native American Studies, World Issues, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, and, a Cheyenne Language class with a professor at Chief Dull Knife College in Lame Deer. In July 2022 she started a Masters of Arts with a Specialization in Teaching American History and Government through Ashland University. She was awarded the James Madison Memorial Fellowship for the state of Montana.

The first testing window for the second year of the Montana Alternative Student Testing (MAST) pilot program has opened. The first testing window for the MAST Through-Year Pilot runs from October 23 - November 10, 2023, for grades 3 through 8 in Math and English Language Arts (ELA). The Office of Public Instruction (OPI) has partnered with 54 Montana school districts and over 20,600 students for the MAST pilot program this school year.

The participating districts are fully committed to the innovative through-year design. As part of the pilot program, districts will administer the MAST assessments during all five testing windows throughout the 2023-2024 school year. By participating in the MAST Through-Year Pilot, districts will no longer be obligated to administer the federally mandated end-of-the-year Smarter Balanced Assessment, and their accountability measures will remain unaffected. Districts participating in the MAST Pilot are still required to administer the Montana Science Assessment (MSA) to students in grades 5 and 8. Districts with students enrolled in the Multi-State Alternate Assessment (MSAA) for Grades 3-8 and 11, and the Alternate Montana Science Assessment (AMSA) for Grades 5, 8, and 11, are required to administer these alternative assessments as there is not an alternate version of MAST.

This pilot program revolutionizes the assessment experience for districts and provides valuable insights into student progress throughout the academic year. The next testing windows are:

• Testing Window #2: November 27 - December 15, 2023
• Testing Window #3: January 29 - February 16, 2024
• Testing Window #4: March 11 - April 5, 2024
• Testing Window #5: April 15 - May 10, 2024

Live listening and feedback sessions will be scheduled throughout the school year to ensure continuous improvement of the MAST pilot program. These sessions will serve as an opportunity for districts to share feedback, suggestions, and experiences to help enhance the usability of MAST. The first live session is scheduled for November 14th from 3:30-4:30 pm via Zoom.

For more information, see the MAST Bulletin or contact Tressa Graveley, Assessment Specialist.

ESSER II is coming to a close. All cash requests were due by close of business October 25 with Final Expenditures due by November 10. To date there have been no extensions requested and schools are working hard to process cash requests.

The ESSER Team has been working with schools to help them process and meet all ESSER compliances as we enter into the final year of ESSER grant funding with ESSER III. ESSER III funds must be expended by September 30, 2024.

The state-wide ESSER allocation through September 30, 2023, is:

Questions? Contact: 

Tara Boulanger, Legislative Liaison, (406) 444-2082