Register your team today for this year's OPI Summer Institute, June 16-19, 2025 hosted at Montana State University in Bozeman.
$69 Registration
Campus housing, graduate credit, and parking available for a fee.
Statewide Special Education Director's Meetings
The next virtual Statewide meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 14 from 8:30-9:30 AM. Susan Wagner will be presenting. Contact John Gorton, john.gorton@mt.gov if you need the link or the recording from the March meeting.
The Montana Center for Inclusive Education and Institute for Neurodiversity at Montana State University Billings (MSUB), in collaboration with the OPI Montana Autism Education Project, is pleased to host the first annual Mountain West Neurodiversity Conference at MSUB, September 19-20, 2025, with a pre-conference intensive behavior workshop for educators on September 18, 2025.
This is a free conference designed for educators, related service providers, families, and advocates. The conference will feature leading experts in the field alongside autistic and neurodiverse individuals, sharing their lived experiences, evidence-based approaches, and tools to support meaningful inclusion across educational and community settings.
Montana Autism Education Project
The OPI Montana Autism Education Project offers free autism trainings and consultations to Montana public schools educating students with autism. For trainings, consultations or other needs please contact Katie Mattingley.
You can find information and registration links for MAEP Trainings here.
Save the Date – Montana Special Education Law Conference on October 20-21, 2025 in Butte. Join us for a conference covering current issues concerning the education of students with disabilities. This conference is designed for general and special education administrators and teachers, service providers, parents, advocates, lawyers and others involved in developing and supporting special education services for children with disabilities and their families. More details coming soon!
The OPI Special Education Team and Dawson Community College are excited to celebrate the growing success of the Para Pathways Project and access to the online learning modules! The agency has contracted with LRP Publications for Montana’s use of their LRPDirectStep online professional learning modules. Access to these modules is available to all Montana public school district employees for FREE!
Special Education Paraprofessionals - If you are currently working in a special education role for all or part of your day and interested in professional growth, you qualify for the incentive pay ($20/module) for the Special Education Technician set of modules. Completion of the identified 40 modules is also one of the pre-requisites to entering Dawson Community College’s (DCC) Special Education Technician courses.
Find more information on our website. For any questions regarding the Special Education Technician program, please contact Anne.Carpenter2@mt.gov.
 Q1 SUMMARY
The Paraprofessional Pathways Program is a series of trainings that allow special education paraeducators to grow in their understanding of students, interventions, and special education practices. By completing Level 1 and Level 2 of this training, paraprofessionals will be certified as Special Education Technicians
(pending Board of Public Education approval). This report is intended to highlight the reception of this program, particularly at Level 1. OPI, in conjunction with DCC, launched the Paraprofessional Pathways Program on February 14, 2025. Due to this mid-February start date, Quarter 1 was about half of the length of a typical quarter; however, the program saw immediate success across the state of Montana:
- 307 total users who completed 2,124 total modules
- 161 Special Education paraeducators who completed
- 1,522 designated Sped Tech modules
- Participants from 36 Montana counties
- Disbursement of $25,680.00 for the completion of modules
- 24 Special Education paraeducators completed 30 or more of the designated modules
Through emails, phone calls, training sessions, and zoom calls, we have interacted with a majority of the Sped Paras in the program. The participants often make two comments about their involvement: They are learning invaluable information about Special Education, interventions, and student learning, and their students are benefiting from that growth. They are appreciative of this opportunity, and many are interested in pursuing Special Education degrees after becoming Special Education Technicians.
This graphic shows the Quarter 1 participation by county. Paraeducators all across Montana and from a variety of locales are taking advantage of the ParaPathways Program.
PROJECTIONS
Given the tremendous reception in Quarter 1, it is reasonable to expect the ParaPathways Program to continue to reach and train paras in public school districts across Montana. Using Quarter 1 data, we will target school districts and counties that do not yet have any participants with the goal of garnering participation from all 56 Montana counties. Furthermore, we have high expectations from Level 2. We project that at least 50 Sped paras will enroll in the Level 2 coursework, and we are very close to finishing all of the requisite steps to launch Level 2, including building a custom application, developing a verification process, and hiring/loading instructors.
Tuesday, May 6, 2025 | 4:30 - 6:30 PM
Presented Virtually by Liz Kuehn
Welcome to our online event focusing on organizational skills and assistive technology! Join us for a session packed with tips, tools, and strategies to help you enhance your productivity and efficiency. Whether you struggle with time management, task prioritization, or simply staying organized, this event is designed to provide you with practical solutions. Learn how to leverage assistive technology to overcome challenges and streamline your workflow. Don't miss out on this opportunity to boost your organizational skills and make the most of the tools available to you!
May 21, 2025 | 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM | Havre -Best Western Inn & Suites
Presented by: Eliza Thomas
Join Eliza for a fast-paced day of Math instruction where participants will learn about how to enhance their math instruction through intentional Math routines, procedures, and vocabulary. Participants will actively engage in warm-up activities, games, and problem-solving throughout the day.
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June 2-4, 2025 | Richland County Extension Office | Sidney, MT
Presented by Stephanie Lester
June 2—Creating a Culture of Success: Building Engaging, Developmentally Appropriate Learning Environments for PK – 2nd Grade Students
June 3—Making It All Add Up: PreK-2 with interventions for 3-5th Grade Students
June 4—Science Inquiry: Unlocking the Scientist in EVERY Child! PK-5th Grade Students
June 10-12, 2025 | Polson, MT
JUNE 10:
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ABC's of Behavior- Know Where to Start when Behavior is a Problem - Dr. Keith Radley III
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Intentional use of Montana Early Learning Standards to Support Our Youngest Learners - Dr. Eliza Sorte Thomas
- Teaching Cognitive Engagement in Math: It’s More Than Just Keeping Them Awake! Stephanie Lester
- IEP BOOTCAMP - Unlock the Full Potential of the IEP Process: A Comprehensive Workshop with the Montana Empowerment Center
- Facilitated Consensus for School Problem Solving - Dr. Rob Watson
- Personalized, Competency Based Education (PCBE): What Is It & Why Are People Talking About It? Sara Cole
JUNE 11:
- Behavioral Interventions – Class wide to Student and Tech to Support Implementation- Dr. Keith Radley III
- Essential Elements that Increase Opportunities for Success in Special Ed & Gen Ed classes for Students with Disabilities & Struggling Learners - Dr. Tessie Rose Bailey
- Developing an Early Childhood Professional Identity and Using Montana’s Early Childhood Knowledge Base to Develop Reflective Practices - Dr. Eliza Sorte Thomas
- Making It All Add Up! Stephanie Lester
- Google Data Tools & Management - "Rocket Rob" Reynolds
JUNE 12:
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Practical Functional Assessment and Skill-Based Treatment: An effective approach for addressing challenging behaviors in an educational setting -Dr. Keith Radley III
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Six Key Instructional Practices for Accelerating Learning and Promoting Progress for Students with Disabilities & Struggling Learners - Dr. Tessie Rose Bailey
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Empowering Educators: Targeted Math Intervention Strategies for Grades 3–6, Stephanie Lester
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Laser Focused Literacy Instruction: Prioritizing What Matters Most in the Classroom - Carrie Cole
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Develop Children’s Creativity Through Purposeful Planning - Dr. Eliza Sorte Thomas
August 6, 2025 | 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM | Havre Best Western Inn & Suites
Presented by: Stephanie Lester
Part 1: Developing Children’s Number Sense
Part 2: Math EVERY Day for EVERY Child!
The OPI is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation, require an alternate format, or have questions concerning accessibility, contact the OPI ADA Coordinator, 406-444-3161, opiada@mt.gov, Relay Service: 711.
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