January 2026

As we head into the New Year, here's a look back at key news and information from December and important items to know in January.

Dear Colleague,

Over the past month, our team and partners have been actively engaged in important work to strengthen Montana’s education system. I joined education leaders from across the country at the Education Commission of the States Winter Commissioner’s Conference, alongside Senator Sue Vinton, Dr. Erin Ellis, and Dr. Dan Lee, where we discussed key policy issues including funding, governance, workforce development, and student well-being. I also met with Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter to discuss school safety and the role of School Resource Officers, reinforcing the importance of strong partnerships and proactive measures to support safe learning environments.

In addition, OPI staff and the Northwest Education team held an in-person work session focused on strengthening Montana’s school improvement system, including supports for schools in Intensive Assistance and clear accountability and exit expectations. This month also marked a major milestone with the presentation of an $80 million check from the State Land Board an outstanding investment made possible through the responsible stewardship of state trust lands. These funds directly support classrooms across Montana, and I am grateful for this partnership and our shared commitment to Montana’s students.

We are excited to announce that the Montana Office of Public Instruction has received an almost $10 million federal Education Innovation and Research Program grant over five years. This funding will allow us to scale Montana’s Science of Reading work launched through the Early Literacy Targeted Intervention program, with a focus on improving literacy outcomes and measuring impact. The grant reflects a strong commitment to state-led, evidence-based strategies and supports proven approaches such as high-impact tutoring.

Montana OPI Partnership: Free Level All Access

What Level All Offers

• Comprehensive Content: 15,000+ short, engaging lessons on career pathways, college prep, apprenticeships, financial literacy, and workplace readiness.
• Guided Journeys: Interactive, self-paced plans that help students explore goals, complete checklists, and track progress.
• Educator Dashboards: Track student engagement, assign lessons, and access ready-made lesson plans and presentations.
• Safe, Ad-Free Environment: FERPA-compliant and built to protect student privacy.

Join an Introductory Webinar

If your district would like a deeper walkthrough, please consider joining one of our statewide introductory webinars hosted by Level All: Click this link and select from one of several date and time options.

During these sessions, we’ll demonstrate how Level All can:

• Support your school’s college and career readiness goals
• Simplify educator workflows and organize your Educator Dashboards
• Equip every student with tools to build their personalized postsecondary plan.

How to Get Started

Any Montana school can begin using Level All right away - no agreement required. Simply email montana@levelall.com to connect with the Level All team. From there, you can:

• Join any of the introductory webinars (if convenient),
• Schedule a quick demo to see how Level All works,
• Or jump straight into implementation with our Success Team, who will help you configure your Educator Dashboard, roster students, and begin assigning content.

Questions or Help Getting Started?

Contact: montana@levelall.com or visit www.levelall.com for more details

We’re excited to make this available to every Montana student and educator.

Learning Hub

 The Learning Hub is now live on our new platform!

You can take free online courses and earn professional development units. Visit https://opi.mt.gov/Educators/Teaching-Learning/Teacher-Learning-Hub to get started. This is a different platform than the old Learning Hub, so first-time users must create a new account and password. Please include your SEID number if you have one and use a personal email address for ease of continued access. A small selection of courses is available now; more courses will be added regularly.

OPI Openings

Accreditation & Educator Preparation

Achievement in Montana (AIM)

Assessment

Coordinated School Health

Gifted and Talented

Indian Education for All

Montana Autism Education Project

Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)

School Finance

School Nutrition

Special Education

Standards, Instruction & Professional Learning

Traffic Education

Transformational Learning & Advanced Opportunities

Tribal Relations & Resiliency

General Bills Relating to Education 

HB118: Revise the Montana interstate compact on educational opportunities for
military children
• Representative Ed Buttrey
• Effective Date: April 3, 2025
• Summary: HB118 revises the interstate compact on educational opportunity for
military children. It clarifies the commission's authority to determine an annual
assessment in an amount equal to a per-student amount multiplied by the number
of children in military families in Montana. The bill also updates citations to the
United States code.

HB 400: Enact the "Free to Speak Act"
• Representative Braxton Mitchell
• Effective Date: May 1, 2025
• Summary: HB400 prohibits public schools or the state from imposing disciplinary or
other adverse actions on a student or employee who refuses to use certain speech
including students’ pronouns or using a person’s legal name. The bill also provides a
cause of action for violations of the “Free to Speak Act”.

HB 573: Revise transformational learning laws to create a phase II grant program
• Representative David Bedey
• Effective Date: July 1, 2025
• Summary: HB573 revises laws related to transformational learning by moving the
termination of the existing transformational learning grant program up by 1 year. The
bill establishes a transformational learning phase ii grant program and requirements
for administering the program for the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the
Board of Public Education.
• See page 55 for further explanation.

HB 591: Institute the celebrate freedom week in Montana's public schools

• Representative Greg Oblander
• Effective Date: July 1, 2025
• Summary: HB591 designating the last full week in September as celebrate freedom
week in Montana’s public schools. The bill requires the trustees to adopt a policy to
address and ensure the effective conduct of appropriate exercises for the
commemorative days provided in Section 1 20-1-306, MCA.

HB 718: Generally revise laws relating to incarceration
• Representative Kerri Seekins-Crowe
• Effective Date: May 8, 2025
• Summary: HB718 establishes an office of reentry services in the Department of
Labor and Industry. Directs the office of reentry services to collaborate with state
agencies, companies, and stakeholder organizations, including the Office of Public
Instruction.

HB 744: Authorize speech-language pathology aides and audiology aides
• Representative Melissa Nikolakakos
• Effective Date: May 8, 2025
• Summary: HB744 establishes that a speech-language pathology aide or audiology
aide employed by a school district: is not required to be licensed by the board; shall
work under the supervision of a speech-language pathologist or an audiologist a
minimum of 20% of the time; and may not perform work that requires the
independent judgment of a speech-language pathologist or audiologist.

HB 806: Generally revising laws related to dietitians and nutritionists
• Representative Courtenay Sprunger
• Effective Date: October 1, 2025
• Summary: HB 806 redirects the license type for dietitians from section 37-25-302,
MCA to the language provided in section 7 of the bill which states:
o Section 7. Scope of dietetic-nutrition practice. Only an individual licensed
under this chapter or as permitted pursuant to 37-25-304 may provide
medical nutrition therapy as part of the practice of dietetics or nutrition.
• HB 806 amends section 20-4-502, MCA redirecting licensed nutritionists and
dieticians defined under section 37-25-302, MCA to what is described in section 7
of the bill. Additionally, section 20-9-327, MCA, titled Quality educator payment, is
likewise amended to redirect licensed nutritionists and dieticians defined under
section 37-25-302, MCA to what is described in section 7 of the bill.
• HB 806 provides definitions for licensed dieticians and nutritionists under section
37-25-102, MCA

SB 278: Revise education laws to support advanced opportunities
• Senator Sara Novak
• Effective Date: May 12, 2025 & July 1, 2025, sections 1 and 2.

• Summary: SB 278 amends section 20-7-1503, MCA, to define advanced opportunity
facilitator to mean: an individual employed by a school district who coordinates
between the school district, a qualifying pupil and the pupil's family, postsecondary
institutions, employers, industry associations, community organizations, or any
other individual or entity that provides an advanced opportunity.
• Section 20-7-1506, MCA, or incentives for creation of advanced opportunity
programs, is amended to include with the listing of permissible expenditures where
advanced opportunity aid remaining that is not expended or carried forward may be
spent by the district to: pay for the costs of employing an advanced opportunity
facilitator as defined in 20-7- 2 1503, MCA.
• Section 20-9-327, MCA, which defines the quality educator payment, is amended to
include the advanced opportunity facilitator in the calculation of the quality
educator payment.
• The effective date is set for July 1, 2025. A collection of the newly established
advanced opportunity facilitators will need to be collected. The first year of
increased quality educator payments will be FY2027.

SB 350: Revise participation in extracurricular activities
• Senator Matt Regier
• Effective Date: May 12, 2025
• Summary: SB 350 amends section 20-5-112, MCA, stating that a school district or
an athletic association, conference, or organization with authority over
interscholastic sports may prohibit or restrict the participation in extracurricular
activities of a student attending a home school based on one or both of the
following factors:
o The student's status as a united states citizen
o The student's status as a Montana resident, as determined under the
provisions of section 1-127-215, MCA.

As a reminder the OPI has a legislative packet which can be found here: Summary of Legislation Related to K-12 Education 

Montana 250th Projects

Senate Page Program

To apply for the U.S. Senate Page Program, please submit the following:

1) Online Application Form 

2) Resume of Extracurricular Activities

3) High School Transcript (copies are acceptable)

4) Letter of Recommendation

High school students from the state of Montana are eligible to apply for the U.S. Senate Page Program. This program provides an excellent opportunity for students to learn about the United States Congress while living, working and attending classes for a semester in Washington, D.C.  Pages play an important role in the day-to-day operation of the Senate and have the opportunity to meet some of the nation’s leaders while witnessing history in the making.

Senate pages are juniors in high school and are sixteen years old by the date of appointment.  Applications are accepted during the students’ sophomore year. 

https://www.daines.senate.gov/services/student-resources/page-program/page-application/

America’s Field Trip 

Civic Bee

The Mansfield Center is partnering with the National Chamber of Commerce Foundation to host the 2026 Montana Civics Bee for middle school students. Students who participate will strengthen their civics, writing, and public speaking skills, and form friendships with other young leaders along the way!   

A brief overview of the Montana Civics Bee:  

• 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students must submit a 750-word (max) essay proposing their ideas for improving their community by February 3rd, 2026.
• Top-scoring essays will be invited to participate in a regional bee near them in spring 2026 for the chance to win cash prizes. Finalists from each regional bee will be invited to compete in the Montana State Civics Bee in Helena in late spring/early summer 2026 for the chance to win cash prizes at the state level.  
• The winner of the State Bee will be sent on an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, DC to compete in the National Civics Bee in fall 2025 for the chance to win $100,000 towards college.

The United States is experiencing a crisis in civic education among younger generations, and the Mansfield Center is working to combat this issue by offering opportunities for young Americans to engage with civics and strengthen our democracy moving forward. We are thrilled to gather students from across the state for these exciting events!  

To apply, visit the National Civics Bee webpage [my.reviewr.com] and create an account to access the application portal. 

For additional resources to prepare your students visit our resource platform [drive.google.com]. 

   Reach out to Kate Koenig at kate.koenig@mso.umt.edu with questions! 

2026 Civics Bee Flyer

McKenna Gregg, Communications Director

This newsletter is from The Montana Office of Public Instruction. Please encourage your friends and colleagues to sign up for this newsletter!

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