Revise laws related to the school funding interim commission.
Summary
HB 153 revises Montana law governing the School Funding Interim Commission for the 2025-2026 interim. It updates the commission’s membership structure, sets a May 1 deadline for appointments, and requires the commission to choose its own presiding and vice presiding officers from among legislative members. The bill also changes the commission’s work plan by directing it to form an Innovation and Excellence in Education Working Group before conducting its school-funding study.
The working group is tasked with benchmarking Montana’s education policies against high-performing domestic and international systems, identifying policy changes that could improve student outcomes, and developing an implementation plan with cost estimates. The bill also requires the commission to report its findings and any draft legislation to the legislature, and it provides a $10,000 general fund appropriation to support commission activities in May and June 2025. The act takes effect immediately upon passage and approval.
Impact
HB 153 amends section 5-20-301, MCA, affecting the statutory structure, membership, and duties of the School Funding Interim Commission. It expands the commission’s interim responsibilities beyond traditional school-funding review to include a focused education-performance and policy benchmarking effort, and it creates a new working group with representation from educators, trustees, and parent advocacy groups. The bill also authorizes limited state funding for commission operations and establishes a short deadline for appointments, which affects legislative leadership, public appointees, and supporting agencies such as the Legislative Services Division and Legislative Fiscal Division.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have broad support overall, passing the House and Senate with strong majorities and only limited opposition on some Senate committee and floor votes. The committee and floor vote history suggests the measure was generally viewed as a procedural and policy-planning update rather than a controversial overhaul. The lack of committee transcripts limits direct insight into debate, but the final vote margins indicate a favorable sentiment toward revising the commission’s work and adding an innovation-focused education study.
Contention
The main points of contention likely centered on the bill’s expanded policy direction for the commission, especially the requirement to compare Montana’s education system with high-performing domestic and international systems and to develop recommendations tied to student performance outcomes. The inclusion of parent advocacy groups, the use of a national organization, and the emphasis on free-market principles, parental choice, and performance-based funding concepts may have drawn differing views from lawmakers and education stakeholders. The recorded no votes in some Senate committee and floor actions suggest some disagreement, but the bill ultimately advanced with strong bipartisan support.