Montana's Home School History

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Home education in Montana has not only grown in numbers over the years, but has also gained great respect in the last many decades. Originally viewed with suspicion and misunderstanding, home education is now an educational alternative sought after by Montana families, as well as families across our nation.

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In 1895 and 1903 the Montana legislature acknowledged homeschools. In 1980 Attorney General Mike Greeley issued an opinion, stating that the 1971 legislature had done away with home education with the school recodification bill. The 1971 bill was limited to cleaning up the statutes and was to bring no "substantive changes" in the education laws. As a result of Greeley’s opinion (what many regarded as erroneous), some homeschoolers were forced into court to defend their right to direct the education of their children. (Soon after that, Montana adopted the new 1972 Constitution)

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In the years since home education became legal in Montana (1983), there is a fascinating history. Many negative bills were introduced that could have adversely affected a parent's God-given rights to raise and instruct their children. In every session we called upon the Lord for His strength, guidance and protection. The battles we fought in Montana were for the next generation.

 

Below is a year-by-year history, that includes many amazing stories over the last decades, for Montana home educators:

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1983

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Advocates of parental control and choice in education venue, worked to obtain protection for home and private education in the 1983 legislative session. There were several bills introduced in that session that were seeking to severely restrict alternatives to public education. The Senate created SB445, a compromise 'School Choice' bill, seeking to balance parent’s rights and state’s interests. The home schooling requirements listed in 20-5-109 MCA were adopted in that session (SB445 passed the full Senate 50-0, and House 62-14). In the 1983 Session the Democrats had control of the House, and the Republicans controlled the Senate. Democrat Governor Schwinden signed SB445 into law. (The 1983 law remained unchanged until the 2025 Legislative Session, when HB778 was passed that removed the 'safe building' language AND the immunization record reporting from 20-5-109 MCA)

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Shortly after the end of the 1983 Session, the Montana Board of Education was asked to clarify the reporting requirements of the new law. As recorded in the CLASS Review, Helena, MT 09/16/83, "The state Board of Public Education formally relinquished all interest and control over private education Thursday. By unanimous vote, the board approved a motion by Thomas Thompson of Browning declaring that it will take no further action of any kind with relation to non-public schools." The motion pre-empted the scheduled discussion of a special committee’s recommendation that the board adopt a formal definition of the term ‘organized course of study’ as used in the 1983 law outlining minimum requirements for private schools in Montana.

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The vote came moments after Rick Bartos, an attorney for the Office of Public Instruction (OPI), presented a legal memorandum stating the new law took the state completely out of private education. ‘The time has come to lay the non-public issue to rest.’ he said. ‘The legislature has spoken and they have spoken clearly.’ Bartos later challenged the board to save its energies for the needs of public schools. ‘Non-public schools in Montana have a greater flexibility today than they have in many other states,’ he said. ‘The public educational system in Montana is our primary focus and cannot be ignored.’

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1989

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Later, prior to the 1989 session, Representatives Ted Schye of Glasgow and Paula Darko of Libby began planning for the introduction of an anti-homeschool bill. In response to their action, and realizing there was a need to network home educators across the state, home schooling parents met in Helena in the fall of 1988. With the assistance of Mr. Doug Kelley, our Helena attorney, the Montana Coalition of Home Educators (MCHE) was formed. Kent Gilge of Chinook became Chairman, with Executive Committee members Danita Hane from Seeley Lake, Steve White from Helena, Debbie Kersten from Ulm, and Gerry Lewis from Bozeman.

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During the 1989 session, the Executive Committee of the MCHE organized and coordinated a response to the potential attacks on home education in Montana. Lobbyists Doug Kelley & Brian Asay were hired, a state-wide phone tree set up, and a lot of information was dispensed. In a short period of 30 days, $10,000 was raised by Montana home educators for our Legislative efforts. The result of all of the letters received by legislators from home educators across the state and personal lobbying by homeschool parents made a great impact in Helena. As a result, the threatened legislation was never introduced in the 1989 session.

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MCHE also hosted the first Legislative Day in the Capitol in 1989.  Home educators used this day as an opportunity to introduce themselves to their legislators in Helena, as well as to become familiar with the legislative process. Legislative Days were held in the Capitol in every session from 1989 to 2001. Many of those Legislative Days were organized by the Helena Area Christian Home Educators (HATCHE). (HATCHE was originally founded in 1987 by Steve & Pam White and Rick & Annette Friesen - and is likely the oldest existing home school support group in Montana)

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Later, in the summer of 1989, a state-wide meeting was held in Helena, for all Montana home educators. The purpose of this meeting was to establish future activities to promote and protect home education in Montana. It was at this meeting that committees were set up for the first state-wide convention, a state-wide testing study and legislative agendas. Dr. Brian Ray (NHERI) also attended the meeting to provide direction and help in our future work.​ Dr Ray was a very important supporter and resource in the early days of our battles in Montana. And even 30+ years later, he remains highly respected, across the country with his research and powerful testimony on home education.

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Since the formation in 1988, MCHE first depends on a Christ-centered path for wisdom, direction and strength (Col 3:17). The primary purpose and focus of MCHE has not changed; to work together to protect Montana's homeschool freedom from government restrictions for the Next Generation. 

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1990

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Realizing that some critics of home education were asking questions regarding the success of home instruction, MCHE contracted with Dr. Brian Ray (NHERI) in 1990, to perform a full analytical study of the academic status of Montana home school students. 400 students voluntarily provided their test scores (Iowa Basic) for the study, with demographics. In 1990, the study was published and the overall composite for Montana K-12 students was in the 72nd percentile (national average is 50 percentile). (A second study was contracted in 1994, and the overall composite was in the 73rd percentile.)

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In 1990, Pam White and Annette Friesen lead the organization of the first Montana Homeschool Convention at that Colonial Hotel in Helena. Over 350 parents attended this successful convention. The keynote speakers were David and Micki Colfax and Ray Ballman. David and Micki Colfax created a home school revolution with their book, 'Homeschooling For Excellence', in 1988. Home school families and prospective home school families used the Colfax book as THE guide. Ray Ballman was a noted author of 'The How and Why of Home Schooling', another excellent book that is still used decades later by homeschooling families.

 

Over the years, there have also been a number of successful statewide home school conventions across Montana: Helena  (1990, 2012), Billings (1992, 2004, 2005, 2008), Missoula (1994), Bozeman (1996), Kalispell (1998, 2009), Great Falls (2000, 2007) and Lewistown (2023, 2024).

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Also, in 1990 Debbie Kersten and Gerry Lewis resigned their positions on the Executive Committee and were replaced by Mark Gerber from Billings and Linda Collins from Gardiner. 

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1991

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The biggest battle for Montana home educators came during the 1991 Legislative Session. Many home educators will never forget what occurred in Helena. We were attacked by the Montana School Boards Association (MSBA) and School Administrators of Montana (SAM), who worked together on a very restrictive home school bill - HB533. At the same time, new MCHE board member Russ Wahl [from Cut Bank] made contact with his Senator Del Gage (R - Cut Bank) to support and introduce a pro-homeschool bill - SB287.

 

Their House bill and OUR Senate bill were introduced within days of each other. Dr. Brian Ray of National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI), Michael Farris of National Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) and hundreds of home schoolers from across the state converged on Helena for both hearings. Dr. Ray presented and defended the results of his 1990 Montana Study, and Mr. Farris dealt with the legal issues.

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The difficulty in the 1991 Session was that both the House and Senate were in Democrat control (thus supporting the sponsor of the anti-homeschool bill) (House: 61D, 39R / Senate: 29D, 21R). And the Governor was Republican. A complex makeup for a home school bill passage.

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In preparation for the session, MCHE recognized the importance of getting accurate information to home educators across Montana regarding the bill status, hearings AND strategy for participation. To achieve this, Steve White established a dedicated phone line WITH AN ANSWERING MACHINE MESSAGE. Using the statewide 'phone tree' (email did not exist yet), a message sent out in the home schooling community to call the 'hotline'. The dedicated phone line would provide a 1-2 minute message to everyone who called. The hotline message would provide information to families on upcoming hearings, when to write/send letters, bill status, and anything related to the defeating HB533 (bad bill), and/or passage of SB287 (good bill). This resulted in families across the state getting reliable and accurate information, and knowing when and how to participate. 'AND PARTICIPATE - THEY DID!'

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The hearing rooms on both bills were filled with home school parents and their children. Legislators from both parties ultimately discovered the passion and dedication parents had to home educate their children. To make a long and incredible story short, the bad bill (HB533) was tabled (aka 'killed') in bill sponsor's committee (the chairman of the House Education Committee was sponsor Rep. Schye). And our good bill, SB287 (with 50 co-signers from both parties), made it out of the Senate Education Committee and then headed to the full Senate floor for 2nd Reading.

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One interesting thing happened as SB287 was introduced for '2nd Reading' on the Senate Floor. The word 'solely' was missing from the bill text: 'a parent has the authority to instruct the parent's child, stepchild, or ward in a home school and is solely responsible for:'. HSLDA and MCHE purposely designed the bill to include language in law that stated clearly that the parent was solely responsible for all aspects of their home school. Because of a last minute typo, the word SOLELY was missing. A 'floor amendment' was prepared, and presented during 2nd Reading to add it. There was no debate on it, and 'SOLELY' was added - and remains in 20-5-111 MCA today.

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After succeeding the in Senate, our bill headed to the House Education Committee. Many thought that would be the end of the story (thinking it would never make it through the House Education Committee), and even counseled us to abandon our efforts. It was a big mountain to climb, since we needed to get our bill (SB287) passed by the committee whose chairman was the original sponsor of the anti-homeschool bill that had failed.

 

After much prayer and discussion, MCHE decided to proceed ahead with SB287. Once again, home educators travelled to Helena (winter roads) to fill the Capitol in support of SB287. It ultimately passed out of the House Education Committee, and then it passed 2nd and 3rd Reading on the FULL HOUSE FLOOR. Governor Stan Stephens signed it into law, and is now known as 20-5-111 MCA. The impact of homeschool children and parents writing and visiting Helena was overwhelming. Legislators serving during that session still remember the events.

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After the session ended, an official memorandum "From the Executive Director's Desk" addressed to all the school administrators in Montana included this paragraph:

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"The home schoolers beat us up during the hearings on SB287 and HB533. They put on a show about their successes and we had little or nothing in the way of statistics that demonstrated some of the problems, nor did we have a host of administrators parading before the Education Committees. HB533 - the testing of home schoolers - was quickly killed and SB287 - declaring the rights of home schoolers - passed out of the Senate on a 44-5 vote on its way to the House. Too many legislators have a very dim view of public education."

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Soon after the session ended, MCHE member Steve White was invited to represent Montana in Washington D.C. in October 1991 to present a workshop on 'Legislative Lobbying' to the National Home Education Leadership Conference highlighting the success of SB287.

 

From that workshop came encouragement for South Carolina's homeschoolers, who had just ended their session in failure. The following year (1992), the South Carolina representative Zan Tyler, presented the Legislative Workshop, and attributed their renewal of effort to Montana's testimony of encouragement. 

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Also in May of 1991, Montana Home Education Week was first declared by Governor Stan Stephens, and again in 1992. Governor Marc Racicot followed with Home Education Weeks in 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996.

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1992​

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Also, on the national front, there was a strong push by the UN for the United States to adopt/ratify the UN Convention of Rights of the Child. This was supported early by the Senate (only the Senate needs to approve a Treaty). HSLDA lead the efforts to prevent the treaty from adoption. MCHE Steve White travelled to DC several times to represent Montana home educating families to work with Senators to oppose ratification. Ultimately Senator Jesse Helms led the efforts to avoid ratifying the Treaty. It was never adopted by the United States (and remains the same today).

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1993

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In 1993 Danita Hane and Kent Gilge resigned their positions on the Executive Committee. So as to have greater state-wide representation, Dr. Carl Albertson from Plains, Jeff Waldum from Livingston, Jonathan Martin from Great Falls, and Rick Friesen from Wolf Point joined the Executive Committee, with Mark Gerber from Billings as Chairman. In 1994, Steve White replaced Mark as Chairman.

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During the 1993 session, another Legislative Day was held. Following the design ideas of Pam White, home school support groups from across Montana constructed beautiful banners (all the same size) that were hung from the balcony of the Rotunda for an entire week! The colors added to the state Capitol were simply amazing (pictures of the banners are in the History Picture page below).

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1993 was a relatively quiet session for home educators, because potential legislation was disarmed by the MCHE Executive Committee prior to it being drafted. For the next number of sessions, few bills had been introduced that represented significant changes to Montana’s homeschool laws.

 

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1994

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MCHE contracted with Dr. Brian Ray (NHERI) in 1994, to perform a second full analytical study of the academic status of Montana home school students. The 1994 study was published and the overall composite for Montana K-12 students was in the 73rd percentile (national average is 50 percentile).

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On the national front, a massive federal education bill was introduced: HR6. Unfortunately an anti-homeschool amendment to the bill was introduced by Congressman George Miller (CA), that was a serious threat across the nation to families home schooling their children. MCHE and Montana home schooling families joined other state organizations under the leadership of HSLDA to push back on the passage of Miller's HR6 Amendment. The result was an amendment by Rep Dick Armey (TX) to kill Miller's amendment. It passed nearly unanimously, and the threat was defeated.

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Also, in 1994 was a national reorganization of education laws and goals. This new agenda was called Goals 2000 and School to Work. This was a national threat to local control. Ultimately it was also defeated. Home educators from across Montana worked hard to end this attempt to nationalize education and outcomes.

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1996

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As the Bozeman statewide home school convention was being planned, to take place on the MSU-Bozeman campus, it was discovered that the university policy demanded that all organizations using their facilities needed to carry their own liability insurance policies. Working with MCHE's attorney Doug Kelley, a new and separate incorporated entity was formed: Montana Home Education Events Corporation (MHEEC). The sole purpose of MHEEC was to maintain insurance for the Bozeman event, was well as for future home education conventions AND serve as the organization to plan each future convention. The MHEEC board was composed of organizers from both the current convention, AND from the prior convention. For the next 25 years, MHEEC was the organization responsible for all the statewide events. 

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From 1996 to 2012, MHEEC and their board, organized successful statewide home school conventions across Montana: Helena  (2012), Billings (2004, 2005, 2008), Kalispell (1998, 2009) and Great Falls (2000, 2007).

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1997

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Not directly related to home education, an important decision was decided by the Montana Supreme Court that had an affect on non-public and home school families who wanted their children to participate in PUBLIC SCHOOL SPORTS: Kaptein v. Conrad. This related to an 8th grade NON-PUBLIC school student and her desire to participate in sports locally. The Kaptein family lost in the District Court, and took the issue to the high court - and lost. Thus, the decision stated that no Montana school district (K-12) could be compelled to accept non-public or home schooled students into their instruction OR extracurricular activities. (But, in 2021, SB157 was passed that added a section of law providing that opportunity to non-public and home schools)

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1998

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In late 1998, MCHE received a request from the Montana Human Rights Network for a copy of the 1994 Dr. Ray Homeschool Study. Steve White contacted the director (Ken Toole) to inquire as to the reason that they wanted a copy. In the conversation it was confirmed that their intent was to promote a change in Montana law to test home school children and challenge a parent's God-given rights to raise and instruct their children. Ultimately they received no support from any of the public school organizations in their agenda. The report was not provided, and their plans for anti-home school legislation never advanced. In the 1999 MHRN Newsletter they published a summary article about their decision not to pursue legislation.

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1999

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Rep Monica Lindeen (D) introduced HB549 'Lower compulsory school attendance to age six'. This bill would have modified Montana's compulsory attendance age law from 7-16, to 6-16. It was introduced as the result of a public school official mistakenly approaching a local family with a six year old child, for enforcement of truancy. The family responded by pointing out to the official that the compulsory attendance law in Montana was 7-16, and thus their child was not truant. The official was new to Montana, and did not know Montana law, and thus sought a change in law, to reduce it from 7 to 6. MCHE opposed the bill, and it was tabled the same day as the hearing was held.

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As a footnote, the hearing on HB549 was coincidentally held on the same day as Legislative Day, and there were a lot of colorful home school banners hung from the balcony in the Rotunda. There were many home educating families and students in Helena for their day in the Capitol. It was a great opportunity to participate in the HB549 hearing, and to present testimony against the bill.

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In order to help Support Groups and local County Superintendents with information for new home educating families, Steve White begin publishing the annual Montana Guide to Home Education. This was similar to a previous publication from MCHE board member Danita Hane (Montana Reference Guide) that was no longer in print. 10K were printed annually and distributed at no cost across the state (paid for by advertisers). Often they were available at the state wide conventions for participants and Support Groups. This publication was printed and distributed annually from 1999-2009. It was later available as a PDF document online for a number of years. (The MCHE website has now taken the place of the Guide and its contents.)

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2003

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The next and biggest anti-homeschooling bill was introduced in 2003. Senator Don Ryan (D-Great Falls) began working on this bill (similar to the 1991 legislation (HB533)), SEVEN MONTHS BEFORE the 2003 session even began. It was another testing bill 'Require state assessment test for nonpublic schools/home schools' (SB276). The unique thing about SB276 was that it stretched beyond testing homeschool students, by also including all private schools.

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As in 1991, the homeschool community across Montana voiced strong opposition. On the day of the hearing, the capitol was packed with parents and students that traveled many miles to demonstrate their opposition. The hearing Sign-in sheets listed 472 opponents, and 3 proponents.

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After Senator Ryan finished giving his opening statement (55 minutes), the chairman of the Senate Education Committee, Senator William Glaser (R-Huntley), asked for the proponents (supporters of the bill) to testify. Three proponents spoke in favor of the bill. Senator Glaser noted that after a 55 minute opening, and only 3 proponents, he was going to allow the opponents more time to testify. A long line began to form. Steve White, Legislative Liaison for MCHE spoke against the passage of SB276, followed by Dee Black of Home School Legal Defense Association, private and home educators gave passionate testimonies against SB276. Opposition testimony concluded after 4.5 hours!

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Several days later, the committee killed SB276; 9-1. (Senator Ryan casting the only vote in support of the bill.) 

 

Also, in the 2003 session, Representative Carol Juneau (D-Browning) introduced HB274. This bill was designed to raise the compulsory attendance age from 16 to 18. Rep. Juneau’s reason for introducing this bill was related to the 55% high school dropout rate on Montana Indian reservations. MCHE strongly opposed this bill, including important data from other states that demonstrating raising the age to 18 did not improve graduation rates. HB274 died in the House Education Committee days later.

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After the 2003 session, there have been a series of bills introduced in the 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2021 sessions that were designed to raise the compulsory attendance age from 16 to 17/18 in Montana. MCHE continued their successful opposition against raising the age. (In the 2021 Session LC1019 was drafted, but ultimately was never introduced.)

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2005

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Prior the start of the 2005 session, there were many bills requests that directly affected Montana home educators. Senator Trudi Schmidt (D-Great Falls) submitted five bill requests for testing of home school students. Senator Schmidt also requested a bill to ‘define education neglect’. And again, Senator Ryan requested a homeschool related bill titled ‘Quality home school and child protection act’. Senator Ryan’s request became SB291. (And since the results of the 2004 Montana election produced a democrat majority in the Senate, Sentor Ryan was appointed to a Chairmanship position in the Senate Education Committee.)

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If passed, SB291 would have changed Montana’s homeschool law from one of the best in the nation, to the worst. SB291 required a homeschooling parent to have either a college degree or teaching certificate. Otherwise, the parent would be monitored by a certified teacher for two years. Further, SB291 also required homeschool students to be tested by a certified teacher, in a public school facility in the 4th, 8th and 11th grades. And also, if a student was determined to be developmentally disabled, the parent would not be able to home educate their child. As expected, Montana home educators rallied against SB291.

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Prior to the hearing, Senator Ryan used the state’s email system to send out a request for anti-homeschool stories. As the chair of the Education Committee, Senator Ryan had complete control of all aspects of the hearing.

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As the date of the hearing approached, home educators from across the state begin to prepare for their trip to Helena. Using a special website developed to enhance citizen involvement (www.badbills.com), home educators learned much about the legislative process in Montana - and how to prepare.

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The hearing on SB291 was held on February 14, 2005. Prior to the hearing, a special pre-hearing meeting was held to help everyone understand the process. Until the hearing on SB291, it was assumed that the homeschool hearing in the 2003 would be the largest in history. But, the hearing on SB291 included 1148 citizens signing in as opponents, and 5 proponents. Those working in the Capitol had never seen a larger turnout for any hearing. Testimony lasted nearly one hour. Opposing SB291 included MCHE Legislative Liaison Steve White, Dee Black of HSLDA, Dr. Brian Ray of NHERI, Evangelina Duke - Miss Montana, Senator Bob Keenan (R-Big Fork) and many others from all political and religious affiliations. Homeschooling parents lined into the hallway, fully prepared with their typed testimony for the committee.

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After time expired, hearing Chair Gillan invited people with typed testimony to come forward, state their name and hand in their testimony. Quickly realizing that that would take too much time, Senator Gillan asked for people to come forward and simply pass in their typed testimony. Still, it was determined, THAT would take too much time, since so many people were still in line. Next, Senator Gillan asked that pages collect the testimony in the outside hallway.

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Senator Gillan then closed the testimony on SB291. Immediately after Senator Ryan gave his closing remarks, Senator Elliott (D-Trout Creek) made a motion to table (kill) SB291. The motion passed 10-1.

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For years, some school districts in Montana were not allowing nonpublic or homeschool students access to the driver education program [that was typically taught in the summer by public school teachers]. Thus, for a number of sessions, there were attempts by MCHE to address the inequities of drivers education classes in Montana. In the 2001 session, HB403 'Restricted drivers license for minors' was introduced by Rep Gillan (D - Billings). MCHE tried to add language to the original bill to address unfair inequities of access to the drivers education classes by school districts. It was frustrating, since OPI was fully supportive of equal access, but some school districts ignored their directives. Without the language for equal access, MCHE testified as an opponent to HB403. The bill passed the Senate and House, but Governor Martz concurred with MCHE that the access language should be in the bill. Thus, the Governor vetoed HB403.

 

In 2005, SB104 'Graduated driving privileges' was introduced by Sen Gillan (D - Billings). This time, in 'executive action' on SB104, language was finally added to address the issue of who qualified for these classes: 'and that is available to all who meet the age requirements specified in 20-7-503 and reside within the geographical boundaries of or attend a school in the school district that offers the course.' OPI provided support to the change, and SB104 passed the Senate and the House AND was signed into law by the Governor. So today, school districts must treat all students equally who sign up for drivers education classes.

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2006

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At the federal level, President G.W. Bush joined Senator Ted Kennedy to craft and pass the 'Leave No Child Behind Act'. This large education bill represented a potential threat to the independence of home educators across the nation. It opened the door for all states to impose a testing requirement on home school students in order to comply with its state funding process. Once again MCHE and Montana families joined with other state organizations, under the leadership of HSLDA to amend this massive bill to EXCLUDE home educated students. The amendment was adopted and and the LNCBA was passed.

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2007

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In 2007, Senator Ryan again introduced a bill titled 'Revise requirements of county superintendent of schools' (SB458), aimed squarely against home education in Montana. This bill would have required 'registration', rather than 'notification' with the County Superintendent. And it would have required 'registration' at least 7 days BEFORE EACH fiscal year - thus making many instantly illegal. And once again the Senator served as Chair of the powerful Senate Education Committee. As in the previous two sessions, home educating families from across the state traveled to Helena to oppose this bill.

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PRIOR to the SB458 hearing, a pre-hearing meeting was held in Helena at a local church. Over 750 people attended. The hearing, an hour later, was probably the largest EVER held - nearly 4000 people attended in the Capitol (signing in as opponents). Capitol staff arranged for closed circuit TVs to be setup on all four floors for families to watch.

 

And as in the 2005 hearing, the 2007 bill was immediately tabled by his own committee (8-1).

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After the successful hearing, families began exiting the Capitol. Included in the large crowd were many Amish families (this was the first time the Amish had participated in a political issue in Montana). Walking down the Rotunda steps, the Amish parents began to sing 'Amazing Graze'. Soon, others joined in throughout the Capitol. It was an amazing conclusion to an amazing day.

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Not willing to accept the result, Senator Ryan [days later] made motion on the Senate floor to force the bill from the committee. Realizing ahead of time that a motion would be attempted, parents from across the state contacted their Senators to vote against the motion. The motion failed 10-39, and SB458 was finally dead. 

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2009

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HB433 was introduced by Rep Sue Malek (D) to raise the compulsory attendance in Montana from 16 to 17. MCHE opposed it in the House Education committee hearing. Shortly after the hearing, HB433 was tabled.

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2011 

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HB215 was introduced that would have created a potential hardship to home school students. It was designed to curb dropouts by revoking the drivers licenses of any truant student. With misinterpretations or overzealous administrators/superintendents, there was a significant risk to home schooled students. MCHE testified in strong opposition to this law change, and HB215 was defeated in committee.

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Working with OPI Supt Denise Juneau, Senator Taylor Brown (R) introduced SB44 'Raise age for compulsory school enrollment'. SB44 increased the compulsory attendance age from 16 to 18. MCHE testified in opposition to it. An issue that was raised in the hearing was that in Montana, the Indian Reservations are allowed to set the compulsory attendance for their own school districts. In many of the reservations, the age is 18. And when OPI Juneau was asked what the reservation dropout rates were, the answer was above 60%! SB44 was tabled by the Senate Education Committee.

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2013 

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Again, at the request of OPI Denise Juneau, Senator Wanzenreid (D) introduced SB13 'Raise legal dropout age to 18 or upon graduation'. As in every hearing on changing the compulsory attendance age, MCHE opposed SB13 and it was tabled by the Senate Education Committee.

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2021

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A significant bill was introduced in the 2021 session: SB157 "REVISING LAWS RELATED TO THE ABILITY OF A STUDENT ATTENDING A NONPUBLIC SCHOOL OR HOME SCHOOL TO PARTICIPATE IN EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES [in the local public school district]". Introduced by Senator Hinebauch, SB157 was a bill that opened the door for non-public and home school students to participate in public sports or other extracurricular activities. SB157 was passed into law (20-5-112 MCA) and the effective date of SB157 was July 1, 2021.

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Also, LC1019 (Thane - D) 'Generally revise school laws related to compulsory attendance' was requested for introduction. This bill request was similar to earlier bills. It was drafted to raise the compulsory attendance age from 16 to 18. MCHE Steve White met with Rep Thane to discuss his bill request and MCHE's opposition to it, and ultimately it was never introduced.

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2023

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Though there had been two earlier failed legislative attempts to allow parents to enroll their children as part-time students in a local public school, in 2023 Rep Hastings (R - Billings) introduced HB396 'Require school trustees to admit resident children on a part-time basis'. It was passed nearly unanimously, and signed into law by Governor Greg Gianforte May 18, 2023. This new section allows for part-time enrollment (1/4 ANB) in a local public school.

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2025

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In 2025, Rep Gregg introduced HB778: 'Generally revise laws related to homeschooling'.  HB778 was a bill that made significant improvements to Montana's home school law (20-5-109 MCA). MCHE's Steve White and HSLDA's attorney Kevin Boden worked with Rep. Gregg in the drafting of this important bill. This section of law had remained unmodified since SB445 was passed in 1983. In the home school subsection of HB778, the requirements for home school families to provide immunization records to the County Supt of Schools was removed AND the bill struck the subsection 'must be housed in a building that complies with applicable local health and safety regulations'. MCHE, HSLDA  and Montana home educating families SUPPORTED HB778. It was also supported by the Montana School Board Association, and a number of other public school organizations. It ultimately passed out of the House Education Committee 15-0, the full House Floor 99-0,  the Senate Education Committee 12-2 and the full Senate Floor 50-0. (There were NO OPPONENTS in any of the hearings.) HB778 was signed into law on May 13, 2025. (Though the official Montana law books (MCA) will not be updated until Fall 2025, HB778 took effect upon the Governor's signature and the mtche.org Law page has been updated to reflect the changes)

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Other bills that were introduced in the 2025 session that MCHE was involved in:

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HB 209 (Overstreet)   'Provide income tax credit for nonpublic school expenses such as private or homeschool tuition'   This was the first time that there would be any language in Montana law from DOR or OPI regarding government oversight of nonpublic or home school programs.  MCHE and home educating families OPPOSED it. It was TABLED (killed) in committee.

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SB549  (Trebas)   'Provide income tax credit for K-12 education expenses'  SB549 was a 'refundable tax credit' bill. By including home schools into a bill that provides public tax dollars, sets the stage for rules and laws related to 'accountability'. MCHE and home educating families OPPOSED it. It was TABLED (killed) in committee.

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HB320  (Deming)  'Establish the Montana's academic prosperity program for scholars act'  The original draft of HB320 included modifications to several sections of our homeschool laws that would have been problematic. MCHE and HSLDA worked with the sponsoring groups to provide an important amendment to address our concerns. Thus, MCHE remained NEUTRAL on HB320.  It passed out of the House Education Committee 8-7, Passed 2nd Reading 51-48 on the House floor, and FAILED 3rd Reading 46-54.

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TODAY

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ANY ISSUE, whether it is a policy change in a local school district, legislation in Helena, legislation in D.C., or even the United Nations, that adversely affects our home education freedom is important! And because of the ability to dispense accurate and timely information across this state to a responsive homeschool community, our freedoms have been preserved. 

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Since the 1991 session, there have been many bills introduced, where the future of home education in Montana was threatened. We were facing some very determined adversaries. Many of us remember the overwhelming odds. We called upon the Lord for the future of our families and children, and He has blessed us with mighty victories:

 

2 Chron 20:15 “Do not be afraid or discouraged of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but the Lord’s."

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Over the years, Montana home education freedoms have also been the result of the great sacrifice of Montana's home schooling parents. Though the home education battles in Montana have been successful, the battle for the minds and souls of the next generation still wages on. 

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​​​​​~ Steve White / MCHE ~

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CLICK to VIEW photos from previous years of legislative events.

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​FOOTNOTE: Over the last 25 years, there have been many bills introduced related to tax credits/dollars for nonpublic schools. MCHE continues to oppose tax credits or tax dollars for home schooling expenses. Montana Constitution Art VIII, Sec 12 demands 'Strict Accountability' for any use of tax dollars. (and 5-4-104 MCA defines tax credits as 'tax expenditures') The ability to defeat adverse home school legislation would be crippled once government money is used in home schools. CLICK HERE to view some of the [failed] tax finding bills introduced.​

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