Montana
U.S.
Rank
- Opportunity
- Innovation
- Policy Environment
Score:
50%
Grade:
F
Rank:
#47
There is no charter law in this state.
Score:
Grade:
D
Rank:
#25
The state made national history when the high court held that the state’s modest tax credit program was constitutional (more about that in the Constitutionally section) and buoyed by that victory subsequently expanded the program in 2021.
Law enacted: 2015
Number of programs: 1
Statewide Participation: 25
Types of programs: Tax Credit Scholarship
Tax-Credit Scholarship
Student Scholarship Organization Tax Credit
On May 12, 2021 Governor Greg Gianforte signed HB279 into law that significantly expands the Student Scholarship Organization Tax Credit program first enacted in 2015. Donors will now get a dollar-for-dollar tax credit up to $200,000, which had previously been only a $150 dollar-for-dollar tax credit. Montana will credit up to $1 million in donations this year, and that limit will double in 2022.
Score:
Grade:
D
Rank:
#51
Does not require content knowledge tests in elementary and middle candidates; student growth data is not required to be included in teacher evaluations.
TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT: 62%
General Teacher Preparation 62%
Elementary Teacher Preparation 58%
Secondary Teacher Preparation 70%
Special Education Teacher Preparation 55%
Alternate Routes 65%
STAFFING AND SUPPORT: 60%
Hiring 65%
Retaining Effective Teachers 55%
TEACHER EVALUATION: 56%
TEACHER COMPENSATION: 68%
Score:
50%
Grade:
F
Rank:
#47
There is no charter law in this state.
Score:
Grade:
D
Rank:
#25
The state made national history when the high court held that the state’s modest tax credit program was constitutional (more about that in the Constitutionally section) and buoyed by that victory subsequently expanded the program in 2021.
Law enacted: 2015
Number of programs: 1
Statewide Participation: 25
Types of programs: Tax Credit Scholarship
Tax-Credit Scholarship
Student Scholarship Organization Tax Credit
On May 12, 2021 Governor Greg Gianforte signed HB279 into law that significantly expands the Student Scholarship Organization Tax Credit program first enacted in 2015. Donors will now get a dollar-for-dollar tax credit up to $200,000, which had previously been only a $150 dollar-for-dollar tax credit. Montana will credit up to $1 million in donations this year, and that limit will double in 2022.
Score:
Grade:
D
Rank:
#51
Does not require content knowledge tests in elementary and middle candidates; student growth data is not required to be included in teacher evaluations.
TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT: 62%
General Teacher Preparation 62%
Elementary Teacher Preparation 58%
Secondary Teacher Preparation 70%
Special Education Teacher Preparation 55%
Alternate Routes 65%
STAFFING AND SUPPORT: 60%
Hiring 65%
Retaining Effective Teachers 55%
TEACHER EVALUATION: 56%
TEACHER COMPENSATION: 68%
Score:
Grade:
C
Rank:
#18
Montana has implemented measures to make sure that students have access to high speed internet, but the state is still struggling with connectivity gaps in rural areas.
Montana has Content Standards for Technology that provide benchmarks that indicate where students’ digital literacy skills should be at the end of grades 4, 8, and 12.
The state’s Teacher Learning Hub is a robust online learning platform free for educators to earn units to renew their license and increase their digital literacy skills. The state has digital learning resources on their website, which include tools such as: Montana EdReady, Google Classroom, Microsoft Team for Educators, FlipGrid, and EdPuzzle.
Montana Digital Academy is a state virtual school that opened in 2010 for middle and high school students. MTDA was created as a partnership with the University of Montana, and has more than 7,000 students enrolled in online courses as a supplemental program. The school offers 183 courses ranging from Original Credit, Credit Recovery, Dual Credit, and middle school courses. In 2019 MDTA added two new Dual Credit courses, Contemporary Math and Elementary College Spanish I.
Bandwidth: 100% of students in Montana can access the Internet at speeds of 100 kbps per student, and many students are connected at higher speeds.
Montana demonstrates their support for personalized learning through funding.
The Montana Advanced Opportunity Act gives funding to participating districts with the goal of “expanding personalized opportunities for students to accelerate their career and college readiness and reduce out-of-pocket costs for families; empowering students to actively engage in forming successful postsecondary pathways; providing expanded flexibility and advanced opportunity aid to districts in supporting each student’s pathway.”
The Transformational Learning Bill serves as a vehicle for funding personalized learning programs in schools and districts, with the goal of fostering personalized learning through STEM curriculum, VR, AR, and other technologies.

Announcements were made by Governor Steve Bullock, who first announced school closures on March 15th, which was extended on March 24th and April 10th. Montana required districts to provide distance learning for students, and threatened to revoke funding if they did not comply. As opposed to offering encouragement and motivation to districts, this approach was much more heavy-handed than other states. The state did work to ensure students had access to devices and the internet and also provided some basic resources to teachers for guidance on learning plans and special education and created a website.
The reopening guidelines seem to be much better at empowering districts as the initial communications have stated it is up to each district to decide when, and how, to reopen. Guidelines were released mid-summer and are being updated as needed.
The state government is allowing school districts to make their own decisions on return to school plans.
Fast Facts
4th Grade Math Proficiency:
8th Grade Math Proficiency:
12th Grade Math Proficiency:
4th Grade Reading Proficiency:
8th Grade Reading Proficiency:
12th Grade Reading Proficiency:
Graduation Rate:
Average SAT Score:
Average ACT Score:
Public School Enrollment:
Percent Enrolled in Charter Schools:
Average Student Funding:
Score:
Grade:
C
Rank:
#18
Montana has implemented measures to make sure that students have access to high speed internet, but the state is still struggling with connectivity gaps in rural areas.
Montana has Content Standards for Technology that provide benchmarks that indicate where students’ digital literacy skills should be at the end of grades 4, 8, and 12.
The state’s Teacher Learning Hub is a robust online learning platform free for educators to earn units to renew their license and increase their digital literacy skills. The state has digital learning resources on their website, which include tools such as: Montana EdReady, Google Classroom, Microsoft Team for Educators, FlipGrid, and EdPuzzle.
Montana Digital Academy is a state virtual school that opened in 2010 for middle and high school students. MTDA was created as a partnership with the University of Montana, and has more than 7,000 students enrolled in online courses as a supplemental program. The school offers 183 courses ranging from Original Credit, Credit Recovery, Dual Credit, and middle school courses. In 2019 MDTA added two new Dual Credit courses, Contemporary Math and Elementary College Spanish I.
Bandwidth: 100% of students in Montana can access the Internet at speeds of 100 kbps per student, and many students are connected at higher speeds.
Montana demonstrates their support for personalized learning through funding.
The Montana Advanced Opportunity Act gives funding to participating districts with the goal of “expanding personalized opportunities for students to accelerate their career and college readiness and reduce out-of-pocket costs for families; empowering students to actively engage in forming successful postsecondary pathways; providing expanded flexibility and advanced opportunity aid to districts in supporting each student’s pathway.”
The Transformational Learning Bill serves as a vehicle for funding personalized learning programs in schools and districts, with the goal of fostering personalized learning through STEM curriculum, VR, AR, and other technologies.

Announcements were made by Governor Steve Bullock, who first announced school closures on March 15th, which was extended on March 24th and April 10th. Montana required districts to provide distance learning for students, and threatened to revoke funding if they did not comply. As opposed to offering encouragement and motivation to districts, this approach was much more heavy-handed than other states. The state did work to ensure students had access to devices and the internet and also provided some basic resources to teachers for guidance on learning plans and special education and created a website.
The reopening guidelines seem to be much better at empowering districts as the initial communications have stated it is up to each district to decide when, and how, to reopen. Guidelines were released mid-summer and are being updated as needed.
The state government is allowing school districts to make their own decisions on return to school plans.
4th Grade Math Proficiency:
8th Grade Math Proficiency:
12th Grade Math Proficiency:
4th Grade Reading Proficiency:
8th Grade Reading Proficiency:
12th Grade Reading Proficiency:
Graduation Rate:
Average SAT Score:
Average ACT Score:
Public School Enrollment:
Percent Enrolled in Charter Schools:
Average Student Funding:

Greg Gianforte (R)
First term began in 2021
Governor Gianforte’s election coupled with the re-election of a strong pro-parent Superintendent in 2020 made Montana ripe for action coming off of the Espinoza vs. Montana Department of Revenue Supreme Court case, and action they took. Still a long time quest for charter schools for many citizens remains a dream.
2021 has shown promising improvements for educational opportunity with the expansion of the state tax credit scholarship. The state nearly passed a charter school bill in 2017, but it was ultimately defeated. More work is needed to truly make the Big Sky State an unlimited horizon.

Montana’s Blaine Amendment has been found unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court in June, 2020. The state supreme court had originally found that a tax credit scholarship program that permitted parents to spend money at a parochial school was unconstitutional under the Religion and Equal Protection Clauses of the Montana and U.S. Constitutions. The parents sued and took their case to the Supreme Court, and the case, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue vindicated the program and the parents.
This case is the precedent that allows for all other state Blaine amendments to be scrutinized and potentially nullified.

It shouldn’t be easier to find the “Driver’s Ed” link than the “School Report Card” link, but it is in Montana!
School and district report cards are inaccessible and hard to find from Montana’s DOE homepage. It took many clicks and the process isn’t intuitive, reports are buried in various links. Report card data is not detailed or comprehensive. Unfortunately, educational options are not readily accessible either.
School Board Elections are not held during the General Election Cycle, which usually means lower voter turnout.

Greg Gianforte (R)
First term began in 2021
Governor Gianforte’s election coupled with the re-election of a strong pro-parent Superintendent in 2020 made Montana ripe for action coming off of the Espinoza vs. Montana Department of Revenue Supreme Court case, and action they took. Still a long time quest for charter schools for many citizens remains a dream.
2021 has shown promising improvements for educational opportunity with the expansion of the state tax credit scholarship. The state nearly passed a charter school bill in 2017, but it was ultimately defeated. More work is needed to truly make the Big Sky State an unlimited horizon.

Montana’s Blaine Amendment has been found unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court in June, 2020. The state supreme court had originally found that a tax credit scholarship program that permitted parents to spend money at a parochial school was unconstitutional under the Religion and Equal Protection Clauses of the Montana and U.S. Constitutions. The parents sued and took their case to the Supreme Court, and the case, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue vindicated the program and the parents.
This case is the precedent that allows for all other state Blaine amendments to be scrutinized and potentially nullified.

It shouldn’t be easier to find the “Driver’s Ed” link than the “School Report Card” link, but it is in Montana!
School and district report cards are inaccessible and hard to find from Montana’s DOE homepage. It took many clicks and the process isn’t intuitive, reports are buried in various links. Report card data is not detailed or comprehensive. Unfortunately, educational options are not readily accessible either.
School Board Elections are not held during the General Election Cycle, which usually means lower voter turnout.