Montana

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Announcing November, Parents' Rights in Education MONTH!

We are asking MONTANA parents who care about their child’s education to contact their school board, and ask them to adopt our Proclamation, affirming the rights of parents to influence policy and curriculum decisions, the heart of every school.

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Critical Race Theory

Cheryl Tusken, state director for the nonprofit Parents’ Rights in Education, speaks to dozens of parental rights activists gathered on the steps of the Montana Capitol during a rally October, 2021. Credit: Alex Sakariassen / MTFP

Cheryl Tusken, director of the Montana chapter of Parents’ Rights in Education, photographed at her home in Bozeman. Credit: Jason Thompson / MTFby Alex Sakariassen

When Jenn Schneider and her husband, Chris, withdrew their two elementary-age boys from the Billings school system last fall, the decision was heartbreaking. Schneider had played an active role in their education since her oldest son’s early days in kindergarten, volunteering to help with school events and in classrooms, and she developed a deep respect for and connection to the educators in her children’s lives.

“We really do like the public school system in Billings,” Schneider told Montana Free Press in an interview this week. “One of my best friends is a teacher. We’ve gotten to know our public school, our elementary school, pretty well and we really do love the principal and the teachers. Public school is what we chose for education.”

The problem was masking. READ MORE HERE

Critical Race Theory

Elsie Arntzen,
Superintendent of Public Instruction

Austin Knudsen,
Attorney General

May 12, 2021: Superintendent of Public Instruction, Elise Arntzen requested Austin Knudsen, Attorney General review tenets of Critical Race Theory, including separating school children based on race, and ascribing collective guilt based on race.

Knudsen was also asked to determine if promoting CRT violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, and Article II, Section 4 of the Montana Constitution.

Superintendent Arntzen received harsh blowback by most media outlets, however AG Knudsen obliged and responded with a very clear take down of CRT.

View Supt. Arntzen’s request, HERE

The Attorney General’s Opinion is binding and carries the weight of law. In his findings, many parts of CRT and “anti-racism” teaching are discriminatory and are violations of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution; Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Article II, Section 4 of the Montana Constitution; and the Montana Human Rights Act.

Activities that fall under these categories that are discriminatory, equally insidious when applied to any race, and illegal under federal and Montana laws include, but are not limited to, the following:

Segregating students in any capacity based on race. This extends to every aspect of a school’s program or activity including classes, seminars, lectures, trainings, athletics, clubs, orientations, award ceremonies, graduations, or other meetings. This includes segregation that occurs in an online or virtual format;
Government entities and employers segregating employees along racial lines or treating them differently based on their race;
Using race when administering academic programs, including grading students differently or having students complete assignments on the basis of race;
All exercises that ascribe specific characteristics or qualities to all members of a racial group particularly when participation is compulsory or acceptance of certain stereotypes is required as part of the grading criteria;
Using materials that assert one race is inherently superior or inferior to another
Forcing an individual to admit privilege or punishing them for refusing to do so, forcing individuals to “reflect,” “deconstruct,” or “confront” their racial identities – including instructing them to be “less white”
Asking students or employees to engage, or not engage, with the class in a specific manner based on race;
Engaging in “race scapegoating,” which means assigning fault, blame, or bias to a race or members of a race on the basis of their race. This includes claims that by virtue of race, a person is inherently racist or inclined to oppress others; and
Trainings, exercises, or assignments forcing students or employees to admit, accept, affirm, or support controversial concepts such as racial privilege, culpability, identity, or status as this constitutes compelled speech.
MT DOJ Summary of the AGO: https://dojmt.gov/attorney-general-knudsen-issues-binding-opinion-on-critical-race-theory/

AG Knudsen’s Opinion

Student Mask Policy

May 19, 2021: Superintendent, Elsie Arntzen, issued a memo to all district superintendents in the state recommending face coverings be optional for schools in the fall. Ms. Arntzen states, “the OPI strongly recommends that school districts across Montana rescind, or allow to expire, any existing face covering mandates and develop policies that make the wearing of face masks… optional, voluntary, and a matter of family choice.”

View the memo in its entirety HERE

Legislation Round Up

SB400 Signed into law 5.12.21
This bill restricts the government's ability to interfere with fundamental parental rights to direct the upbringing, education, health care, and mental health of their children unless the governmental entity demonstrates certain criteria. It then establishes a clear path of resolution with the government for relief.
Bill text: https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/billpdf/SB0400.pdf

SB99 Signed into law 4.30.21
This bill establishes parameters for k-12 sexual education, requiring a school district to obtain written consent from a parent or guardian before instructing students in human sexuality education, requiring a school district to inform a parent or guardian when events or courses on human sexuality will be held or taught. This bill would also prohibit a school district from allowing any abortion services provider to offer materials or instruction at a school.
Bill text: https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/billpdf/SB0099.pdf

HB501 Signed into law 5.14.21
Revises trespass laws regarding criminal trespass on properties that are funded in whole or in part with taxpayer dollars. This law states that failure to wear a face covering or carry proof of vaccination may not be considered a crime of criminal trespass.
Bill text: https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/billpdf/HB0501.pdf

HB334 Signed into law 4.28.21
Revises medical and religious exemptions for vaccination requirements for school attendance.
Bill text: https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/billpdf/HB0334.pdf

HB702 Signed into law 5.6.21
It is now illegal to discriminate based on a person's vaccination status and immunity passport in Montana. Vaccination status may not be used as a condition of employment, of attaining employment, or use of public accommodations by citizens.
Bill text: https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/billpdf/HB0702.pdf