A state education panel Friday approved Montana’s first public charter schools. The 19 schools will be required to meet state standards and receive state funding, but will offer instruction different from traditional public schools. Lawmakers approved the creation of charter schools last year, intending them to broaden educational opportunities available to students.
Several members of the Board of Public Education said they wished they’d had more time to study charter school models. Tim Tharp serves as board chair.
“We were given a timeline that was extremely tight by the Legislature, and I want to thank our staff and the committee that put so much time into implementing best practices into our application,” Tharp said.
The approved schools will serve students in Great Falls, Missoula, Helena, Bozeman and other cities across the state. They’ll offer new instructional models to students, like vocational education, arts-focused curriculum and multilingual learning.
A separate law that would allow charter schools to operate outside of state education rules is tied up in court. The schools approved Friday could enroll students as early as this fall.
