Education

The Native American Achievement Center on the Montana State University Billings campus is starting the school year with more students than in 2020.

The Missoula County Public Schools Board of Trustees in a 6 to 3 vote Tuesday issued a mask mandate for all students, staff and guests inside of school buildings this fall.

The founder of one of the nation’s first Black studies programs, based in Montana, died this weekend. Ulysses Doss created what the University of Montana now calls the African-American Studies program.

The U.S. education department has approved Montana’s spending plan for $127 million in federal pandemic aid to help K-12 schools adapt during the pandemic.

College students will return to Montana university campuses at the end of this month. As cases of the Delta variant of COVID-19 rise, campus officials are making plans to encourage, but not require, masking and vaccines.

Montana’s American Civil Liberties Union and the Native American Rights Fund filed a lawsuit against the state of Montana on behalf of Montana tribes last week. The lawsuit alleges that requirements to teach Native American history in Montana public schools are not being met.

Montana school officials are grappling with new mask guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as COVID-19 cases rise ahead of the first day of classes. The state’s superintendent of public instruction is advocating for personal choice while public health experts push for mandates.

A lawsuit filed by five tribal nations and 18 individuals alleges the state of Montana has failed to ensure that K-12 public schools are teaching Indigenous history and culture.

Public health officials in Helena are urging parents to schedule COVID-19 vaccine appointments for their teens before school starts. State education officials say parents know what’s best for their kids.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen issued an opinion May 27 claiming public schools are prohibited by state and federal law from teaching certain…