Education

Last school year, the state implemented a new standardized test designed to make sure students are meeting state and federal requirements. But teachers say the rollout has been a mess.

Montana was one of the last states in the nation that allowed schools to disenroll students with disabilities once they turned 18, according to nonprofit Disability Rights Montana. Advocacy director Tal Goldin says the organization sued the state earlier this year to end that policy. It won this month when Montana opted to settle the suit.

Helena voters next month will decide the fate of a more than quarter-billion-dollar public school bond. District officials say their buildings are crumbling, and without new facilities or major improvements, students and teachers could be forced to make painful compromises. Helena Independent Record education reporter Sonny Tapia has been following the story and joined MTPR’s Austin Amestoy with more.

The U.S. Department of Education Friday released billions of dollars in funding previously approved by Congress and withheld by the Trump administration. Montana schools were considering staff and program cuts to make up for the state's $26 million slice of funds.

More than 23,000 Montanans will soon see their student loan balance increase for the first time in at least a year. Interest will start accruing for borrowers on the SAVE plan next week.

Helena Public Schools officials say a new partnership will bring dedicated art instruction to elementary schools for the first time in years.

Briefs: Polson medical center expansion will double primary care services; Montana launches teacher apprenticeship program; Public comment opens on proposed BLM oil and gas leases; FWP urges anglers to kill and report brown trout caught on the Flathead River.

The Trump administration is holding back more than $26 million that Congress already approved for Montana schools. The frozen funding represents more than 10% of what the federal government typically sends to Montana schools each year, according to an analysis from the Learning Policy Institute.

The whereabouts of a former southwest Montana teacher are unknown after he was charged with failing to register as a violent offender.

Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks and Yellowstone National Park implemented the first "hoot-owl" restrictions of the summer Thursday. Montana schools will split $50 million in grant funding to improve reading instruction. State officials are reminding Montanans to watch for harmful algal blooms this summer before recreating in Montana’s rivers and lakes.