Education

A first-of-its-kind statewide health insurance trust for school employees got the green light from state regulators last week. Administrators are hopeful it could help control one of education’s most expensive line items.

School safety experts say many Montana schools lack the planning and technology needed to adequately respond to threats from natural disasters to shooters.

The deadline to apply for the state’s new "homestead" property tax exemption is midnight on March 19. Missoula County is hosting public open houses on its new draft floodplain map over the next few weeks. A Montana judge Wednesday gave the go-ahead to plaintiffs challenging state laws that restricted how schools teach sex education.

Montana is falling far short of best practices when it comes to paying for school maintenance. That’s according to a new nationwide report on school facilities. The message from Montana’s school maintenance directors to lawmakers is straightforward: “We need help.”

Montana is one of a shrinking number of states that doesn’t have a law regulating student cell phone use in school. Research increasingly suggests the devices play a role in rising rates of anxiety, depression and distractedness in kids. Some schools are taking matters into their own hands — and taking input from students along the way. Montana PBS reporter Hannah Kearse joined MTPR’s Austin Amestoy to discuss the trend.

New analysis from Montana legislative staff shows the state’s share of school budgets has gone up in dollar amount over the last two decades. But due to inflation, the value of that money has stayed almost exactly the same as it was in 2008.

Pencils down! Does that phrase bring back some anxiety-inducing memories? What if, like in your bad dreams, it's an exam you haven't studied for? A listener wants to know why student test scores have stopped rising. The answer involves triangles and time. Learn more in this lesson of The Big Why. There won't be a quiz afterward.

The University of Montana hopes to hire its next president by spring. The university system’s top leader concedes it’s an ambitious timeline, but is confident all building blocks are in place to make it possible.

The first report on Montana’s new public charter schools shows their students generally lag behind peers in standard public schools. But, that data comes with caveats.

Montana’s educator shortage appears to be worsening, according to the state Office of Public Instruction. The state is on track to authorize more than 300 unlicensed educators to teach this year. State education officials say Montana will again provide meals for children during the summer months. Montana is one of two states that has never introduced a bill to regulate cell phone use in schools statewide.