Game Changer Campaign of the Year: Monumental New Charter Law in Montana (National Alliance for Public Charter Schools)

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The passage and signing of HB 562, The Community Choice Schools Act, brings public education options to students and families in Montana, the 46th state to enact a charter school law. HB 562 was a necessary step to provide more high-quality public education options in the state. All public charter schools, or community choice schools as they are called in HB 562, are public schools and free to attend. Until this law, Montana was one of the only five states in the nation that did not allow public charter schools, depriving families of the opportunity to choose innovative public schools that best fit their students’ needs. According to the National Alliance’s Charter School Model Law, HB 562 will be ranked as one of the strongest laws in the nation. According to a recent poll conducted by JMC Analytics and Polling that surveyed 550 Montana residents in eight counties, only 15% of respondents describe the quality of their local public schools to be excellent, and 56% of parents and grandparents with a child in school support or strongly support the establishment of charter schools in Montana. ‘In Montana, less than half of students in public schools are proficient in language arts, and only one-third are proficient in math. Clearly, there is a need for higher quality public education,” says Monica Berner, parent and advocate. ‘Parents should have a choice of schools, regardless of their reasons why.’ HB 562 was championed by citizens who saw a need for public education options in their state. Trish Schreiber, one of the citizen leaders who advocated for this bill, says, “This was a colossal effort, 24 years in the making, that ultimately was accomplished by having a strong relationship with the National Alliance in conjunction with the right bill, the right sponsor, the right leadership in both chambers and, of course, the right Governor.”

2023 Charter Schools Eddies Nominees

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