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Committee amends and advances STARS act (House Bill 252) — future‑ready payment delayed one year; teacher pay/data changes included
Summary
House Bill 252 (STARS) was amended in committee to delay a future‑ready payment one year and to adjust quality educator payment data rules, then advanced to the House floor after one amendment failed and one technical amendment was adopted.
House Bill 252, the Student and Teacher Advancement for Results and Success (STARS) act, received extended committee consideration, two sponsor/committee amendments and a final committee vote to advance the bill to the House floor.
Laura (committee staff) summarized the sponsor’s amendment the committee first adopted: it delays the “future ready” payment by one year (from FY2027 to FY2028) and makes technical changes to data collection and to a quality educator payment so school clerks and similar staff can be counted for that payment in the initial years of data collection. “What this is doing is ... allowing for electronic forms to be prescribed by the superintendent,” staff said while describing the amendment’s technical alignment with the fiscal note.
A second amendment, offered by Vice Chair Romano, proposed small changes to the salary‑scale compression percentages (reducing each percentage by two points). That amendment failed on a roll‑call vote (6‑9).
After amendments, the committee passed House Bill 252 as once amended (voice vote) and sent the bill to the House floor.
Lance Melton, representing the Montana School Boards Association and the coalition supporting public schools, and other proponents testified in favor of the STARS act’s teacher‑pay and student‑opportunity provisions. Melton explained that a one‑year delay in the future ready payment increases data fidelity and allows districts to adjust programs so state payments track actual district actions.
Opponents were not recorded for this bill at the hearing. Committee members asked technical questions about calculations, data timing and program rollout; sponsors and staff directed those questions to proponents and the Office of Public Instruction for clarification.
Actions recorded in committee included: adoption of the sponsor’s technical amendment (voice vote), rejection of Vice Chair Romano’s amendment (6‑9 roll call), and a motion to pass the bill as once amended (voice vote). The bill advances to the House floor for further consideration.
