The House Education Committee heard House Bill 28 on Wednesday, an agency-request bill carried by Representative David Beatty that would amend Montana’s Public Charter School Act (enacted as House Bill 549 in 2023) to clarify timelines and administrative responsibilities, adjust opening requirements, and set funding rules for new public charter schools.

David Beatty, House District 86, opened the bill on behalf of the Board of Public Education. McCall Flynn, executive director of the Board of Public Education, told the committee the changes are largely technical and administrative fixes identified during implementation of the 2023 law: clarifying that several time periods are measured in business days, ensuring the board notifies county superintendents and the superintendent of public instruction when it approves a charter, and exempting public charter schools from certain school-opening requirements elsewhere in statute that conflict with the charter law.

The bill also clarifies how new charter schools receive the state basic entitlement in their first operating year. Flynn said HB 28 separates two approval pathways — (1) a charter school approved by its local board of trustees and (2) a charter approved by the Board of Public Education after a local board denial — and aligns funding timing so that parts of the basic entitlement (the A and B components) arrive in year two. The bill includes a clawback provision: if a new charter school does not meet specified A and B thresholds, the state may require repayment of that funding.

Supporters include the Board of Public Education and a coalition that McCall Flynn and Rob Watson called the Coalition of Advocates for Montana’s Public Schools (CAMPS), which bundles the Montana School Boards Association, School Administrators of Montana, Montana Rural Education Association, Montana Association of School Business Officials, and the Montana Quality Education Coalition. Rob Watson, executive director for the School Administrators of Montana, said HB 28 addresses implementation issues that arose during the initial round of charter applications and will reduce the need for special meetings by clarifying business-day timelines.

Paul Taylor of the Office of Public Instruction appeared as an informational witness and offered to answer technical questions about funding and implementation. No opponents testified at the meeting; the Board asked that the bill be effective retroactively to assist schools that the Board would consider at its January 23–24 meeting.

Representative Beatty closed the hearing; the committee did not take executive action on HB 28 at the meeting.