Montana hearing on HB 364 tests privacy concerns as sponsor seeks to restore de‑identified school immunization reporting

Representative Melody Cunningham, sponsor of House Bill 364, told the House Health and Human Services committee that the bill would restore Montana’s practice of allowing schools to submit de‑identified, aggregate immunization and exemption data to the Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) and, from there, to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"All states but Montana provide this information up through their Departments of Public Health and onto the CDC," Cunningham said in opening remarks and listed the vaccines covered by current law, including varicella (chickenpox), diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, rubella, mumps and measles. She said the bill would correct an “unintended consequence” of 2021’s HB 334 and would not require a fiscal note because schools already collect the information under existing law.

DPHHS officials and medical groups testified in support. Becky Wehner, bureau chief of the Communicable Disease and Prevention Control Bureau at DPHHS, said the department previously collected aggregate school vaccine coverage data and used it to create state and county reports to help local and tribal health jurisdictions and the public respond to outbreaks.

"Having access to the proportion of students in a school that are protected against certain diseases ... can assist state and local health, if there's an outbreak in a school setting," Wehner said, adding that the department would create reports that ensure no data are identifiable and would roll up or suppress small counts when necessary to comply with FERPA.

Medical professionals said the data improve clinical response. Lauren Wilson, immediate past president of the Montana chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said such information helps hospitals and clinics prepare during local infectious‑disease outbreaks. Dr. Kristen Anderson, a family and preventive medicine physician in Missoula, said the data would prompt clinicians to test and treat patients more quickly. Dr. Douglas Harrington, the state medical officer, said the information is “absolutely critical” to guide public health and identify areas needing education.

Opponents raised privacy and discrimination concerns. Erin Laws, representing the Montana Medical Freedom Alliance, argued the bill "is unnecessary and leaves room for abuse" and said prior COVID‑era public‑health measures had created distrust. Pam Lukashew, an attorney, asked the committee to table the bill, citing instances she described in which school vaccination rates became public and led to identification and bullying of students. Rebecca Schwartz of Whitefish said de‑identifying data is often impractical in small towns.

"There is no way to de‑identify students in small towns," Schwartz said, urging the committee to consider the risk that aggregated data could reveal individuals in very small schools.

Committee members pressed sponsors and witnesses on practical protections and procedures. Representative Bennett asked whether the bill would create new reporting staff; Cunningham and Wehner said the records are already collected under Montana Code Annotated 25‑4‑03 and that schools and school nurses already maintain the data. Wehner described mitigation steps: rolling counts up to the school district or county level, suppressing small cell sizes, or withholding a community’s report if identification risk remains.

Representative Zephyr asked how the CDC uses the aggregated data; Cunningham characterized the CDC repository as an informational resource the public and officials can consult for disease‑occurrence trends.

The hearing ended with no executive action or vote. Cunningham closed by inviting stakeholders to suggest form or confidentiality amendments to ensure privacy; Chair Marshall previewed additional committee work scheduled for Monday.