Montana bill aims to resolve constitutional overlap between superintendent and Board of Public Education

Representative David Beatty, sponsor of House Bill 138, told the House Education Committee that the bill removes a statutory reference to "general supervision of the public schools" from the superintendent of public instruction’s duties so those responsibilities align with the Board of Public Education’s constitutional role. "This plainly contradicts the plain language of the state constitution," Beatty said, arguing the statute and constitution currently assign overlapping duties.

Supporters including Lance Melton of the Montana School Boards Association and longtime education observer Bob Story testified HB138 clarifies who holds constitutional authority. Melton said the board’s role is to set minimum standards and accreditation while local trustees retain supervision and control; he told the committee the bill preserves the board’s constitutional authority and reduces administrative conflict.

Beatty described the measure as a technical fix to a constitutional statutory mismatch, and said he had worked with the lieutenant governor, the superintendent, and Board of Public Education representatives on a technical amendment that rewords statutory duties without changing substantive outcomes. He asked the committee to adopt the amendment and recommended a do-pass.

Committee members pressed for details about the Board of Public Education’s composition and whether the superintendent agreed with the amendment; Beatty said board members are gubernatorial appointees, identified Dr. Tharp as the board chair, and said the superintendent had been consulted and agreed with the amendment’s drafting.

The hearing included a brief discussion of the legal history of "general supervision," with Melton summarizing how the 1972 constitution limited state intrusion into local supervision and framed state-level supervision as setting minimum accreditation standards. Proponents said the bill would reduce disputes and help implementation of state education policy.

Chair Rexton closed the hearing on HB138 after the sponsor’s closing remarks. The committee did not take a final vote during the hearing; Beatty recommended adoption of the amendment and a do-pass recommendation for the bill at a later committee action.

Next steps: The committee closed the public hearing; if the committee moves to executive action it will consider Beatty’s amendment and whether to report the bill to the full House.