Montana committee hears bill to reinstate, expand 'Grow Your Own' teacher pipeline

Representative Cedus Crow told the House Education Committee that House Bill 4.99 "seeks to revise and extend the Grow Your Own grant program," calling it a targeted effort to recruit and retain teachers in rural and tribal communities. The bill would authorize the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education to administer partnerships between postsecondary institutions and K–12 districts and provides a last‑dollar grant intended to cover remaining tuition costs up to $5,000 per year and not to exceed $10,000 per student.

Supporters told the committee the program addresses persistent educator shortages in small and frontier schools. "The Grow Your Own Grant program has been a successful model for Blackfeet community and other tribes in the state," Patrick Yawaki said, representing the Blackfeet community, Fort Belknap and the Chippewa Cree Tribe, and asked members to grant HB 4.99 a due pass. Beth DuRodoye, dean at Montana State University Northern, described the TOP (Teachers of Promise) pathway that delivered education courses to 167 students and partnered with multiple rural districts. Larry Crowder of the Montana Rural Education Association urged a do‑pass, saying local candidates are more likely to stay in their home communities.

Officials described prior, limited state funding and early participation but cautioned that outcomes require sustained appropriations. Angela McLean of the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education said three Grow Your Own programs were rolled out in the 2021 biennium and that more than 150 students began pathways, with at least a dozen in Havre engaged in paraprofessional placements; she said there are not yet program completers from that cohort. McLean noted the initial legislative appropriation was $500,000 in 2021 and that the program received no state funding in 2023; she told the committee that the program’s continued operation is "contingent upon an appropriation." Representative Crow said the bill removes earlier language authorizing conversion of grants to loans because the administrative cost and low recovery rates made the conversion impractical.

Committee members asked how students apply, how funds are disbursed and what supports exist to keep participants enrolled. McLean said campuses would run requests for proposals to operate Grow Your Own models and that some pathways will use Apply Montana; after standard financial aid is applied, the last‑dollar grant would kick in and funds would be dispersed early in the semester. She said successful proposals would need advising infrastructure and other supports to promote completion.

The hearing closed without a committee vote. Representative Crow asked for and sought committee support and a due pass; the Chair closed the HB 4.99 hearing and moved on to the next bill.