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Bill to create 'Celebrate Freedom Week' draws support and worries about local control and standards
Summary
Rep. Greg Oblander's HB591 would require a minimum three hours during a Celebrate Freedom Week for instruction on the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Montana Constitution; proponents praised civics goals while education boards and the Board of Public Education warned statutory mandates could conflict with their standard‑setting authority and pose implementation challenges.
Representative Greg Oblander introduced House Bill 591 to recognize a Celebrate Freedom Week in Montana public schools and require at least three hours of instruction about the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Montana Constitution for pupils in grades 3 through 12, with parental opt‑outs and accommodations for conscientious objectors.
Proponents, including Chris Averill of the Montana 250th commission, praised the bill as a way to improve civics and historical proficiency and to scaffold learning across grades. Averill said the measure aligns with efforts to increase youth proficiency in government and history and to connect founding‐document instruction to continued civic education.
Opponents — including Deborah Silk (Montana School Boards Association / Coalition of Advocates) and McCall Flynn (executive director, Board of Public Education) — said they support the concept but opposed statutory micromanagement that could displace the Board of Public Education’s constitutional authority to set content standards. They urged local control, raised concerns about requiring recitation at the start of each school day (noting nonverbal students and varied class assignments), and warned that specified statutory language could cause confusion for district implementation and conflict with adopted standards.
Discussion focused on alignment with recently updated Board of Public Education social‑studies standards (which added civics requirements in July 2023), grade‑level fit, potential costs and whether the bill should be replaced by a 'gray bill' or coordinated with standards committees. The sponsor said the week is intended as a relatively small, low‑cost block of instruction and remained open to collaboration on implementation.
