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Montana Board moves two educator misconduct cases to contested hearings and sustains summary suspensions
Summary
The Board of Public Education accepted Office of Public Instruction summary-suspension actions for Cody Davis and David DeMar Larson and voted to send both matters to contested-case hearings to be scheduled after related criminal proceedings; both educators’ licenses were suspended pending those proceedings.
The Montana Board of Public Education voted March 19 to accept summary-suspension actions from the Office of Public Instruction (OPI) in two separate educator cases and to send both matters to contested‑case hearings to be scheduled after related criminal prosecutions.
OPI representative Bridal Craig briefed the board on the first case, saying the agency had investigated allegations involving Cody Davis, a holder of a Montana Class 2 teaching license endorsed for K–8. "We are coming to you first with a summary suspension case for Mister Cody Davis," Craig said, summarizing OPI’s view that Davis engaged in inappropriate online interactions with an undercover FBI child‑exploitation task‑force officer posing as a 12‑year‑old and subsequently was arrested. Craig told the board OPI found "credible evidence" of conduct that met the statutory standard for summary suspension under ARM/ MCA procedures. The superintendent had summarily suspended Davis’ license on Jan. 8, 2026; OPI asked the board to ratify that suspension and move the case to a contested hearing.
Later in the meeting the board heard a separate presentation about David DeMar Larson. OPI described an investigation originating from a National Center for Missing & Exploited Children cyber tip involving alleged enticement of a 13‑year‑old through an online game and related communications on Snapchat and Telegram. OPI said law enforcement seized Larson’s phone, which allegedly contained explicit videos and conversations. OPI reported criminal charges filed in Yellowstone County that include solicitation to commit trafficking and multiple counts of sexual‑abuse‑of‑children material; Larson has been released on bail. After OPI recommended moving his file to a contested‑case hearing, Larson addressed the board by phone and denied the charges. "I maintain my innocence regarding all charges against me," he said, and asked the board not to take permanent action while criminal proceedings remain pending.
Board members framed the votes as routine procedural steps that preserve due process: accepting the administrative record that gave the superintendent authority to summarily suspend the licenses and then referring each file to an adjudicative contested‑case hearing to occur after resolution of criminal matters. The board explicitly found, for purposes of moving each matter forward, that there was sufficient cause to believe professional misconduct may have occurred based on the allegations presented.
Both motions passed by voice vote. The board did not revoke either license; rather, it sustained the summary suspensions (as previously ordered by the superintendent) and directed that each case be scheduled for a contested‑case hearing once the related criminal proceedings are complete.
What happens next: The contested‑case hearings will be scheduled once criminal cases conclude; at that hearing the board may consider additional evidence and make a separate determination about revocation or other disciplinary outcomes.
