Education choice setback for Montana families requires legislative action

Montana families seeking flexible education options for students with special needs received disappointing news last week when a District Court Judge blocked implementation of the state’s Education Savings Account (ESA) program. While earlier court decisions allowed the program to move forward, this latest ruling has paused ESAs entirely.

The Students with Special Needs Equal Opportunity Act program, created in 2023 by House Bill 393, was designed to give families of students with special needs access to education savings accounts (ESAs) up to $8,000 per student. These funds could be used for approved educational expenses such as private school tuition, therapies, tutoring, curriculum, and instructional materials.

Shortly after implementation began, the Montana Quality Education Coalition, the lobbying arm of Montana’s public school establishment, and Disability Rights Montana, a government-funded legal advocacy office, filed suit seeking to stop the program and undermine education choice. In an earlier ruling, the court declined to block ESAs from moving forward. However, in the most recent decision, the judge concluded that the legislature failed to include sufficiently explicit appropriation language required under Montana’s constitution.

As a result, the program has been put on hold. The good news is that this is a technical problem and is fixable. The court did not rule that education savings accounts are unconstitutional. The court did not find that allowing families to direct education funding toward private services violates Montana law. The court did not rule against education choice or parental decision-making.

Instead, the ruling focused narrowly on the mechanics of how the program was funded and this issue can be resolved by the legislature. With the legislature not scheduled to meet again until 2027, a special session should be convened to clarify funding language and fix the appropriation to satisfy constitutional requirements. This approach would address the court’s concern while preserving the legislature’s original intent: giving families of students with special needs more educational options.

For families already using or preparing to use ESAs, this pause creates uncertainty. That uncertainty affects real children with real needs. The program serves up to 100 families who decidedly opted out of the traditional public school system because it wasn’t working with their learning styles, medical challenges, or developmental differences.

Now, these students who felt there were no other options and were thriving under the ESA program have been cut off. Students should not have their placement changed mid-year because a technical legislative correction is needed. 

Governor Gianforte told us about the ruling: “Each child is unique and deserves access to the best education possible to meet his or her individual needs. This is especially true for the more than 18,000 students in Montana who require specialized education services. I am deeply disappointed in the court's ruling, which disrupts the education of Montana students who most need specialized services. We should empower Montana parents to pursue and secure the education that best meets the individual needs of their child.”

Education Savings Accounts exist because traditional systems, however well-intentioned, cannot meet every child’s needs. ESAs give parents the flexibility to assemble the right mix of services like specialized private school, targeted therapy, individualized tutoring, or a combination of supports.

Students with special needs deserve options, and families deserve tools to help their children succeed. Montana families were promised a program designed to put students first. With prompt legislative action, that promise can still be kept. The path forward is clear and what remains to be seen is whether elected leaders will act.