Montana bill would strengthen law requiring Indigenous education

The bill comes amid concerns that schools have not properly implemented the curriculum requirement, which is embedded in the state’s constitution

A bill that would implement accountability measures into a unique Montana law that requires the state’s public schools to create and teach Indigenous history, is so far making its way through the Legislature with noticeable support.

The bill, as sponsored by state Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy, Democrat, proposes stronger accountability into Indian Education for All, a curricular requirement embedded into the state’s constitution that requires schools to incorporate curriculum on Native American history in Montana. So far, the bill has passed the House with a 73-24 vote and is expected to move onto the Senate floor.

Windy Boy, Chippewa Cree and Assiniboine, described the bill, HB 338, as an accountability bill, which would require in definite terms that school districts, as well as the state’s Office of Public Instruction, would have to include participation from Montana tribes to “incorporate the distinct and unique cultural heritage of Montana American Indians into content standards.” The bill would also enhance the reporting requirement that schools must complete if they are to receive Indian Education for All funds, according to the bill.

Earlier this month, Windy Boy introduced the bill saying it would add transparency to how schools use state money meant for implementing the requirement in the classroom. “There has been some misuse or abuse over the course of the time of this particular funding,” he said.

Windy Boy’s bill would require the Office of Public Instruction and the state’s public schools to create and manage an assessment report that details exactly how that school incorporated Indian Education for All into its classrooms. The bill would also replace language in the constitution with stronger wording to reinforce the new proposed report requirements.

Windy Boy said he drafted the bill because school districts are falling short, if not neglecting entirely, the Indian Education requirement. For instance, according to the complaints documented in the current lawsuit against Montana’s Office of Public Instruction, the Deer Creek Elementary School in Glendive cited its 2007 implementation of IEFA was completed by purchasing a book titled, “Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Montana and Native American Resource Fund filed the lawsuit on behalf of several Montana Individuals alongside seven Montana tribes in 2021 and is now on track for an oral argument set for April.

Some complaints date back as early as 2004 describing how school districts have been ineffective implementing IEFA curriculum. In 2020, Hellgate Elementary School in Missoula and Florence-Carlton Elementary both failed to detail how they used IEFA funds. This particularly concerned the plaintiffs in the complaint because these schools are within the district that receives the most amount of state funds, according to the complaint.

In addition to state funding, the Office of Public Instruction offers general resources to help educators implement Indian education. The OPI website provides some resources for teachers and schools on how to incorporate Indigenous education including a 92-page online guide.

In 2015, the state’s Office of Public Instruction brought on an independent consultant, Shawn Bachtler, to perform a study to determine the depth of Indian education implementation. The study’s results showed that even though some Montana schools have been utilizing OPI resources, the level of implementation varied.

Some of what the assessment found was that IEFA is not uniform and its involvement changes from building to building. Some educators might have a clear plan of curriculum usage while others have difficulty in incorporating online resources into their lessons. Some educators also had difficulty finding ways to implement IEFA in various school subjects throughout grade levels.

However, the study also found some educators thought OPIs resources were difficult to use.

“Other factors that reduced teachers’ access of website resources included feeling ‘daunted’ or ‘not knowing where to start’ and a lack of time to review the available materials,” the report states.

Montana citizens, who helped draft the state’s constitution, first wrote into the document in 1972 that the state “recognizes the distinct and unique cultural heritage of the American Indians and is committed in its educational goals to the preservation of their cultural integrity,” states the constitution’s Article X. The document also dictates equality in education in both curriculum and funding.

Indian Education for All, as a curriculum requirement, was implemented into the state code in 1999 in a bill that dictated that “every Montanan, whether Indian or non-Indian, be encouraged to learn about the distinct and unique heritage of American Indians in a culturally responsive manner,” according to the state constitution.

The state currently pays about $3.6 million to schools to implement the curriculum, according to the Office of Public Instruction’s 2023 IEFA budget reports. This is nearly $23 per student, according to an email message from the OPI communications director, Brian O’Leary.

According to Windy Boy’s bill, if schools do not comply with the new requirements, then the future funds for Indian Education for All would be withheld.

According to the state constitution, public school districts are required to file an annual report with the Office of Public Instruction. The form should specify how the Indian Education funds were spent.

However, the past reports submitted by school districts lack details in exactly where and how they spent funds. Instead, the statements focus on the number of students in each school and district with the total amount of funds spent.

“The thing is, number one: It lacks standards,” said Windy Boy. This current system mentions nothing about curriculum or professional development standards when it comes to Indigenous education, he said.

Former state superintendent of the Office of Public Instruction, Denise Juneau, Mandan Hidatsa and Blackfeet, spoke in a phone interview with ICT and Montana Free Press on the Indian Ed. for All bill and expressed what she noticed about it.

Juneau said most people in the state have an idea of Indian Education for All, but it has taken a while to really understand its intention.

“They know the words, they know kind of the intent behind it,” Juneau said. “It’s taken a couple decades, but they’re getting there and they have an understanding and that’s really big for the policy makers in the Capitol.”

Juneau was the state’s superintendent from 2008 through 2016, a time where OPI was just then establishing what the curriculum should look like and how much funds each school would receive. She mentioned how there wasn’t much to go off of during the early years of IEFA.

“Schools were receiving this money and it was sort of a time when people said, well, let’s see what they do with it and if they’re able to use it in the right way,” Juneau said. “Now there must be an appetite for accountability among that. So that just tells me there’s been a lot of progression in this state, which is great.”

Juneau also said she would like to see Montana’s schools implement Indian education and history, saying it should be incorporated in ways that feel natural in all subjects. She cited math as an example, in particular the origins of math and how tribes and other cultures used mathematical concepts throughout history.

“I just think all along the way there could just be this integration (that) happens across all content areas,” Juneau said. “So it’s just natural and a part of the lessons that are across in every space that a student steps into.”

Juneau said she would like to see Windy Boy’s bill expanded even further to include state money that is given to OPI.

“It would be helpful for the state education agency or the Office of Public Instruction because they also receive an apportionment of money from the Legislature, to have them report back to the Legislature how they use their dollars and be accountable to the people as far as that payment,” she said.

The Indian Education for All bill has steadily made its way through legislative committees with noticeable support.

Partick Yawakie, who represented the Blackfeet tribe, was one of the proponents of the bill who spoke during its initial committee hearing earlier this month. He asked the committee members to raise their hand if anyone could list the state’s tribes and reservations. The only member to raise a hand was Rep. Tyson Running Wolf, who is co-chair of the American Indian caucus.

“(The) Indian Education for All program offers a foundation in historical context that prepares the K-12 student for a broader understanding of the world they grow up in as well as the Native American communities and individuals a person meets in life and also in perception of their world as an adult,” Yawakie said in his testimony.

The Indian Education for All bill is set to start making its rounds through the Senate in the coming days.

This story is co-published by Montana Free Press and ICT, a news partnership that covers the Montana American Indian Caucus during the state’s 2023 legislative session. Funding is provided in part by the Headwaters Foundation.

Dateline:

HELENA, Montana