Letters to the Editor: Proposed Montana legislation

A whirlwind of proposed bills, resolutions and laws are flying through the Montana Legislature — and straight into our inbox. Last week, we received many letters to the editor from students about measures up for consideration in the state’s Senate and House of Representatives. Thank you for sharing your stances on the proposals shaping the future of Montana. And, by all means, keep writing! Submit letters to the editor on our website, msuexponent.com, or by emailing them to exponenteditor@montana.edu.

The measures discussed below are awaiting votes in the capitol as of Wednesday, March 1. Voting status updates for each piece of legislation are sourced from the Montana Free Press 2023 Capitol Tracker, a guide to legislation moving through the capitol. Visit montanafreepress.org to use the tracker.

Recognize the Trauma of American Indian Boarding Schools

From Nathan Gracey

Native Americans have been persecuted for hundreds of years. We have caused extreme hardship through the process of assimilation for well over 100 years.

Of all the horrendous things many of our ancestors have forced natives to go through, you can’t possibly quantify the pain, sorrow, grief and hardship they have endured in the Indian boarding schools. It has been way too long and we must acknowledge, recognize and honor the Native American children who have died in American Indian Boarding schools, and offer support to the survivors, their families and communities.

This is the very least we can do and acceptance of our past actions is the first step to a stronger, more positive future relationship. I would like to commend our senators on passing SJ6 and encourage members of the House to do the same.

Nathan Gracey is a liberal studies major at MSU. SJ 6 is a joint resolution sponsored by Susan Webber, D-Browning. It formally recognizes the trauma of U.S. boarding schools and urges the U.S. Congress to designate a national day of remembrance for Native American children who died in the schools. SJ 6 has passed the Montana Senate and is awaiting a vote in the Montana House of Representatives.

Reimburse Education Costs for Families of Students with Special Needs

From Keelin Monaghan

My sister is bullied because of the wiring in her brain—something that she has no control over. No matter how hard she tries, she simply cannot read. My sister has a learning disability that impacts her life every day. The elementary school which she attends emphasizes special education programs and its programs are well-known to be very effective for children with a wide range of disabilities. However, the learning programs in her school do not have the funding nor the capabilities to help her with her cognitive disability. She is just one of many kids struggling with this issue, and this puts unnecessary pressure on the parents of these children.

My family must utilize third-party learning programs outside of my sister’s school to compensate for the school’s shortcomings. These are expensive. My family — struggling with the current inflation issues — must pay hundreds of dollars a month to fund my sister’s education. It would be advantageous to my family if they could be compensated for these funds.

By supporting House Bill 393, we are supporting special needs, equal opportunity education savings account programs. It will give the superintendent of public instruction the authority to provide for students with disabilities educational opportunities. This bill supports the equal opportunity for all children in public schools to reach their full educational potential.

Hopefully, with the implementation of this bill my sister will have the opportunity to “catch up” with her peer’s reading level and she will no longer be bullied as an outsider. Her school will be able to help all children with cognitive disabilities in their district—which will help raise the next generation of scholars who were once underdogs.

Keelin Monaghan is a psychology major at MSU. HB 393, sponsored by Sue Vinton, R-Billings, would create a savings account program for reimbursing parents of students with special needs for education costs such as tuition, textbooks, advanced placement exams and educational therapies. A vote on HB 393 is pending in the Montana House of Representatives.

Enforce Indian Education For All in Montana Schools

From Taryn Van Steeland

My name is Taryn Van Steeland and I am a fourth-generation Montanan and a student at Montana State University. As a political science student and a Montanan, I care deeply about the content of our state legislature because its impacts are so significant in Montanans’ lives.

This session Representative Windy Boy has introduced House Bill (HB) 338, and I worry without the civic engagement of citizens, like myself, the bill’s importance may fall to the wayside.

HB 338 proposes amendments to Montana’s policies on Indian Education for All (IEFA). IEFA was established to ensure that all Montanans receive quality education on Montana culture and acknowledge our seven tribal reservations and twelve federally recognized tribes. IEFA, as an educational policy, is consistent with the claims throughout the Montana constitution that center educational goals around the preservation of the cultural integrity of our Indigenous peoples.

I grew up in Montana under the IEFA act and I also grew up a mere forty miles from the Apsaalooke nation, yet my education on Native history and Native groups contemporarily was less than subpar. This was because the policy was created with no mechanisms to enforce its operations or without the continual contribution of Native peoples’ voices from our communities. I realized all I was missing when I got the opportunity to take a Native American Studies class here at MSU, and I would have already considered myself someone who was passionate about Native history, yet it felt that I knew so little. My knowledge was thin and needed to be supplemented by intentional teaching formed with Native knowledge at the center of it. HB 338 would provide enforcement mechanisms to track spending and progress in schools’ programs to ensure that we are making good on our promises. I encourage support of this bill, for the continued educational good of Montanans.

Taryn Van Steeland is a political science major at MSU. HB 338, sponsored by Rep. Johnathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, would require public school districts to file annual reports with Montana’s Office of Public Instruction explaining how IEFA funding was used in the previous year for American Indian studies. HB 338 has passed the House and is awaiting a vote in the Senate.

Protect Transgender Students, Vote No on HB 361

From Makayla DeLange

In Montana, we care about protecting our children and ending bullying in schools. Instead of seeking to prevent hate speech and bullying in our public schools, Montana House Bill 361 would protect the bullies.

The text of this bill would make it impossible to discipline students who use a transgender or nonbinary student’s name and sex assigned at birth, even once they have expressed their preferred name and pronouns. Over 80% of transgender kids have considered or attempted suicide; this is largely due to the bullying and cruelty they experience at the hands of hateful peers.

If we want to see more children grow into happy, healthy adults, we should work to eliminate bullying, not give it legal protection. Tell your senators to protect our kids, and vote No on HB 361.

Makayla DeLange is a political science major at MSU. HB 361, sponsored by Rep. Brandon Ler, R-Savage, would classify misgendering or dead-naming as not discriminatory under law. HB 361 has passed the House and is awaiting a vote in the Senate.

Drivers must yield to emergency vehicles

From Madison Rascoe

Emergency vehicles should not have to worry about other drivers while attempting to reach a scene that needs critical attention. This may include an ambulance transporting a patient to a hospital for needed care or a firetruck reporting to an extensive fire. Drivers should have to yield to these emergency vehicles to make sure the emergency vehicles get to the scene at a rapid pace, but also so that no one else gets injured on the way to the location.

Living in Montana, I have noticed that many drivers do not yield to emergency vehicles and how that can be dangerous to not only the non-yielder and emergency vehicle, but also the citizen(s) that are in need of emergency care as they are not getting needed attention. Creating an offense and penalty for failure to yield to emergency vehicles, as House Bill No. 374 does, would increase the number of drivers yielding and create safer roads. The Montana Senate should follow the House of Representatives, pass this bill, and create a safer Montana.

Madison Rascoe is studying sociology at MSU. HB 374, sponsored by Donavon Hawk, D-Butte, would make failure to yield to an emergency vehicle a criminal offense. It has passed the House and is awaiting a vote in the Senate.