About Us

The Board of Public Education was created by the Montana Constitution of 1972 to exercise general supervision over the elementary and secondary schools of the state. The Board consists of seven members appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate to staggered seven-year terms.

By statute, the Governor must appoint members to the Board so that no more than four may be from one of two districts provided for in 2-15-156, MCA , and no more than four may be affiliated with the same political party.

The Governor, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Commissioner of Higher Education are ex-officio, non-voting members of the Board. In 1978, the Board added a student representative who is elected by the executive committee of the Montana Association of Student Councils to a one-year term. The Board maintains offices in Helena with a staff of three people headed by an Executive Director.

In addition to the constitutional mandate to exercise general supervision over the public schools in Montana, the Board is assigned specific responsibilities by the Montana Legislature. A partial list of duties requires the Board to:

• Adopt standards of accreditation for Montana schools and establish the accreditation status of each school.
• Effect a system of teacher certification, including the accreditation of teacher and administrator training programs.
• Consider the suspension or revocation of teacher certificates and hear appeals from the denial of teacher certificates.
• Adopt and enforce policies to provide uniform standards and regulations for the design, construction, and operation of school buses.
• Administer and order the distribution of state equalization aid.
• Adopt rules for student assessment in the public schools.
• Adopt policies for special education and gifted and talented students.
• Act as the governing agency for the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind.