Education
I stand for education and my vote is always to protect the children. I support policies that promote excellence in education. I have been, and remain an active participant in the education of my own children and grandchildren.
Awards and Recognition from Education Groups
Over my last 11 sessions, I have both carried and supported legislation that benefits our rural school systems.
Montana School Business Officials, MEA-MFT, Montana Rural Education Association, Montana Quality Education Coalition, Montana School Boards Association and School Administrators of Montana collaborated score of 90%.
“During my 15 years as MSU President, Llew Jones was the go-to legislator for expanding student opportunities across Montana — from Bozeman and Gallatin College to Missoula, Billings, Havre, and beyond. His leadership helped increase graduation rates, expand classrooms, and ensure students in every corner of the state have the tools to succeed. If Montana’s students matter to you, Llew is the one to get it done.”
— Waded Cruzado, President, Montana State University (2010–2025)
To remain competitive in today’s economy, Montana’s youth—whether in public or private schools—must have access to world-class educational opportunities. Every program I support is measured against one standard: Does it improve student achievement?
Over the last several sessions, I have led the charge on education policy, delivering reforms that put students first and empower local control:
· 2013 – SB 175: Built the foundation for the most significant K-12 reform package in a decade.
· 2017 – SB 260 & SB 307: Created long-term investment pathways for school infrastructure to ensure safe, modern facilities.
· 2019: Allowed funding to follow students to nontraditional learning such as trades and technical training.
· 2021 – HB 143: Increased starting teacher pay to attract and retain quality educators.
· 2023 – HB 749, HB 588, HB 587: Expanded digital offerings, improved teacher recruitment, increased funding equity, and permanently bought down local property taxes.
· 2025 – HB 252: Increased teacher pay, protected local control, and modernized the funding formula to a performance-based model—rewarding schools for students who graduate with stackable CTE credentials or dual credits, preparing them for careers and college.
I’ve also stood firm for fairness in athletics, opposing post-puberty biological males competing in girls’ sports, and I oppose permanent medical or surgical gender changes for minors due to the risk of lifelong harm.
Key Education Policy Wins
1. Passed the STARS Act (HB 252, 2025): $114 million to raise starting teacher pay, plus a Future Ready payment when students earn stackable credentials, dual credit or apprenticeships.
2. Carried HB 587 (2023), which turns growth in the statewide school mills into local property tax relief on school levies.
3. Restored local trustee control over funding decisions.
4. Replaced “seat time” with mastery of content as the basis for advancement, enabling flexible, individualized learning.
5. Linked state lands directly to school infrastructure funding and property tax relief.
6. Froze property tax growth by tying natural resource development to education funding.
7. Directed funds to high-need areas to ensure opportunity regardless of geography.
8. Put technology funds in local—not state—hands.
9. Strengthened student data privacy laws.
10. Brought greater equity to the state funding formula.
11. Secured a predictable base for school infrastructure investment.
12. Created career-focused pathways for funding to follow students into trades such as healthcare, mechanics, welding, and electrical work (Advanced Opportunities Act, 2019).
While there is more work ahead, Montana’s K-12 public education—the foundation of the American Dream—remains strong.
At the higher education level, Senator Taylor Brown and I championed performance metrics for the university system, focusing on reducing time to degree, lowering student debt, and improving job placement.
What's Next: The Local School as the Hub
We live in an à la carte world. A student who wants a welding certificate, a college class, or a course the local school can't staff is going to find it somewhere. The question is whether that student, and the dollars that follow them, stay connected to the hometown school or walk away from it.
For 2027 I'm working with Montana school leaders on a bill that makes the local public school the hub. If a student needs a course or credential the school doesn't offer, the school can route them to it: the Montana Digital Academy, a dual-credit college class, or an apprenticeship with a local employer. The school keeps counting that student and keeps the funding. Homeschool and private-school families can use the same door for a single class.
And testing is not the price of access: a family's choice should never cost a small school its accreditation or its funding. It is choice that runs through our public schools instead of around them.