Students, families and Tribal Nations gain an important and welcome Indian Education for All ally
Montana students, their families, and Tribal Nations reached a settlement agreement with the Montana Board of Public Education, one of the parties they sued for not adhering to the Montana constitution and laws that promise all public-school students will receive education about the cultures and people Indigenous to the region. The Montana Board of Public Education (BPE) negotiated an agreement in which the agency promises to take actions to ensure that public schools offer Indian Education for All (IEFA) programming. BPE’s position brings critical hope to those who filed the class action lawsuit in 2021.
“The Board of Public Education is pleased to reach this settlement. Our time and efforts are better spent working to improve education for all students in Montana and not arguing in Court. The process of working with the ACLU on this case has been educational for both parties. We’re grateful to have resolved the issues and look forward to continue prioritizing Indian Education for All in Montana,” said MBPE Chair Tim Tharp.
Despite the partial settlement, the class action lawsuit continues against the Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI). OPI is the office primarily responsible for providing the technical support needed to implement IEFA and confirming that schools spend IEFA funding on related education.
Plaintiff Jessica Peterson agreed. “I’m so relieved that the Montana Board of Education is ready to work together to fix the problems now. Montana needs to make changes now because each school year students graduate without benefiting from the IEFA curriculum. When we filed this lawsuit, my daughter was in 2nd grade. Now she is a 6th grader in Helena public schools. Year after year, I don’t see Indian Education for All happening in the Helena Public Schools. I think it’s a very invisible curriculum if it exists at all,” said Peterson.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Montana, the Native American Rights Fund, and ACLU negotiated the settlement for the class-action plaintiffs. The plaintiffs include the Fort Belknap Indian Community, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation, the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribe of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians, and the Crow Tribe—six of the eight federally recognized Tribal Nations with headquarters in Montana. Parents and students need not apply to join the class action lawsuit, Montana courts automatically included them in this state-wide issue in 2022. The settlement terms will benefit all public-school students and teachers.
As part of the settlement, BPE has agreed to only accredit schools that have Indian Education for All integrated into their curriculum planning and require all new teachers to complete an Introduction to IEFA course prior to working in Montana public schools. Under the settlement, BPE agreed to encourage OPI to develop more resources to assist public school teachers beyond this introductory course and ask OPI to provide BPE a report each year identifying which schools implemented IEFA, the school’s progress in offering Indian education to students, and how OPI will help schools that struggle in teaching this subject to students that year.
Learn More: Yellow Kidney, et al. v. Montana Office of Public Instruction, et al.
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