On January 23rd, 2024, Disability Rights Montana filed a lawsuit to block a destructive and misleading “disability education savings account” program that was created under the guise of helping students with disabilities. As the designated statewide Protection and Advocacy system for Montana, Disability Rights Montana appears in this case as an organizational plaintiff, suing on behalf of all students with disabilities across the state.

We are joined by our co-plaintiff partner, the Montana Quality Education Coalition. They are one of the largest education advocacy organizations in the state. Their coalition includes more than 100 school districts and six educational organizations representing innumerable teachers, trustees, and administrators from across the state in urban and rural areas, large and small schools, and from the east to the west. In addition to being a plaintiff, Disability Rights Montana attorneys, Tal Goldin, our Director of Advocacy, and Michelle Weltman, our Supervising Attorney for Education, are representing us in the case along with additional co-counseling attorneys from Upper Seven Law.

In short, this new state-run voucher program (which HB393 calls an “Education Savings Account”) allows students with disabilities to take over $6,000-$8,000 a year from the public school to buy education services in the private market even when the district received much less money for the student.

One reason this is true is because students can enroll in public school part time, like when they attend a private school, but want to participate in the extracurricular public school’s sports or music programs. For example, a student who is enrolled less than 2 hours per day in Great Falls generates about $1,500 for the public school district, but the district would have to pay up to about $8,500 in Fiscal Year 2025 for that student’s private expenses under HB393. The district and all the other taxpayers must make up that $7,000 difference to subsidize the participating student’s private education. School districts, particularly rural ones, can’t afford to cover that loss.

That is why we think this program hurts students with disabilities, both those who leave the public school and those who remain in the public school. We asked a court to pause the launch of this program while we sort out in court whether this law violates the Montana Constitution. If you would like to read about the recent media coverage of this motion or learn more about the case, please click on the links below.