Bills Dictating Religion, Prayer and Sex Ed in Schools Advance Ahead of Key Deadline

At the half-way mark of the 2023 Montana Legislature, three House bills that would dictate how public schools in the state handle religion, prayer and sex education just barely made it to the deadline to stay alive.

Rep. Greg Kmetz, R-Miles City, is sponsoring House Bill 744, which would allow students and teachers to openly discuss religious beliefs. The bill passed out of the House Education Committee 9-4, and passed a final vote in the House 69-29 on the last day for general bills to be passed to their second house.

Friday, March 3 was day 45 of the 90-day session and also the transmittal deadline. Any general bills that did not pass to their second house – from the House of Representatives to the Senate or vice versa – are considered dead.

House Bill 745, which deals with religious texts and prayer in schools and House Bill 502, which clarifies earlier legislation requiring parental notification of sex ed materials, also both passed the House on mostly party-line votes, with Republicans for and Democrats against.

Rep. Scot Kerns, R-Great Falls, spoke in favor of HB 744, saying the first amendment heavily influenced the bill by making sure that Congress has no impact on the rights of an establishment of religion or preventing a person's ability to exercise religion.

"We have to be careful, how those run in conflict or are actually applied. So, for a student, and that's what this bill talks about, the student may – that is their free exercise of religion," Kerns said.

Kerns also said the bill is written in a way that makes sure teachers aren't initiating conversations with students on religion or forcing religion in a public institution.

"It's the ability for a student to actually freely exercise their religion, and that's what this bill actually does," Kerns said.

Rep. Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, spoke against the bill during the House debate, saying that it would have a negative impact on tribal schools and native students.

"All the students in my tribe here in Montana is excluded from this because we don't have a religion. It's a way of life," Windy Boy said.

HB 744 goes hand in hand with Kmetz's other bill, HB 745, which would allow students to read religious books during free-reading times and for self-selected reading requirements.

"This is just a bill that gives freedom. It gives freedom to teachers, it gives freedom to students," Kmetz said

The bill would also expand the ability to pray on school grounds or at school-sanctioned events. It would allow the school day to start with a prayer, but maintains that no one can be forced into participating in the prayer or religious practices.

HB 745 passed out of the House Education Committee on a 9-4 vote, and passed the full House 67-31.

Rep. Eric Matthews, D-Bozeman, a teacher, spoke against the bill. He said everything that the bill outlines is already being practiced in schools, and students are already allowed to pray based on their religions.

He said the issue he had with the bill is it specifically describing the Bible as appropriate religious text to read in classrooms.

"If this is really about religion, why do we need to call out the Bible? Why are we not listing the Bible and the Quran, and whatever religious texts are there?" Matthews said. "If we are trying to be impartial, adding that makes it feel very partial to me."

Rep. Naarah Hastings, R-Billings, said she is in favor of the bill though she agreed with Matthews. She said she's never had an experience of being discriminated against in a classroom, and believes that all kids should have the ability to openly display and read their respected religious texts.

The House also passed a bill that would expand previous legislation on informing parents about upcoming teaching material or events that address sexual education.

Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crowe, R-Billings, is sponsoring HB 502, which would create a 48-hour to 10-day notice period for public schools to notify parents about any upcoming material, instruction, or school-related event that deals with informing children about sexuality.

"That's a policy that the school sets and I don't want to impose on that, but I would encourage these school districts to work very closely with the parents and set a policy that works both for the teachers and the parents," Seekins-Crowe said. "Parents would have that ability then to opt their children out of that education if they so choose."

The bill is an expansion of Senate Bill 99 from 2021, which established the clause that parents must be notified when their children are going to be taught about sexuality in public schools across the state.

Seekins-Crowe said one problem from the previous legislation was that it did not establish when exactly parents were supposed to be notified on the upcoming material.

"There were school districts that were basically sending out a notice at the very beginning of the year, and some of them were sending out notices daily if there was a story with two raccoons holding hands," Seekins-Crowe said.

The final vote on the bill landed on almost a party line with all but one Republican voting yes and all but one Democrat voting no.

All three bills will now move to the Senate, where it will be debated after the Legislature reconvenes on March 9.

Caven Wade is a student reporter with the UM Legislative News Service, a partnership of the University of Montana School of Journalism, the Montana Broadcasters Association, the Montana Newspaper Association and the Greater Montana Foundation. He can be reached at [email protected].