Legislature look to study special ed, media literacy, counseling

Clayton Murphy

HELENA (UM Community News Service) — As the 2025 legislative session comes to a close, lawmakers are moving to set themselves up for next session with a series of bills that would start studies analyzing the efficacy of public-school programs like special education, media literacy, school safety and counselors.

Jessica Reynolds is a speech pathologist for Helena Public Schools and supported the special education study, representing the Montana Speech Language Hearing Association.

“I'm ending my 11th year with Helena School District, and I can tell you that the needs faced by special education when I first started are drastically different than they were when I left the building this afternoon,” Reynolds said.

She said that cases, needs and funding are becoming more and more complex. She emphasized the need to “look at the big picture” and investigate the efficiency of special education programs across the state.

Rep. Jamie Isaly, D-Bozeman, is carrying a bill that would fund a study on how to increase the impact of school counselors. Isaly worked as a counselor for the Livingston School District, during which he said he was “flabbergasted” by Montana’s standard of 400 students to one counselor. It’s a ratio he had to deal with personally — Park High School’s enrollment was just more than 400 in 2024.

“Along the way, I learned that the current ratio is not law and statute but instead an accreditation standard set by the Montana Board of Public Education and that trying to push legislation onto that board was not looked upon in a friendly manner,” Isaly said.

Isaly instead opted to propose a study to identify and eventually address the problem.

Both the special education and counselor studies, along with the two others discussed Wednesday, passed committee with close to zero opposition and are now in the full House for debate.