Education Regs Revised Per Public Comment
 | Author:
Alex Sakariassen, Montana Free Press
Contributor |
This article, written by Alex Sakariassen, was originally published in the Montana Free Press. It is republished here courtesy of the Montana Free Press.
Education Regs Revised Per Public Comment
Reviewing its latest slate of regulatory revisions, Montana’s Board of Public Ed wrestled once again with politically charged phrases. Over the past few months, the Montana Board of Public Education has busied itself with a seemingly endless stream of regulatory rewrites touching nearly every corner of the state’s K-12 public education system. The latest action on that front came Thursday as board members advanced a revised set of standards for educator preparation programs proposed by Superintendent Elsie Arntzen.
Arntzen’s recommended changes to those standards generated more than 60 public comments last month, and the board meticulously picked through each in an effort to refine and improve regulatory language that, once adopted, will remain in effect for the next decade. While many of those comments sought to correct essentially technical issues — for example, including the names of specific national associations or accrediting councils — the board’s review also waded into territory that has become intensely politicized during the past two years.At several points in the revised regulations, Arntzen had proposed removing references to “social emotional learning,” one of a growing list of academic phrases targeted by national conservative groups critical of the public education system. Board member Madalyn Quinlan responded to the first such deletion by noting that references to social emotional learning are “all over” the Office of Public Instruction’s website, and are “commonly used terms” for professional educators. Tim Tharp, one of Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s latest additions to the board, seconded Quinlan’s response.
“For many, many years I have worn this bracelet that has a suicide prevention hotline number right on it, and my own brother died by suicide,” Tharp said. “We all who have spent time in classrooms know that academics are never going to happen unless those social and emotional needs are met first.”
Montana Federation of Public Employees President Amanda Curtis also strongly encouraged the board to reinsert the language during public comment, stating that while the words may have been politicized, “you all have the chance now to be the adults in the room in public education.”
https://montanafreepress.org/2022/09/16/montanaeducatorpreparationregulationsrevised/
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