A Montana legislative committee on Friday advanced House Bill 861, which would appropriate state funding to provide statewide access to a K–12 digital toolkit for Montana school districts, and attached a four‑year sunset to the appropriation.

Supporters told the committee the toolkit — widely used in the state after purchase with federal ESSER COVID relief funds — supplies searchable, standards‑aligned instructional resources and career exploration content that rural and small districts lack. Committee members adopted an amendment to terminate the appropriation after four years, then voted to recommend the bill for passage.

Proponents said the toolkit functions as supplemental material teachers may use but are not required to adopt. Representative Dustin Tillman, sponsor of House Bill 861, told the committee the resource reaches many rural schools and that 76% of Montana school districts have signed up to use the toolkit, with potential access for about 15,000 students and “over 40,000 curriculum and supplemental resources.” Rob Watson, who identified himself as representing school administrators and the Coalition of Advocates for Montana’s Public Schools, said the state purchase allowed cost savings and that the example toolkit previously used was paid for with ESSER funds. Watson also ascribed per‑student and per‑teacher cost figures cited by witnesses: “about $10 a kid” for access or roughly $366 per teacher based on current users.

Other proponents included David Smith, executive director of the Montana Contractors Association, who said industry‑aligned, digital career and technical education content helps students learn trade and CTE skills; Kim Popham of the Montana Federation of Public Employees, who noted the toolkit’s benefit to early‑career teachers; Katie Bluggett, legislative liaison for the Office of Public Instruction (OPI), who said OPI would lead procurement and work with the Department of Labor and Industry on a career‑connection component; and several educators and local superintendents who described classroom uses and how the toolkit supports rural and tribal schools.

Witnesses and committee members discussed procurement and ongoing subscription costs. Multiple speakers described digital toolkits as subscription‑based cloud products: if a district or the state stops paying a subscription, access ends. Sarah Swanson, commissioner at the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, described DLI’s role as related to the bill’s career‑connection piece and said her agency would pay for employer access to students as part of that component. Committee members asked whether districts would stop buying primary curriculum if the toolkit were provided; proponents and OPI staff responded that the toolkit is intended as supplemental material and not a replacement for high‑quality primary curriculum.

Concerns raised included the program’s ongoing cost and the effect of an open‑ended appropriation. Representative Dave Beatty asked the sponsor about adding a sunset; the sponsor agreed to a four‑year, one‑time‑only (OTO) sunset amendment, which the committee approved by voice vote. The committee then voted to give HB 861 a do‑pass recommendation as amended.

Ending notes: the committee recorded its voice and roll call votes after the amendment was adopted; the roll call shows the bill passed out of committee with 20 voting yes and 3 voting no.