Regier, Hedalen Announce Legislation to End State Funding for ‘Woke’ Teacher Conferences

HELENA — Senate President Matt Regier and State Superintendent Susie Hedalen announced Monday they will introduce legislation in 2027 to restrict state funding for teacher conferences that promote what they call “extreme leftist ideology,” following Western Montana News reporting on controversial sessions at this month’s Montana Federation of Public Employees educator conference.

Regier has already reserved the first bill title for the 2027 legislative session to “revise education laws related to teacher training and education and meetings of teacher organizations,” according to a press release from the Montana Office of Public Instruction.

The proposed legislation comes in direct response to undercover recordings published by Finley Warden, a former Sentinel High School student, from the October 16-17 MFPE conference in Missoula, which Western Montana News reported revealed educators comparing parental concerns about nude imagery to Nazi censorship and describing efforts to return books containing explicit sexual material to school libraries.

“Montana parents have made it clear they want classrooms that teach, not indoctrinate,” Hedalen said in Monday’s announcement. “Our schools exist to educate children, not to serve as platforms for political activism or social experimentation.”

The recordings captured presentations including a diversity session where an art educator compared removal of photographer Sally Mann’s controversial nude images of children to Hitler’s censorship policies, and a librarian describing her “victory story” of returning a sexually explicit book to her middle school library after it had been removed years earlier.

Legislative Strategy Mirrors Failed 2025 Bill

Regier and Hedalen plan to model their legislation after House Bill 557, sponsored by Rep. Jodee Etchart, R-Billings, which narrowly failed during the 2025 legislative session. That bill was introduced in response to similar concerns about MFPE’s 2024 teacher conference.

“Montana has been closing schools and paying teachers for two days every year to attend this conference in order to develop professionally and better serve their students,” Regier said. “But instead of learning how to instruct students on core skills and prepare them for life, these conferences have been indoctrinating teachers with leftist political extremism.”

The Senate President said the new legislation would restrict tax dollars and educational credits to conferences focused on “core curriculum classroom education” rather than what he characterized as presentations on “gender unicorns” and sexually explicit material.

The proposed legislation would not take effect until at least 2027, more than a year away, and would still need to pass both legislative chambers after the failed attempt in 2025. Montana teachers would attend at least one more MFPE conference before any restrictions could be implemented, meaning the issue would continue without immediate relief for concerned parents. While the legislative approach represents the most comprehensive long-term solution available to lawmakers, state officials like the OPI may need to take additional interim measures.

According to the press release, the MFPE conference included an NEA employee promoting LGBTQ modules for educators teaching kindergarten through high school, and presentations defending nude photography of children as legitimate art that should not be censored.

Investigation Underway

Hedalen announced she is currently investigating MFPE and other professional development providers to ensure compliance with existing state and federal laws ahead of the proposed legislation.

Unlike previous years, MFPE did not publish their conference agenda online in 2025, according to the press release.

Speaker of the House Brandon Ler, R-Savage, and Rep. Etchart expressed support for the proposed bill.

“Courses that teach our teachers must further our public education system’s obligation to provide students with a quality education and prepare the next generation for the workforce and real life,” Ler and Etchart said. “Montana students and their parents deserve no less.”

The Montana Federation of Public Employees did not respond to Western Montana News’ previous request for comment regarding the conference recordings, and the organization has not yet responded to Monday’s legislative announcement.

The controversy comes amid ongoing statewide debates over education policies and federal pressure on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in schools. The Trump administration has threatened to cut federal funding from schools that maintain DEI programs, though federal judges have put aspects of those directives on hold.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen led a 22-state coalition in August asking the U.S. Supreme Court to restore parental rights in schools.