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Missoula County Public Schools

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Missoula Schools Signal Return to COVID-Style Crackdowns—This Time Over Measles

District Warns of Quarantine for Unvaccinated Kids as Local Health Officials Stoke Hysteria

Missoula School Board Avoids Curriculum Concerns, Discusses Seating New Board Members

Last Tuesday’s meeting of the Missoula County Public Schools Board of Trustees came to order at 6pm with all trustees present except for Trustee Michael Gehl. Following the pledge of allegiance, the board approved the minutes of the April 12th meeting during which a parent had read the contents of a homework assignment given out by a…

State Superintendent Questions Curriculum Standards at Missoula Schools After Student Sexual Orientation Questionnaire Surfaces

In a call from State Superintendent Elsie Arntzen Wednesday night, the head of the Office of Public Instruction told Free Missoula News that her office was notified of the sexual orientation questionnaire shared by a Missoula sex education teacher at Sentinel High School and that the matter is being investigated by her office. Arntzen said…

UPDATED: School Board Notified of Inappropriate Sexual Orientation Questionnaire Distributed by Missoula Teacher

UPDATED (04/13/2021): Post updated to reflect comments from State Superintendent Elsie Arntzen whose office is investigating the situation. A Missoula sexual education teacher distributed a handout titled “Questions for Exploring Sexual Orientation” to Sentinel High School students, according to parents and confirmed by school officials. The questions on the handout asked students to consider changing…

Missoula School Board Adopts Controversial Curriculum Policy

The March 29th Missoula County Public Schools Board of Trustees meeting began at 6pm starting with The Pledge of Allegiance. Nine trustees were in attendance with Mike Gehl calling in via Zoom. Approximately 35 members of the community were present in the audience for the in-person meeting. Public comment for non-agenda items began with a…

Rossiter: My Picks for Missoula County Public Schools Board of Trustees

Within a few weeks we will be getting ballots in the mail for a May vote that includes the opportunity to elect some new people to the Missoula County School Board. Recently I had the opportunity to interact with six of the candidates running in 2022.  Each is a parent, and all are running because…

WATCH: Missoula Schools Trustee Declines Mask, Chair Suspends Meeting for “Spreading Germs”

On Tuesday night, the regular meeting of the Missoula County Public Schools (MCPS) Board of Trustees was suspended by board chair Diane Lorenzen after trustee Mike Gehl declined to wear a mask. An agenda item that was set for discussion was Montana High School Association sports eligibility issues, which the chair mentioned was “popular with…

Over 500 Montanans Sign “Vote of Confidence” Letter Supporting State Superintendent

Over 500 Montana signatories including school board trustees from Flathead, Lincoln, Missoula, and Ravalli counties and two-dozen elected officials have signed on to a “Vote of Confidence” letter supporting Montana’s head of schools, State Superintendent of Instruction Elsie Arntzen. “We write to refute the unauthorized “no-confidence” letter recently sent to you by certain school superintendents…

Per MT Law, Vaccinating Children Without Parental Consent Can Result in Civil Liability or Criminal Prosecution

This past Saturday, Lewis and Clark Public Health Department advertised a COVID-19 vaccine clinic at East Helena Public High School aimed at children aged 5-11-years-old. The ad indicated that proof of the child’s name and age was not required and children need only be accompanied by a “caregiver.” How do government employees at a clinic…

Passing the Buck on Responsibility

“Lawyers are a useful tool. When you feel like you are in a bind, talking to the right lawyer can be such a breath of fresh air. It can be a conversation from which you walk away saying “Phew! I have options I didn’t even realize I had.” Life feels better with options. Life can…

Judge Marks Denies Halt to School Masks, Parents to Consider Appeal to Supreme Court

District Court Judge Jason Marks denied parents request for injunctive relief against Missoula County Public School mask mandates on Friday, issuing a 16-page order that said the parents did not provide sufficient evidence that rights to privacy or dignity were being violated. Judge Marks also said that injunctive relief was denied because parents did not…

Oral Arguments Heard in Parents Mask Lawsuit Against Missoula Schools

Missoula County Court Room 4 was at capacity with families and students this morning for oral arguments in a lawsuit brought by parents against mask mandates from Missoula County schools. Judge Jason Marks allowed extra time for the burgeoning crowd in the lobby overflow area to pull up the Zoom meeting link on their phones.…

Missoula Schools Attorney to Parents: “The District Does Not Need Your Consent”

Missoula County Public Schools attorney Elizabeth Kaleva told the parent of an Alberton School student in an email that the school district “does not need your consent” to coerce students into wearing masks or possible testing requirements. Alberton Superintendent and “Google Certified Teacher” Jeff Crews was included in the email. The school district attorney’s reasoning…

Montana Public Health: No Evidence Masks Work, Missoula Schools Defiant

Defiantly, Missoula schools said that parents who choose not to mask their children opt into “virtual learning.”

Missoula School Mask Lawsuit Filed: Parents have “fundamental liberty interest in the care, custody, and control of their children”

Stand Up Montana and 11 parents are the plaintiffs listed in a lawsuit filed yesterday against Missoula County Public Schools and Missoula County. Other defendants in the suit include Elementary District 1, High School District 1, Target Range School District, and Hellgate Elementary School District. In an interview with KGVO, the attorney representing the parents,…

Missoula Parents and School Employees Raise Legal Funds For Mask Lawsuit

After Missoula County Schools Superintendent Rob Watson shutdown in-person access to school board meetings and finalized mask requirements for students and staff, despite overwhelming demands for parental choice, Missoula parents and school staff are stepping up their fight against the school board’s unscientific mask mandates. Missoulian and parent Joseph Suchanic took to GoFundMe just over…

Regarding Masks Mandates, Montana Governor and State Superintendent Urge School Boards, Administrators to Listen to Parents and Science

“As we have heard from hundreds of parents across Montana, it is critical our kids get back into the classroom in as normal a setting.”

Missoula Superintendent Watson: Mandatory Mask Mandate For Students “Until Further Notice”

Citing no science, Superintendent Rob Watson shares draft letter to parents mandating masks with staff and teachers first.