Montana school emergency plan law

Does Montana require schools to have an emergency plan?

Montana law requires each school district's board of trustees to adopt a school safety plan or emergency operations plan, made with input from the local community, covering school buildings and facilities, communications systems and school grounds. A Board of Public Education rule, ARM 10.55.721, also requires the local board of trustees to adopt a policy addressing a school safety plan or emergency operations plan. Public charter schools are subject to the rest of Title 20 of Montana law, which holds this plan duty, except where the charter school law says otherwise. Public charter schools are also subject to the same health and safety requirements as other public schools, unless the charter school law provides otherwise.

What must the plan contain?

The rule's list of plan elements does not name specific procedures such as lockdown, evacuation or shelter, reunification, chain of command, floor plans, students with disabilities, mass notification or cybersecurity.

How often must the plan be reviewed?

Trustees must review the plan at least once a year and update it as they decide is needed when school safety circumstances change. The Board of Public Education rule also requires the plan to be reviewed periodically with stakeholder input.

Is the plan filed with the state?

Trustees must certify to the Office of Public Instruction (OPI) every year that the plan has been reviewed. The statute sets no deadline for that certification beyond "annually" and names no form or method, and it does not require filing the plan itself.

Does the plan involve police and other local agencies?

The plan must address coordination with the county or regional interdisciplinary child information and school safety team. Each county's commissioners must make sure that team is formed. The team includes representatives authorized by the board of trustees of any public school district in the county. OPI guidance (not a legal requirement) encourages schools to involve first responders and local and tribal law enforcement in developing their plan. OPI guidance also encourages schools to include Local Emergency Planning Committees and local and tribal health departments in their plans, and to do a site assessment as part of planning.

Is there funding tied to the plan?

Once trustees have made that certification to OPI, they may transfer funds under MCA 20-9-236 to make school safety and security improvements. A district that has made its certification of a current plan to OPI may move state or local revenue into its building reserve fund this way. Those funds may pay for safety training for staff, students, parents and community members, including active shooter training and threat assessment practices.

Is the plan confidential?

Under Montana's general public-records safety exception, a public officer may withhold information about the security of public facilities, including public schools. That exception applies only if releasing the information would jeopardize safety, including the safety of students in a public school. The Board of Public Education rule does not require disclosure of plan elements protected by those safety and security exceptions.

What has changed recently?

MCA 20-1-401, the plan statute, was last amended in 2023. MCA 20-9-236, the funding transfer law, was amended in 2025 by HB 869, a youth sports cardiac arrest bill the Governor signed on May 13, 2025. HJ 53 (2025) requests an interim study on improving school safety, with results reported to the 70th Legislature. On September 14, 2026, the Education Interim Committee approved bill draft PD 07, which would set up a Montana Safe Schools Center. The draft would clarify trustees' duties in adopting emergency operations plans and would define an emergency operations plan as a comprehensive, all-hazards plan coordinated with local first responders. Under the draft, the new center would help a district with its plan when the trustees ask.