EdChoice Moves to Defend New Montana Education Savings Account Program

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Press Release: For Immediate Release
April 26, 2024

For more information or to schedule an interview, contact:
Chantal Fennell, EdChoice
chantal@edchoice.org | 989-251-8388

EdChoice Moves to Defend New Montana Education Savings Account Program
Parents of students with special needs step forward to ensure students can access needed supports

HELENA— On behalf of a Montana family, EdChoice Legal Advocates (EdLA) has petitioned a Montana court to defend a new education savings account program for students with special needs.

The program—enacted in 2023 to provide families of students with special needs a flexible savings account they may use to pay for qualified educational expenses and supports for their students—has been targeted by opponents who are now suing to halt its implementation.

“Every student, regardless of abilities or challenges, deserves access to a quality education,” said Thomas M. Fisher, EdChoice vice president and director of litigation. “Students with special needs are more likely to flourish in a system that meets their individual needs and unlocks their full potential rather than a one-size-fits-all system. Montana took great strides when it created a special needs education savings account (ESA) program in 2023, and now we will eagerly defend that opportunity for families in The Treasure State.”

The Montana Special Needs Equal Opportunity Education Savings Account Program is for students who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Qualifying students are eligible to receive between $5,000 and $8,000 annually, depending on grade level, to pay for private school tuition and fees, online programs and tutoring, curriculum, testing fees, transportation, therapies, and other approved educational expenses. The program is scheduled to launch for the 2024-2025 school year, but in January, opponents sued to stop it, claiming it somehow violates the right to equality of education in the Montana Constitution.

Sue Vinton, of Billings, is a member of the Montana House of Representatives and the mother of a now adult son, Jake, who has Down syndrome. In his high school years, the family was able to provide him educational opportunities to help him become the thriving man he now is, but recognized others are not so fortunate, leading her to sponsor the ESA program. She’s now asking the court to allow her to serve as a named defendant to protect the program.

“With the Montana Special Needs ESA, the opportunities for students would increase exponentially,” Vinton explained. “Because of the differences of communities in Montana, there are still students with special needs who are not receiving the services they could receive, either because the district doesn’t have the staff or the resources. It’s not intentional; it’s circumstantial. To me, there’s no easy solution, but the ESA is just one opportunity that will help families who have students with special requirements.”

Rather than deprive students of the right to education equality as plaintiffs claim, the ESA program ensures that students with special needs have an equal chance of getting an appropriate education.

“It is critical we ensure all students have access to the educational environment that meets their needs by giving families the freedom and funding to choose options that best work for their students,” Fisher said. “A student’s disability status should not relegate them to a public school system or classroom that fails to meet their needs.”

EdChoice, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to advance educational freedom and choice for all students as a pathway to successful lives and a stronger society, launched EdLA in 2023 to defend school choice programs in the states. EdLA is joined in its representation of Representative Vinton by Helena Lawyer Dale Schowengerdt and his firm Landmark Law PLLC.

To be connected with Thomas Fisher or Sue Vinton, contact Chantal Fennell at chantal@edchoice.org.

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Vice President of Communications

Chantal Fennell

Vice President of Communications

Chantal is the Vice President of Communications at EdChoice, where she directs the organization’s communications efforts, and manages its brand and public relations. Prior to joining the EdChoice team, Chantal served as the Director of Policy Advancement at the State Policy Network, where she worked with state-based organizations to advance policy reforms. Before that, Chantal worked as the communications manager at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Michigan, and as the Nevada Policy Research Institute’s communications director. Prior to beginning her career in the policy advocacy movement, Chantal was a journalist in California, where she received awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for investigative reporting, economic reporting, and features writing. During her time as a reporter, Chantal authored an exposé that resulted in the creation of one of the nation’s first-ever curriculum for high school students with high-functioning autism. Chantal was born and raised in Southern California, earned a Bachelors in Government from the University of Redlands and a Masters Political Science from the University of Nebraska.

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