BOZEMAN — Montana’s top education official is setting out her legislative priorities, including a proposal to make it illegal for teachers and other school staff to have sex with students, even if the student has reached the legal age of consent.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen tells the Bozeman Daily Chronicle another priority is restoration of more than $20 million cut from public school funding by the 2017 Legislature and during the special session to address a potential budget shortfall.
Arntzen says the proposed Student Safety and Accountability Act would make it easier to revoke teaching licenses if teachers have had sex with students, even if the students are at least 16. It also would be a misdemeanor to help any school employee get another job after being involved in sexual misconduct with a student.