Board of Public Education to Consider Charter School in Libby 

The Montana Board of Public Education (BPE) on Wednesday will consider an application by the Libby Public Schools to create an in-district charter school centered around flexible learning. 

The proposed in-district charter school, called the Libby Central Charter School, will serve 10th through 12th grade students in the Libby area who “need to recapture credits” or have “certain academic, social or emotional constructs that do not function well in traditional settings,” according to the district’s application submitted to BPE. 

Per the application, chronic absenteeism and mental health issues have grown in the Libby Public Schools since the Covid-19 pandemic, raising concerns about the students who struggle most to succeed in traditional academic settings. These students, school officials said, need access to individualized attention, including specialized, proficiency-based learning plans. 

At Libby Central Charter School, education will be centered around a proficiency-based learning approach that allows students to demonstrate their knowledge of concepts through varied assessments, rather than seat time. This will allow students to move more quickly through curriculum, getting a jump start on career opportunities, the district says. 

The Libby Public Schools Board of Trustees on Oct. 28 unanimously approved the charter school application. 

Students will also participate in social-emotional learning in which they will learn to “express care, challenge growth, provide support, share power and expand possibilities.” 

The program also seeks to prepare students for post-secondary education or careers through the Jobs for Montana’s Graduates program and courses at Flathead Valley Community College’s Lincoln County Campus. 

Classes will be held in the Libby Public Schools Central Administration building and will be capped at 15 students. In a block schedule model, students will work on core classes in the morning and elective and career learning in the afternoon. 

Edmentum, an online learning program, will serve as “the technology backbone of the program” and be used to monitor student progress. 

Libby Central Charter School is one of 12 programs being considered by BPE on Wednesday. This will be the second round of applications evaluated by BPE under House Bill 549, a law passed by the state Legislature in 2023 that allowed for the establishment of the state’s first public charter schools. 

Seventeen public charter schools opened across Montana last fall, including two in Kalispell.

House Bill 549 is distinct from competing charter school bill, House Bill 562, which sought to create “community choice schools” that would be exempt from Montana’s constitutionally protected education standards. The bill has been partially blocked in court, and no “community choice schools” have been established. 

BPE will meet on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. and is set to consider Libby Central Charter School at 10:30 a.m. The meeting will be streamed live here.

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