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MONTANA

Montana

Montana law (MCA 20-1-308) requires that school district trustees shall provide a religious instruction released time program upon written request of a parent or guardian, renewed at least annually. Trustees must determine the amount of time for release, which may not be less than one hour per week.

Released Time instruction may not take place on public school property, and public money may not be used, directly or indirectly, to fund the religious instruction. Time released for instruction remains part of the school day and may not adversely affect a student’s enrollment status, attendance record, or district funding calculations.

School districts may adopt a policy awarding academic credit for completion of a Released Time course. If credit is awarded, the district must evaluate the course using neutral, secular criteria that are substantially the same as those used for similar courses.

Participation must be voluntary and initiated by written parental request. As with any Released Time program, it is advisable to conduct thorough research on current state and federal laws and court decisions before launching a program.

General Information

Mont. Code Ann. §20-1-308

Effective July 1, 2025 (2025 Montana Laws, HB 343)

(1) The trustees of a school district shall provide for a religious instruction released time program under which a pupil must be released from regular school attendance for the purpose of receiving religious instruction upon written request, renewed at least annually, of the pupil's parent or guardian. The trustees shall determine the amount of time, not less than 1 hour a week, for which a pupil may be released for religious instruction.

(2) A religious instruction released time program may not be established or administered in such a way that public school property is utilized for the purpose of religious instruction.

(3) Public money may not be used, directly or indirectly, for the religious instruction.

(4) Any period for which a pupil is released under a religious instruction released time program is part of the school day and week for purposes of 20-1-301, 20-1-302, 20-5-103, 20-9-311, and all other provisions of Title 20, and the release may not adversely affect the pupil's enrollment status or attendance record or the calculation of the school district's ANB or other funding.

(5) The trustees of a school district may adopt a policy that awards academic credit for the completion of a religious instruction released time course and recognizes the credits of an independently accredited provider of released time courses.

(6) If a school district awards academic credit for a religious instruction released time course, the school district shall evaluate the course based on secular criteria that are substantially the same criteria used to evaluate similar courses to determine how much credit to award. The decision to award credit for a released time course must be neutral to, and may not involve any test for, religious content or denominational affiliation.

(7) For the purposes of this section, secular criteria may include but are not limited to the following:

(a) the number of hours of classroom instruction time;

(b) a review of the course syllabus that reflects course requirements and materials used;

(c) the methods of assessment used in the course; and

(d) the qualifications of the course instructor.

Statutes

None.

Regulations

Attorney General

None.

Newdow v. Rio Linda Union Sch. Dist., 597 F.3d 1007 (9th Cir. 2010).

In Newdow., the 9th Circuit referenced Zorach v. Clauson, describing it as a case “in which school children were allowed to be excused from public schools for religious observances and education.” Id. At 1026.

Other court decisions by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals have referenced Zorach in a similar manner. See e.g., Prince v. Jacoby, 303 F.3d 1074, 1099 (9th Cir. 2002) (stating that Zorach upheld “release time program where religious classes were not held on school property and there was no indication that the public schools enforced attendance at religious schools by punishing absentees from the released time programs for truancy.” (internal quotations omitted)); Cammack v. Waihee, No. 87-15073, 1991 U.S. App. LEXIS 18115 at *38 (9th Cir. Aug. 9, 1991) (stating that in Zorach, “the Court rejected an establishment clause challenge to a program whereby public schools released students for a limited time for off-campus religious instruction”); Collins v. Chandler Unified School Dist. 644 F.2d 759, 761 (9th Cir. 1981) (stating that in Zorach, the U.S. Supreme Court held that “releasing students to attend religious activities off school grounds [is] constitutionally valid”).

Zorach v. Clauson, 343 U.S. 306 (1952).

In Zorach, the United States Supreme Court upheld a released time program in which public school students were excused from school during the day to receive off-campus religious instruction. The Court held that releasing students to attend religious activities off school grounds, without public funding and without coercion, is constitutionally valid under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

*The rulings of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals are binding precedent in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.

Case Law