2025 Legislative Session
Prioritizing Montana families and children
CELEBRATING 2025 WINS
HB 924 is a transformative win for Montana! Learn more about this monumental investment.
With the dedication and commitment of fellow early childhood champions, 15 key early childhood bills passed the Montana Legislature including:
- HB 924: Generally revise state finance laws (set up the Early Childhood Special Revenue Account)
- HB 338: Revise laws regarding targeted early numeracy intervention
- HB 168: Provide state funding for preschool children with disabilities
- HB 381: Provide for educational credit for students volunteering in long term care, nursing home, home care, and child care settings
- SB 182: Generally revise MT Indian language preservation program
- SB 181: Generally revise Indian education for all laws
- SB 147: Generally revise Montana Indian child welfare laws SB 319: Generally revise health care laws related to doulas
- HB 245: Revise the Montana HELP Act workforce development provisions and termination date
Zero to Five Montana is thrilled so many early childhood bills made it across the finish line in 2025. These bills will make a difference for Montana families and children. By ensuring children in rural, urban and tribal communities across the state have access to safe and healthy early learning experiences and stable, nurturing environments, policymakers can help set the foundation for Montana’s kids to succeed. Strong systems are the basis for long-term sustainable change – every child in Montana deserves the chance to flourish, but not all children have access to the same early childhood supports.
–> See our summary legislative report for information on our session activities and additional outcomes. (Full report coming soon)
Our 2025 policy agenda was a collaborative effort. During the summer of 2024, the Zero to Five Montana team traveled across the state to engage with communities and gather input on early childhood issues (See our 2024 Early Childhood Policy Roadshow Report.) Partners in nine communities, including Billings, Cut Bank, Great Falls, Helena, Livingston, Lodge Grass, Miles City, Polson, and Red Lodge, shared their experiences around issues affecting young children and families in their areas. This on-the-ground input – from families and early childhood professionals as well as community and state leaders – helped inform our 2025 policy agenda.
Together, we can help shape the decisions necessary to transform our state’s early childhood system.
Zero to Five Montana is dedicated to prioritizing the health and safety of children, guided by data and research. Our core mission focuses on serving all children in Montana, particularly those facing significant barriers to opportunity. By centering and amplifying the voices of those most impacted by policy decisions, we strive to cultivate a community-driven policy landscape that effectively supports families, small business, and communities.
GOOD TO KNOW
- Montana Legislature’s Find My Legislator Tool
- Legislature help desk: 406-444-4800
- Watch or listen to committee hearings: Watch live or view recordings of past hearings.
- Provide public testimony
- Learn about legislative committees