Montana Gov. Gianforte signed HB471, requiring parental opt-in before LGBTQ-related school instruction
On May 1, 2025, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed HB471, which creates an "identity instruction" category covering lessons on gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation and bars students from participating without prior written parental consent, revocable at any time. The law requires schools to give 5-14 school days' advance notice before such instruction, publish annual notice of covered courses, and make curriculum materials available for public inspection, while barring use of instructional materials from abortion service providers. It took effect July 1, 2025 and is being challenged in state court by the Montana School Counselors Association and the ACLU of Montana.
Actors
- Greg Gianforte (Governor, Montana)
- Jedediah Hinkle (State Representative, Montana)
- Montana Legislature
On May 1, 2025, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed HB471, sponsored by Rep. Jedediah Hinkle, creating a new "identity instruction" category in state education law covering lessons on gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation. The law bars schools from allowing a student to participate in identity instruction without the parent or guardian's written consent, which may be revoked at any time, and requires 5-14 school days' advance notice before any human sexuality or identity instruction. Schools must also publish annual notice of courses covering these topics, make related curriculum materials available for public inspection, and are barred from using instructional materials produced by abortion service providers; districts must report violations to the state Board of Public Education. The law took effect July 1, 2025.
Montana's HB471 is part of a broader 2025 legislative session in which Gianforte signed a series of measures restricting transgender and LGBTQ+ rights, including separate bills addressing bathroom access, school sports eligibility, and pronoun-related school discipline. HB471 is being challenged in Montana's First Judicial District Court by the Montana School Counselors Association, the Montana Association of School Psychologists, and the ACLU of Montana in a case, MSCA v. State, arguing the law is unconstitutionally vague and violates due process, free speech, privacy, and educational-opportunity protections under the Montana Constitution.
Why we recorded this
Civil-rights protections bar government from restricting access to instruction or information based on a protected characteristic. Montana created a distinct "identity instruction" category in state education law that singles out lessons on gender identity and sexual orientation for a parental opt-in requirement and advance-notice rules not imposed on other school curriculum. This archive records when a state conditions students' access to a topic tied to a protected characteristic on parental veto, a policy now being challenged in state court as unconstitutionally vague and discriminatory.
Sources
- Montana HB471 (2025) — Enrolled Bill Text — LegiScan primary accessed July 12, 2026
- Montana HB471 | 2025 | Regular Session — LegiScan secondary accessed July 12, 2026
- MSCA v. State (previously EmpowerMT v. State) — ACLU of Montana secondary accessed July 12, 2026
See also
- Montana Gov. Gianforte signed HB400 'Free to Speak Act' shielding refusal to use transgender students' pronouns from discipline
- Montana Gov. Gianforte signed HB682 imposing liability on gender-affirming care providers and framing the care as fraudulent
- Montana Gov. Gianforte signed HB690 excluding non-affirmation of a child's gender identity from child abuse and neglect definitions
- Montana Gov. Gianforte signed HB300 barring transgender athletes from women's and girls' school sports
- Montana Gov. Gianforte signed HB121, restricting bathrooms and changing rooms to sex assigned at birth
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