State Sex Education Policies and Requirements at a Glance
Montana schools are required by proxy to teach sex education due to mandated health education standards.
- Montana statute has no standard regarding abstinence instruction.
- Curriculum is not required to include instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity.
- Curriculum is not required to include instruction on consent.
- Schools must give written notification to a parent or guardian at least 48 hours prior to providing sex education that covers the basic content and the right to remove their children from such instruction. This is known as an “opt-out” requirement.
- School districts are required to make all curriculum used in the district’s or school’s human sexuality instruction available for public inspection prior to the use of the materials in actual instruction.
- Montana statute has no regulation regarding medically accurate sex education instruction.
State Law
Montana Code Annotated § 20-2-121 requires the board of public education to adopt content standards for school districts to follow in their curriculum development, and Administrative Rule 10.55.905 states that “health enhancement” is a required subject for graduation. Montana Administrative Rule §§ 10.53.101 requires schools to use the content standards for the health enhancement graduation requirement. Administrative Rules §§ 10.53.701-709 codify the health content standards into law. Montana does not require parental permission for students to participate in sex education or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) education, nor does it say whether parents or guardians may remove their children from such classes.
State Profiles provided by SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change. For more information regarding your state’s sex ed policy, visit https://siecus.org/state_profile/montana-state-profile-23/
