Kalispell schools can once again offer archery classes after President Joe Biden signed a bill guaranteeing federal funding for school hunter education classes.
The Hunting Heritage and Education Protection Act, which received the President’s signature on October 6, amended the Department of Education’s previous decision to ban shooting classes in schools.
The policy shift comes after Montana’s congressional delegation pressed the White House to reverse course. U.S. Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines both sponsored a bill that would restore funding for hunter education in schools.
The bill, signed into law by Biden, originated in the House of Representatives and passed unanimously in the Senate in late September.
Following the passage of the bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022, the Department of Education releases an official guide to provide “dangerous weapons and training in the use of dangerous weapons to anyone” said that funds cannot be spent on programs that do so. The Department of Education deemed the sports of hunting, archery, and shooting to be ineligible for federal funding due to its regulations.
The new law amended that law to clarify that grants from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 can be spent on hunting and archery programs.
“By misunderstanding which activities are currently being supported, [Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965]the Department of Education is restricting learning opportunities that are critical to student safety,” Tester wrote in a letter requesting the rule change.
Kalispell Superintendent Randy Sine said hunting and archery are traditions close to the heart of northwestern Montana.
“Of course, this is obviously a good thing because Montana has a rich history of offering shooting sports to schools,” Klein said.
The Kalispell School District offers archery classes within its physical education department, but was forced to suspend those activities earlier this year due to a prior decision from the federal government.
Klein said such laws may make sense in urban areas, but they don’t align with rural Montana and what “we want to offer our students here.”
Libby School District Superintendent Ron Goodman also praised the policy change.
“Archery, that’s a big deal,” Goodman said. “There are so many things I want kids to know. Archery is a great sport. When you think of sports, you think of football, basketball, and baseball, but archery can last a lifetime.”
Archery has been taught in the Libby School District since at least 1975. Currently, the school accepts Matthew’s solo cam bow as part of the Matthew’s School program.
Goodman said students not only love the archery unit, but it also helps teach them an understanding of safety.
At the Oct. 10 Whitefish School Board meeting, board member Todd Rencharcher said the group discussed bringing archery classes to the district.
Columbia Falls Superintendent Corey Giogo said the district doesn’t currently offer shooting classes, but this law gives the district one less thing to worry about if it decides to start one.
Dillon Tabish, Region 1 information and education program manager for the state Wildlife Department, said archery programs have been closed across the state, but Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is offering hunter education inside school buildings even after business hours. The class was able to be held.
“I’m very grateful that a bipartisan solution was able to solve this problem, or what some would call a non-problem,” Tabish said. “[Archery programs in schools are] Great for students and great for hunter education. ”
Many schools in the Valley do not directly utilize federal funding for their archery programs, but this legislation ensures that they can.
The bill was introduced in the Senate on September 6th, then referred to the House Education and Labor Committee, where Republican Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee adopted the text and amended his own bill to send it to the House of Representatives. I let it pass. Consistent with tester law.
“As a third-generation Montanan, I have had the opportunity to learn about the importance of responsible gun ownership and hunting from hunting education courses over the years, and I am extremely grateful that our children and grandchildren have the same opportunity.” ,” Tester told the press. release.
“I’m glad President Biden has come to his senses and reversed this attack on our Montana way of life,” Daines said in his press release.
Reporter Kate Heston can be reached at kheston@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4459.