The Montana State Board of Education is the board composed of the Board of Public Education and the Board of Regents as specified by article X, section 9, subsection (1) of the 1972 Montana Constitution. The Board of Public Education and the Board of Regents meeting together as the State Board of Education are responsible for long-range planning, and for coordinating and evaluating policies and programs for the state’s educational systems.

The Montana Board of Public Education was created by the Montana Constitution of 1972 to exercise general supervision over the elementary and secondary schools of the state. The Board consists of seven members appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate to oversee all educational programs not within the jurisdiction of the Board of Regents of Higher Education. The State Board of Public Education is assigned specific responsibilities by the Montana Legislature. The Board is required to adopt standards of accreditation for Montana schools and establish the accreditation status of each school; effect a system of teacher certification, including the accreditation of the teacher and administrator training programs; consider the suspension or revocation of teacher certificates and hear appeals from the denial of teacher certificates; administer and order the distribution of state equalization aid; adopt policies for the special education of handicapped and gifted and talented students; and act as the governing agency for the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind.

The Montana Board of Regents of Higher Education was created by the Montana Constitution of 1972 to supervise, coordinate, manage, and control the Montana University System. The Board consists of seven members appointed by the governor, and confirmed by the Senate to seven year overlapping terms. The Governor and Superintendent of Public Instruction are ex-officio members of the Board.

The Ad Hoc Curriculum Committee was formed in 1974 in response to legislative proposals calling for consumer education, environment education, American Indian culture education, ethnic studies, and Mexican-American studies in Montana schools and Colleges. With a focus on Indian Education the committee presented their findings in December of 1975 in the report, Indian Culture Master Plan, to the State Board of Education.

Joint Vocational Education Committee, composed of members of the Board of Public Education Vocational Education Committee and the Board of Regents, was created in 1976 to determine the role and scope of vocational education in Montana. In December of 1977 the committee presented two new policies, “New Programs in Vocational/Technical Education” and “Vocational/Technical Programs Offered off Campus through Continuing Education.”