Public Instruction Montana Office Of

The Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) serves as the state's primary educational agency responsible for overseeing K-12 public education throughout Montana. As a U.S. state government entity registered in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) since January 3, 2005, the OPI receives federal contract and grant awards to support its mission of improving educational outcomes for all Montana students. The organization functions as both a prime awardee and administrator of federal funds, distributing resources to local school districts, educational cooperatives, and community partners across the state.

The Montana Office of Public Instruction has received one significant federal contract award in its recent history. In April 2025, the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences awarded OPI a $1,389,110 firm fixed-price contract to serve as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) State Coordinator for Montana through March 31, 2035. This sole-source contract involves facilitating Montana's participation in national education statistics gathering and reporting functions, a critical responsibility that positions OPI as the liaison between the state and federal education assessment initiatives. The contract carries no set-aside designation and represents OPI's direct service delivery capacity to the federal government in educational assessment coordination.

The Montana Office of Public Instruction has received an extensive portfolio of federal grant awards spanning multiple funding agencies and program areas, demonstrating its role as a comprehensive educational grant administrator. Through the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, OPI has received major formula grants including Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies (totaling $57.3 million in recent cycles), Supporting Effective Instruction grants ($10.8 million), Student Support and Academic Enrichment grants ($6.7 million), and the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program ($6.5 million). OPI also administers grants from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, including Special Education Grants to States ($45.9 million), Special Education Preschool Grants ($1.3 million), and the State Personnel Development Grant ($1.3 million). The agency has received substantial funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service for child nutrition programs, including National School Lunch Program funding ($14.3 million), Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program grants ($2.8 million), Team Nutrition Grants ($798,030), and Child Nutrition-Technology Innovation Grants. Additional grant programs include Rural Education grants ($503,642), English Language Acquisition grants ($500,000), Education for Homeless Children and Youth ($396,787), Migrant Education programs ($1.7 million), and various other specialized initiatives. Recent awards include the $11.1 million Montana High-Impact Tutoring grant for early literacy intervention and a $3.9 million project grant for scaling the Montana Aligned to Standards Through-Year (MAST) assessment to middle school science. OPI distributes the vast majority of these formula grant funds through sub-awards to local educational agencies, school districts, charter schools, nonprofits, and community organizations, positioning itself as a critical intermediary in the delivery of federally-funded educational services across Montana.