The Great Falls Public Schools officials and school board regularly review board policies, often based on recommendations from the Montana School Board Association.

The board considers policy revisions and updates at most of its meetings and is currently reviewing its policy pertaining to sex offenders.

During its Sept. 8 meeting, the board reviewed changes that were suggested by the state association and reviewed by the district’s policy committee.

Current school board policy regarding registered sex offenders was last reviewed in 2016 and states that registered sex offenders whose victim was a minor may not come on, about, or within 1,000 feet of any district-owned property, with limited exceptions for offenders who are parents of GFPS students.

“This policy shall not be construed to impose any duty upon any administrator or any other employee of the district to review the Sex Offender Registry or to screen individuals coming on, or within 1,000 feet of school property to ascertain whether they are on the registry. This policy shall only apply when administrators are actually aware that the person in question is on the Sex Offender Registry and that the offender’s victim was a minor,” according to the current GFPS policy.

Superintendent Heather Hoyer said the committee and the state school board association are recommending striking “whose victim was a minor” and a line indicating the policy only applies when administrators are aware that the person is on the sex offender registry and that the offender’s victim was a minor.

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Hoyer said they know there will be times that building administrators don’t know a person is a sex offender, but it “doesn’t mean the policy goes away if they don’t know.”

The policy also addresses registered sex offenders who have children attending GFPS schools.

Hoyer said they work with those parents and develop plans so those parents can participate in their children’s educational experiences without posing a danger to other students.

The policy will come back before the board for a second reading and final adoption, likely at the Sept. 21 meeting.

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During the Sept. 8 meeting, Kim Skornogoski, board member, said the district had implemented a  2025 law that required background checks for volunteers and schools had to be creative in recruiting volunteers and getting those checks completed.

School board policy regarding background checks and fingerprinting applies only to individuals who will have unsupervised contact with students while at school, at a school-sponsored activity or in transit to a school-sponsored activity.

That policy was revised in January to incorporate a law passed by the 2025 Montana Legislature.

School policies and state laws have drawn public scrutiny in recent months since Reese Riggin was arrested in June on allegations of inappropriately touching two sixth-grade girls at Meadowlark Elementary School, in violation os his suspended sentence in a 2016 sexual intercourse without consent conviction.

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The Cascade County Attorney’s Office has since filed additional violations.

A hearing is currently scheduled for Nov. 19, during which Judge Dave Grubich will determine whether Riggin violated the terms of his suspended sentence and whether it should be revoked or modified.

Riggin is a registered Tier 2 sex offender in Montana, which means the risk of a repeat sexual offense is moderate, according to the Montana Department of Justice.

Under Montana law, only Tier 3 sex offenders, who are designated high risk, are automatically barred from living or working within 300 feet of schools, daycares, playgrounds, athletic facilities or another facility “that primarily serves minors, or business or facility having a principal purpose of caring for, educating, or entertaining minors.”

State law doesn’t specifically prohibit Tier 3 offenders, or lower-level sex offenders, from being on school property.

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Hoyer, GFPS superintendent, told The Electric in July that the district’s goal is to work with state legislators to review the current laws and “strengthen the law.”

She said school board policies are typically in line with Montana law, so district officials are hoping to change the law to preclude Tier Two sex offenders from being on school property.

Hoyer said some local legislators had expressed interest in reviewing the law and she’d be meeting with them in August.

In the meantime, “we are taking steps to look at every layer. We will tighten up locally but if we can tighten up through law, that makes everything more solid. We’re focusing on everything we can possibly do to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again,” Hoyer said.

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Jackie Mainwaring, assistant superintendent, told The Electric after the Sept. 8 school board meeting that volunteers with unsupervised contact with students must have a background check, but that doesn’t apply to all volunteers.

As an example, the C.M. Russell High School Rustler Roundup in the fall is a big event that draws thousands of people. Some volunteers may not have unsupervised contact with students as they’d be out in the open, or being a counter serving food, or under the supervision of someone else, she said.

The actual policy hasn’t changed, Mainwaring said, but is being enforced and the district has tightened the process.

During the Sept. 8 meeting, the board approved minor adjustments to the school visitor policy, which requires visitors to check in at the main office of any district building, follow all school safety rules and not interfere with school operations.

Mainwaring told The Electric that she sent reminders to school administrators and parents about the rules for visiting schools, which require checking in at the main office and getting a badge.

Parents can still have lunch with their kids and the district isn’t trying to restrict access to their kids, but trying to keep track of who is in school buildings and be mindful of the safety of other children.

The current district policy committee includes:

• Heather Hoyer, superintendent
• Luke Diekhans, business operations director
• Heather Spurzem, human resources director
• Jackie Mainwaring and Lance Boyd, assistant superintendents
• Aly Konecny, business office lead
• Sherri Clark, executive assistant to the superintendent
• Jerri Rollins, administrative assistant
• Bill Bronson, Craig Duff and Paige Henning, school board members

The proposed GFPS policy on registered sex offenders is below, with recommended deletions struck through and proposed additions in italics.

Registered Sex Offenders

The State of Montana has determined that perpetrators of certain sex crimes pose a continuing threat to society as a whole even after completion of their criminal sentences. Recognizing that the safety and welfare of students is of paramount importance, the Great Falls School District declares that, except in limited circumstances, Great Falls Public Schools should be off-limits to registered sex offenders.

Employment

Notwithstanding any other board policy, individuals listed by the State of Montana as registered sex offenders are ineligible for employment in any position within the Great Falls School District. However, the superintendent shall have discretion consistent with other board policies to recommend an individual whose name has been expunged from the Sex Offender Registry.

School Off Limits

The district hereby declares that no registered sex offender whose victim was a minor may come on, about, or within 1,000 feet of any district-owned buildings or property except as otherwise provided in this policy. If an administrator becomes aware that such a sex offender is on, about, or within 1,000 feet of school property, the administrator shall direct the sex offender to leave the area immediately. The school board authorizes the administrator to request the assistance of the appropriate law enforcement authorities to secure the removal of any registered sex offender from the area. If a registered sex offender disregards the terms of this policy or the directives of the school administrator, then the superintendent is authorized to confer with counsel and to pursue such criminal or civil action as may be necessary to enforce compliance with this policy.

This policy shall not be construed to impose any duty upon any administrator or any other employee of the district to review the Sex Offender Registry or to screen individuals coming on, or within 1,000 feet of school property to ascertain whether they are on the registry. This policy shall only apply when administrators are actually aware that the person in question is on the Sex Offender Registry and that the offender’s victim was a minor.

The provisions of this policy prohibiting a registered sex offender from coming on, about, or within 1,000 feet of school property shall not apply in the event that a sex offender’s name should be expunged from the registry.

Rights of Parents on the Sex Offender Registry

In the event that a registered sex offender whose victim was a minor has a child attending the district, the administrator of the school where the child attends shall be authorized to modify this policy’s restrictions to permit the parent to drop off and pick up the child from school and to come onto campus without prior authorization. Great Falls Public Schools’ school resource officers (SROs) may be contacted and/or present.  to attend parent-teacher conferences. However, the parent may not linger on or about school property before or after dropping of his or her child, and the parent is prohibited from being in any part of the school building except the main office.

This policy does not impose a duty upon the administrator of any school or any other employee of the district to review the Sex Offender Registry and the school system’s directory information to ascertain whether a registered sex offender may have a child attending school in the district. The provisions of this policy shall apply only if an administrator actually becomes aware that a parent of a student at the school is a registered sex offender.

To facilitate voluntary compliance with this policy, administrators are encouraged to speak with any affected parents upon learning of their status as registered sex offenders to communicate the restrictions of this policy. At all times, the administrator shall endeavor to protect the privacy of the offender’s child.

In the event of a truly exceptional situation such as graduation, a parent on the Sex Offender Registry may ask the superintendent for a waiver of this policy to permit the parent to attend these special events. It is the intent of the board, however, that these special circumstances be truly unusual and infrequent occurrences.