Understanding Private Road Easements in Montana: A Guide for Educators and Parents

Private road easement rules are no joke. They can impact how and if people with special needs can get to and from school. While you might just think of these as the sorts of things that your lawyer handles, you should also consider how these sorts of things could be very relevant to you and your family.

Montana easement law is what a lot of rules fall under in this arena, so it’s important to understand these legal aspects of transportation.

Essentially, an easement is a right to access or cross through private property. So, let’s say you live on a particular road, and it’s a private road. If you have your own private road coming up to your house, you may have to establish an easement on someone else’s property for access. For instance, you might have to create a legal agreement with your neighbor that grants you access to a public road via their property through a specific route.

To give you an example where a private road easement rules montana might come into play, let’s look at the situation facing someone with cerebral palsy. They may not be able to drive, so they need to take accessible transportation to a local school. However, their house is located on an island, and the legal rules state that no vehicle can be taken onto the island without the permission of the state. It’s possible for them to access the mainland by sailing a boat over, but there is a gap between where the boat can land on the island and the house.

So, they are able to establish a legal agreement with their neighbor that allows them to use a small road between the back of their homes to get to the harbor where the boat arrives. Without these rules in place, they would not have the ability to get to school. A lack of access to school can preclude students from receiving an effective education. It’s also something that parents and educators have to think about when considering transportation for students with special needs.

Other property issues might be a bit more obscure, but can also be relevant to special needs education. Neighboring properties might have established easements granting them access to water for things like irrigation. Depending on the role or role model in the life of the students you’re concerned about, this could impact everyday life.

The easement rules in Montana are a little more lenient than other states. For example, you can “reserve” the right to an easement by stating that you want one in the deed of your property.

It is important to note that these rules can vary from county to county, so you want to make sure you understand easement rules in your local area.

From a strictly practical point of view, these rules are important because they can affect the daily transportation of students with special needs. Publications from the Special Education Department of Montana state that their school can provide “door-to-door” transportation for children with disabilities, but it does not mean that it’s going to be as simple as it sounds.

When establishing a walking path to the bus stop or a route for a special van, knowing the real property lines of the surrounding area can help you draw up an effective route. It may even allow you to build a safe walking path. This is critical, because children with disabilities might have difficulty crossing certain terrain or public spaces. For example, a child with fragile bones might not have the ability to cross an unpaved road. Alternatively, they might not have the ability to cross public transit spaces due to the fact that their wheelchair will not be able to safely and legally access all parts of the site.

While we might not think of easement rules as being important for educators and parents, they can in fact have a major impact on whether or not a child can get to school and where their classes are located. It’s important to talk about this with the team responsible for delivering their education, so that you can create the most impactful plan possible.

Like all good things, understanding the laws surrounding your school can help you establish a smooth transition from education to adulthood. More importantly, it can help you feel safe about having someone living on a particular property – their ongoing privacy and safety needn’t always be on your mind.

For more information on easements and property rights, you can visit Wikipedia.