House Bill No. 192

Introduced By _______________________________________________________________________________

A Bill for an Act entitled: "An Act implementing Article X, section 9, of the Montana Constitution by requiring the state board of education to submit a biennial report to the governor and the legislature recommending statutory changes to enhance the quality and cost-effectiveness of education, documenting the communication of the needs of K-12 programs to prepare students for admittance to postsecondary education programs and to improve the design and delivery of teacher education and training programs, and documenting efforts to maximize the coordination of all programs within the state educational systems to ensure that the expenditure of student and taxpayer money is appropriate, cost-effective, and based on value throughout the state educational systems; providing that the duties of the superintendent of public instruction include providing the board of public education with necessary staff support; providing that money appropriated to the board of regents and the office of public instruction is to be used to pay the staffing needs of the state board of education; and amending sections 20-2-101 and 20-3-106, MCA."

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Montana:

Section 1. Section 20-2-101, MCA, is amended to read:

"20-2-101. Combined boards as state board -- state educational systems report and budget review -- officers -- meetings -- quorum. (1) The board of public education and the board of regents meeting together as the state board of education ~~shall be~~ are responsible for long-range planning and for coordinating and evaluating policies and programs for the public educational systems of the state. The state board of education shall:

(a) submit a biennial report to the governor and the legislature containing:

(i) statutory changes recommended by the state board of education to enhance the quality and cost-effectiveness of education at all levels;

(ii) documentation of the communication of the needs of:

(A) the universities concerning the preparation of high school students for admittance to the university system, including but not limited to coordination of graduation requirements for high schools and entrance requirements for postsecondary education; and

(B) K-12 schools to ensure better coordination of student teacher programs and closer collaboration in the design and delivery of teacher training programs in the university system that are necessary to provide the necessary skills for the successful performance of teachers; and

(iii) documentation of the efforts to maximize the coordination of all federal, state, or other programs, initiatives, and budgets within the kindergarten through postgraduate systems to ensure that the expenditure of student and taxpayer money in the educational systems is appropriate, cost-effective, and based on value;

(b) review and unify the budget requests of educational entities assigned by law to the board of public education, the board of regents, or the state board of education; and ~~shall~~

(2) The governor is the president of, the superintendent of public instruction is the secretary to, and the commissioner ~~shall be~~ is a nonvoting participant at all meetings of the state board of education.

(3) The state board of education may select a member to chair its meetings in the absence of the governor.

(4) A tie vote at any meeting may be broken by the governor.

(5) A majority of members appointed to the board of public education and the board of regents shall constitute a quorum for transaction of business as the state board of education.

(6) The board of public education and the board of regents shall meet at least twice yearly as the state board of education.

(7) Other meetings of the state board of education may be called by the governor, by both the secretary to the board of public education and the secretary to the board of regents, or by joint action of eight appointed members, four each from the board of public education and the board of regents. All meetings of the state board of education ~~shall~~ must be for the purposes set forth in subsection (1) ~~above~~ or for the purpose of considering other matters of common concern to the board of public education and the board of regents, but the state board of education may not exercise the powers and duties assigned by the ~~1972~~ Montana constitution and by law to the board of public education and the board of regents.

(8) All staff needed by the state board of education must be funded from the appropriations provided for the board of regents and the office of public instruction."

Section 2. Section 20-3-106, MCA, is amended to read:

"20-3-106. Supervision of schools -- powers and duties. The superintendent of public instruction has the general supervision of the public schools and districts of the state and shall perform the following duties or acts in implementing and enforcing the provisions of this title:

(1) resolve any controversy resulting from the proration of costs by a joint board of trustees under the provisions of 20-3-362;

(2) issue, renew, or deny teacher certification and emergency authorizations of employment;

(3) negotiate reciprocal tuition agreements with other states in accordance with the provisions of 20-5-314;

(4) serve on the teachers' retirement board in accordance with the provisions of 2-15-1010;

(5) approve or disapprove the orders of a high school boundary commission in accordance with the provisions of 20-6-311;

(6) approve or disapprove the opening or reopening of a school in accordance with the provisions of 20-6-502, 20-6-503, 20-6-504, or 20-6-505;

(7) approve or disapprove school isolation within the limitations prescribed by 20-9-302;

(8) generally supervise the school budgeting procedures prescribed by law in accordance with the provisions of 20-9-102 and prescribe the school budget format in accordance with the provisions of 20-9-103 and 20-9-506;

(9) establish a system of communication for calculating joint district ~~revenues~~ revenue in accordance with the provisions of 20-9-151;

(10) approve or disapprove the adoption of a district's budget amendment resolution under the conditions prescribed in 20-9-163 and adopt rules for an application for additional direct state aid for a budget amendment in accordance with the approval and disbursement provisions of 20-9-166;

(11) generally supervise the school financial administration provisions as prescribed by 20-9-201(2);

(12) prescribe and furnish the annual report forms to enable the districts to report to the county superintendent in accordance with the provisions of 20-9-213(5) and the annual report forms to enable the county superintendents to report to the superintendent of public instruction in accordance with the provisions of 20-3-209;

(13) approve, disapprove, or adjust an increase of the average number belonging (ANB) in accordance with the provisions of 20-9-313 and 20-9-314;

(14) distribute BASE aid and special education allowable cost payments in support of the BASE funding program, in accordance with the provisions of 20-9-331, 20-9-333, 20-9-342, 20-9-346, 20-9-347, and 20-9-366 through 20-9-369;

(15) provide for the uniform and equal provision of transportation by performing the duties prescribed by the provisions of 20-10-112;

(16) approve or disapprove an adult education program for which a district proposes to levy a tax in accordance with the provisions of 20-7-705;

(17) request, accept, deposit, and expend federal money in accordance with the provisions of 20-9-603;

(18) authorize the use of federal money for the support of an interlocal cooperative agreement in accordance with the provisions of 20-9-703 and 20-9-704;

(19) prescribe the form and contents of and approve or disapprove interstate contracts in accordance with the provisions of 20-9-705;

(20) approve or disapprove the conduct of school on a Saturday or on pupil-instruction-related days in accordance with the provisions of 20-1-303 and 20-1-304;

(21) recommend standards of accreditation for all schools to the board of public education and evaluate compliance with the standards and recommend accreditation status of every school to the board of public education in accordance with the provisions of 20-7-101 and 20-7-102;

(22) collect and maintain a file of curriculum guides and assist schools with instructional programs in accordance with the provisions of 20-7-113 and 20-7-114;

(23) establish and maintain a library of visual, aural, and other educational media in accordance with the provisions of 20-7-201;

(24) license textbook dealers and initiate prosecution of textbook dealers violating the law in accordance with the provisions of the textbooks part of this title;

(25) as the governing agent and executive officer of the state of Montana for K-12 vocational education, adopt the policies prescribed by and in accordance with the provisions of 20-7-301;

(26) supervise and coordinate the conduct of special education in the state in accordance with the provisions of 20-7-403;

(27) administer the traffic education program in accordance with the provisions of 20-7-502;

(28) administer the school food services program in accordance with the provisions of 20-10-201, 20-10-202, and 20-10-203;

(29) review school building plans and specifications in accordance with the provisions of 20-6-622;

(30) prescribe the method of identification and signals to be used by school safety patrols in accordance with the provisions of 20-1-408;

(31) provide schools with information and technical assistance for compliance with the student assessment rules, provided for in 20-2-121, and collect and summarize the results of the student assessment for the board of public education and the legislature;

(32) administer the distribution of guaranteed tax base aid in accordance with 20-9-366 through 20-9-369; ~~and~~

(33) provide staff support necessary for the board of public education to carry out its duties pursuant to 20-2-121; and

~~(33)~~(34) perform any other duty prescribed from time to time by this title, any other act of the legislature, or the policies of the board of public education."

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