House Bill No. 264

Introduced By _______________________________________________________________________________



A Bill for an Act entitled: "An Act establishing Drug Free and Crime Free Schools; requiring the youth court to notify a school when a youth placed in foster care has been found by a juvenile probation officer or the youth court to be currently involved in drug use or other criminal activity; authorizing a school to refuse to accept the youth if refusal does not violate federal law; and amending sections 41-5-603 and 52-2-211, MCA."



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



Section 1.  Section 41-5-603, MCA, is amended to read:

"41-5-603.   Youth court and department records -- notification of school. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) subsections (2) and (3), all youth court records on file with the clerk of court, including reports of preliminary inquiries, petitions, motions, other filed pleadings, court findings, verdicts, orders, and decrees, are open to public inspection until the records are sealed under 41-5-604.

(2)  Social, medical, and psychological records, predispositional studies, supervision records of probationers, and any report, charge, or allegation that is not adjudicated pursuant to this chapter are open only to the following:

(a)  the youth court and its professional staff;

(b)  representatives of any agency providing supervision and having legal custody of a youth;

(c)  any other person, by order of the court, having a legitimate interest in the case or in the work of the court;

(d)  any court and its probation and other professional staff or the attorney for a convicted party who had been a party to proceedings in the youth court when considering the sentence to be imposed upon the party;

(e)  the county attorney;

(f)  the youth who is the subject of the report or record, after emancipation or reaching the age of majority;

(g)  a member of a county interdisciplinary child information team formed under 52-2-211 who is not listed in this subsection (2);

(h)  members of a local interagency staffing group provided for in 52-2-203; and

(i)  persons allowed access to the records under 45-5-624(7).

(3) Notwithstanding the requirements of 20-5-321(1)(d) or (1)(e), if a youth is placed in foster care because the youth has been found by the juvenile probation officer or the youth court to be currently involved in drug use or other criminal activity, the youth court shall notify the school that the youth will attend of the drug use or criminal activity issues. Upon notification, the school may refuse to accept the youth as a student but may not refuse to accept the student if refusal violates the federal Individuals With Disabilities Education Act or the federal Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990.

(4) In all cases, a victim is entitled to all information concerning the identity and disposition of the youth.

(5) The identity of a youth who for the second or subsequent time admits violating or is adjudicated as having violated a statute must be disclosed by youth court officials to the administrative officials of the school in which the youth is a student for purposes of referral for enrollment to the substance abuse program or enforcement of school disciplinary procedures that existed at the time of the admission or adjudication. The information may not be further disclosed and may not be made part of the student's permanent records.

(3)(6)  Any part of records information secured from records listed in subsection (2), when presented to and used by the court in a proceeding under this chapter, must also be made available to the counsel for the parties to the proceedings.

(4)(7)  After youth court and department records, reports of preliminary inquiries, predispositional studies, and supervision records of probationers are sealed, they are not open to inspection except, upon order of the youth court, for good cause to:

(a)  those persons and agencies listed in subsection (2) subsections (2) and (3); and

(b)  adult probation professional staff preparing a presentence report on a youth who has reached the age of majority."



Section 2.  Section 52-2-211, MCA, is amended to read:

"52-2-211.   County interdisciplinary child information team. (1) The following persons and agencies operating within a county may by written agreement form a county interdisciplinary child information team:

(a)  the youth court;

(b)  the county attorney;

(c)  the department of public health and human services;

(d)  the county superintendent of schools;

(e)  the sheriff;

(f)  the chief of any police force;

(g)  the superintendents of public school districts; and

(h)  the department of corrections.

(2)  The persons and agencies signing a written agreement under subsection (1) may by majority vote allow the following persons to sign the written agreement and join the information team:

(a)  physicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, nurses, and other providers of medical and mental health care;

(b)  entities operating private elementary and secondary schools;

(c)  attorneys; and

(d)  a person or entity that has or may have a legitimate interest in one or more children that the information team will serve.

(3)  The members of the information team or their designees may form one or more auxiliary teams for the purpose of providing service to a single child, a group of children, or children with a particular type of problem or for any other purpose. Auxiliary teams are subject to the written agreement.

(4)  The purpose of the team and written agreement is to facilitate the exchange and sharing of information that one or more team members may be able to use in serving a child in the course of their professions and occupations, including but not limited to abused, neglected, and delinquent children and youth in need of supervision. Information regarding a child that a team member supplies to other team members or that is disseminated to a team member under 41-3-205 or 41-5-603(2) and (3) may not be disseminated beyond the team.

(5)  The terms of the written agreement must provide for the rules under which the team will operate, the method by which information will be shared, distributed, and managed, and any other matters necessary to the purpose and functions of the team."

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