20-5-321. Attendance with mandatory approval -- tuition and transportation. (1) An out-of-district attendance agreement that allows a child to enroll in and attend a school in a Montana school district that is outside of the child's district of residence or in a public school district of a state or province that is adjacent to the county of the child's residence is mandatory whenever:
     (a) the child resides closer to the school that the child wishes to attend and more than 3 miles from the school the child would attend in the resident district and:
     (i) the resident district does not provide transportation; or
     (ii) the district of residence provides transportation and is not within the same county as the child's school district of choice;
     (b) the child resides in a location where, due to road or geographic conditions, it is impractical to attend the school nearest the child's residence;
     (c) the child is a member of a family that is required to send another child outside of the elementary district to attend high school and the child of elementary age may more conveniently attend an elementary school where the high school is located, provided that the child resides more than 3 miles from an elementary school in the resident district or that the parent is required to move to the elementary district where the high school is located to enroll another child in high school;
     (d) the child has been adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction to be an abused or neglected child, as defined in 41-3-102, or a youth in need of supervision or a delinquent youth, as defined in 41-5-103, and has been placed in a licensed youth care facility that is approved by the department of public health and human services and, as a result of the placement, is required to attend school outside of the child's district of residence; or
     (e) the child is required to attend school outside of the district of residence as the result of a placement by a state agency or parent in a group home licensed by the state or an order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
     (2) (a) Whenever a parent or guardian of a child, an agency of the state, or a court wishes to have a child attend a school under the provisions of this section, the parent or guardian, agency, or court shall complete an out-of-district attendance agreement in consultation with an appropriate official of the district the child will attend.
     (b) The attendance agreement must set forth the financial obligations, if any, for costs incurred for tuition and transportation as provided in 20-5-323 and Title 20, chapter 10.
     (c) The trustees of the district of choice may waive any or all of the tuition rate, but any waiver must be applied equally to all students.
     (3) Except as provided in subsection (4), the trustees of the resident district and the trustees of the district of choice shall approve the out-of-district attendance agreement and notify the county superintendent of schools of the county of the child's residence of the approval of the agreement within 10 days. The county superintendent shall approve the agreement for payment under 20-5-324(5).
     (4) Unless the child is a child with disabilities who resides in the district, the trustees of the district where the school to be attended is located may disapprove an out-of-district attendance agreement whenever they find that, due to insufficient room and overcrowding, the accreditation of the school would be adversely affected by the acceptance of the child.

     History: En. Sec. 2, Ch. 563, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 32, Sp. L. November 1993; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 458, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 65, Ch. 546, L. 1995.