House Bill No. 28

Introduced By rose



A Bill for an Act entitled: An Act Requiring the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the trustees of a school district, Upon Request and in Compliance with State and Federal Confidentiality Laws, to Disclose Required Student Assessment Data to interested parties; and amending

sections 20-3-106 and 20-3-324, MCA.



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



Section 1.  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) upon request and in compliance with confidentiality requirements of state and federal law, disclose to interested parties all school district student assessment data for any test required by the board of public education;

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



Section 2.  Section 20-3-324, MCA, is amended to read:

"20-3-324.   Powers and duties. As prescribed elsewhere in this title, the trustees of each district shall:

(1)  employ or dismiss a teacher, principal, or other assistant upon the recommendation of the district superintendent, the county high school principal, or other principal as the board considers necessary, accepting or rejecting any recommendation as the trustees in their sole discretion determine, in accordance with the provisions of Title 20, chapter 4;

(2)  employ and dismiss administrative personnel, clerks, secretaries, teacher aides, custodians, maintenance personnel, school bus drivers, food service personnel, nurses, and any other personnel considered necessary to carry out the various services of the district;

(3)  administer the attendance and tuition provisions and otherwise govern the pupils of the district in accordance with the provisions of the pupils chapter of this title;

(4)  call, conduct, and certify the elections of the district in accordance with the provisions of the school elections chapter of this title;

(5)  participate in the teachers' retirement system of the state of Montana in accordance with the provisions of the teachers' retirement system chapter of Title 19;

(6)  participate in district boundary change actions in accordance with the provisions of the districts chapter of this title;

(7)  organize, open, close, or acquire isolation status for the schools of the district in accordance with the provisions of the school organization part of this title;

(8)  adopt and administer the annual budget or a budget amendment of the district in accordance with the provisions of the school budget system part of this title;

(9)  conduct the fiscal business of the district in accordance with the provisions of the school financial administration part of this title;

(10) establish the ANB, BASE budget levy, over-BASE budget levy, additional levy, operating reserve, and state impact aid amounts for the general fund of the district in accordance with the provisions of the general fund part of this title;

(11) establish, maintain, budget, and finance the transportation program of the district in accordance with the provisions of the transportation parts of this title;

(12) issue, refund, sell, budget, and redeem the bonds of the district in accordance with the provisions of the bonds parts of this title;

(13) when applicable, establish, financially administer, and budget for the tuition fund, retirement fund, building reserve fund, adult education fund, nonoperating fund, school food services fund, miscellaneous federal programs fund, building fund, lease or rental agreement fund, traffic education fund, impact aid fund, and interlocal cooperative agreement fund in accordance with the provisions of the other school funds parts of this title;

(14) when applicable, administer any interlocal cooperative agreement, gifts, legacies, or devises in accordance with the provisions of the miscellaneous financial parts of this title;

(15) hold in trust, acquire, and dispose of the real and personal property of the district in accordance with the provisions of the school sites and facilities part of this title;

(16) operate the schools of the district in accordance with the provisions of the school calendar part of this title;

(17) establish and maintain the instructional services of the schools of the district in accordance with the provisions of the instructional services, textbooks, vocational education, and special education parts of this title;

(18) establish and maintain the school food services of the district in accordance with the provisions of the school food services parts of this title;

(19) make reports from time to time as the county superintendent, superintendent of public instruction, and board of public education may require;

(20) retain, when considered advisable, a physician or registered nurse to inspect the sanitary conditions of the school or the general health conditions of each pupil and, upon request, make available to any parent or guardian any medical reports or health records maintained by the district pertaining to the child;

(21) for each member of the trustees, visit each school of the district not less than once each school fiscal year to examine its management, conditions, and needs, except trustees from a first-class school district may share the responsibility for visiting each school in the district;

(22) procure and display outside daily in suitable weather on school days at each school of the district an American flag that measures not less than 4 feet by 6 feet;

(23) provide that an American flag that measures approximately 12 inches by 18 inches be prominently displayed in each classroom in each school of the district, except in a classroom in which the flag may get soiled. This requirement is waived if the flags are not provided by a local civic group.

(24) adopt and administer a district policy on assessment for placement of any child who enrolls in a school of the district from a nonpublic school that is not accredited, as required in 20-5-110; and

(25) upon request and in compliance with confidentiality requirements of state and federal law, disclose to interested parties school district student assessment data for any test required by the board of public education; and

(25)(26) perform any other duty and enforce any other requirements for the government of the schools prescribed by this title, the policies of the board of public education, or the rules of the superintendent of public instruction."

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