Senate Bill No. 240

Introduced By beck, grady, hibbard, mesaros, bartlett, waterman

A Bill for an Act entitled: An Act creating the voluntary consolidation and annexation incentive plan for school districts; allowing an elementary, high school, or k-12 school district that is consolidated or annexed to receive anb and entitlement payments of the component districts for 3 years following the consolidation or annexation; amending section 20-9-311, MCA; and providing an effective date and a retroactive applicability date.

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

Section 1.  Section 20-9-311, MCA, is amended to read:

"20-9-311.   Calculation of average number belonging (ANB). (1) Average number belonging (ANB) must be computed as follows:

(a)  compute an average enrollment by adding a count of regularly enrolled full-time pupils who were enrolled as of the first Monday in October of the prior school fiscal year to a count of regularly enrolled pupils on February 1 of the prior school fiscal year, or the nearest school day if those dates do not fall on a school day, and divide the sum by two; and

(b)  multiply the average enrollment calculated in subsection (1)(a) by the sum of the pupil-instruction and the approved pupil-instruction-related days for the current school fiscal year and divide by 180.

(2)  For the purpose of calculating ANB under subsection (1), up to 7 approved pupil-instruction-related days may be included in the calculation.

(3)  When a school district has approval to operate less than 180 school days under 20-9-804, the total ANB must be calculated in accordance with the provisions of 20-9-805.

(4)  Enrollment for a part of a morning session or a part of an afternoon session by a pupil must be counted as enrollment for one-half day.

(5)  In calculating the ANB for pupils enrolled in a program established under 20-7-117(1), enrollment at a regular session of the program for at least 2 hours of either a morning or an afternoon session must be counted as one-half pupil for ANB purposes. If a variance has been granted as provided in 20-1-302, ANB must be computed in a manner prescribed by the superintendent of public instruction, but the ANB for a kindergarten student may not exceed one-half for each kindergarten pupil.

(6)  When any pupil has been absent, with or without excuse, for more than 10 consecutive school days, the pupil may not be included in the enrollment count used in the calculation of the ANB unless the pupil resumes attendance prior to the day of the enrollment count.

(7)  The enrollment of prekindergarten pupils, as provided in 20-7-117, may not be included in the ANB calculations.

(8)  The average number belonging of the regularly enrolled, full-time pupils for the public schools of a district must be based on the aggregate of all the regularly enrolled, full-time pupils attending the schools of the district, except that when:

(a)  (i) a school of the district is located more than 20 miles beyond the incorporated limits of a city or town located in the district and at least 20 miles from any other school of the district, the number of regularly enrolled, full-time pupils of the school must be calculated separately for ANB purposes and the district must receive a basic entitlement for the school calculated separately from the other schools of the district;

(ii) a school of the district is located more than 20 miles from any other school of the district and no incorporated territory is involved in the district, the number of regularly enrolled, full-time pupils of the school must be calculated separately for ANB purposes and the district must receive a basic entitlement for the school calculated separately from the other schools of the district; or

(iii) the superintendent of public instruction approves an application not to aggregate when conditions exist affecting transportation, such as poor roads, mountains, rivers, or other obstacles to travel, or when any other condition exists that would result in an unusual hardship to the pupils of the school if they were transported to another school, the number of regularly enrolled, full-time pupils of the school must be calculated separately for ANB purposes and the district must receive a basic entitlement for the school calculated separately from the other schools of the district; or

(iv) two or more elementary districts consolidate or annex under the provisions of 20-6-203, 20-6-205, or 20-6-208; two or more high school districts consolidate or annex under the provisions of 20-6-315 or 20-6-317; or two or more K-12 districts consolidate or annex under Title 20, chapter 6, part 4, the ANB and the basic entitlements of the component districts must be calculated separately for a period of 3 years following the consolidation or annexation;

(b)  a junior high school has been approved and accredited as a junior high school, all of the regularly enrolled, full-time pupils of the junior high school must be considered as high school district pupils for ANB purposes;

(c)  a middle school has been approved and accredited, all pupils below the 7th grade must be considered elementary school pupils for ANB purposes and the 7th and 8th grade pupils must be considered high school pupils for ANB purposes; or

(d)  a school has not been accredited by the board of public education, the regularly enrolled, full-time pupils attending the nonaccredited school are not eligible for average number belonging calculation purposes, nor will an average number belonging for the nonaccredited school be used in determining the BASE funding program for the district.

(9)  When 11th or 12th grade students are regularly enrolled on a part-time basis, high schools may calculate the ANB to include an "equivalent ANB" for those students. The method for calculating an equivalent ANB must be determined in a manner prescribed by the superintendent of public instruction.

(10) For average daily attendance reporting purposes, districts shall provide the superintendent of public instruction with annual reports of school attendance for regularly enrolled students and special education students, using a format determined by the superintendent."

Section 2.  Effective date -- retroactive applicability. [This act] is effective July 1, 1997, and applies retroactively, within the meaning of 1-2-109, to a district that is consolidated or annexed on or after January 1, 1997.

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