SENATE BILL NO. 65
INTRODUCED BY A. ELLIS
AN ACT REVISING THE OUT-OF-DISTRICT TUITION LAWS; ELIMINATING MANDATORY TUITION APPROVAL IF THE RESIDENT DISTRICT PROVIDES TRANSPORTATION BUT IS NOT IN THE SAME COUNTY AS THE DISTRICT OF CHOICE; ALLOWING A SCHOOL DISTRICT TO WAIVE TUITION FOR A SPECIFIC GROUP REQUIRED TO PAY TUITION WHILE CHARGING TUITION TO OTHER GROUPS REQUIRED TO PAY; REQUIRING THE COUNTY TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE TO DETERMINE WHEN GEOGRAPHIC CONDITIONS MAKE IT IMPRACTICAL FOR A CHILD TO ATTEND SCHOOL IN THE DISTRICT OF RESIDENCE; PLACING TUITION PAYMENTS INTO THE OVER-BASE BUDGET OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT; SETTING THE RATE OF TUITION BY STATUTE; AMENDING SECTIONS 20-5-320, 20-5-321, 20-5-323, 20-5-324, 20-9-141, 20-9-212, 20-9-335, AND 20-10-132, MCA; REPEALING SECTION 20-9-334, MCA; AND PROVIDING EFFECTIVE DATES AND APPLICABILITY DATES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. Section 20-5-320, MCA, is amended to read:
"20-5-320. Attendance with discretionary approval. (1) A child may be enrolled in and attend a school in a Montana school district that is outside of the child's district of residence or a public school in a district of another state or province that is adjacent to the county of the child's residence, subject to discretionary approval by the trustees of the resident district and the district of choice. If the trustees grant discretionary approval of the child's attendance in a school of the district, the parent or guardian may be charged tuition and may be charged for transportation.
(2) (a) Whenever a parent or guardian of a child wishes to have the child attend a school under the provisions of this section, the parent or guardian shall apply to the trustees of the district where the child wishes to attend. The application must be made on an out-of-district attendance agreement form supplied by the district and developed by the superintendent of public instruction.
(b) The attendance agreement must set forth the financial obligations, if any, for tuition and for costs incurred for transporting the child under Title 20, chapter 10.
(c) (i) 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. The
trustees of the district of choice may waive the tuition for all students whose
tuition is required to be paid by one type of entity and may charge tuition for
all students whose tuition is required to be paid by another type of entity.
However, any waiver of tuition must be applied equally to all students whose
tuition is paid by the same type of entity.
(ii) As used in this subsection (2)(c), "entity" means a parent or guardian or the trustees of the district of residence.
(3) An out-of-district attendance agreement approved under this section requires that the parent or guardian initiate the request for an out-of-district attendance agreement and that the trustees of both the district of residence and the district of choice approve the agreement.
(4) If the trustees of the district of choice waive tuition, approval of the resident district trustees is not required.
(5) The trustees of a school district may approve or disapprove the out-of-district attendance agreement consistent with this part and the policy adopted by the local board of trustees for out-of-district attendance agreements.
(6) The approval of an out-of-district attendance agreement by the applicable approval agents or as the result of an appeal must authorize the child named in the agreement to enroll in and attend the school named in the agreement for the designated school year.
(7) The trustees of the district where the child wishes to attend have the discretion to approve any attendance agreement.
(8) This section does not preclude the trustees of a district from approving an attendance agreement for educational program offerings not provided by the resident district, such as the kindergarten or grades 7 and 8 programs, if the trustees of both districts agree to the terms and conditions for attendance and any tuition and transportation requirement. For purposes of this subsection, the trustees of the resident district shall initiate the out-of-district agreement.
(9) (a) A provision of this title may not be construed to deny a parent or
guardian the right to send a child, at personal expense, to any school of a
district other than the resident district when the trustees of the district of
choice have approved an out-of-district attendance agreement and the parent
or guardian has agreed to pay the tuition as prescribed by 20-5-323. However,
under this subsection (9), the tuition rate must be reduced by the amount that
the parent or guardian of the child paid in district and county property taxes
during the immediately preceding school fiscal year for the benefit and
support of the district in which the child will attend school.
(b) For the purposes of this section, "parent or guardian" includes an individual shareholder of a domestic corporation as defined in 35-1-113 whose shares are 95% held by related family members to the sixth degree of consanguinity or by marriage to the sixth degree of affinity.
(c) The tax amount to be credited to reduce any tuition charge to a parent or guardian under subsection (9)(a) is determined in the following manner:
(i) determine the percentage of the total shares of the corporation held by the shareholder parent or parents or guardian;
(ii) determine the portion of property taxes paid in the preceding school fiscal year by the corporation, parent, or guardian for the benefit and support of the district in which the child will attend school.
(d) The percentage of total shares as determined in subsection (9)(c)(i) is the percentage of taxes paid as determined in subsection (9)(c)(ii) that is to be credited to reduce the tuition charge.
(10) As used in 20-5-320 through 20-5-324, the term "guardian" means the guardian of a minor as provided in Title 72, chapter 5, part 2."
Section 2. Section 20-5-321, MCA, is amended to read:
"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) (i) the child resides in a location where, due to road or geographic
conditions between the child's home and the school that the child would
attend within the district of residence, it is impractical to attend the school
nearest the child's in the district of residence, as determined by the county
transportation committee based on the following criteria:
(A) the length of time that is in excess of the 1-hour limit for each bus trip for an elementary child as authorized under 20-10-121;
(B) whether distance traveled is greater than 40 miles one way from the child's home to school on a dirt road or greater than a total of 60 miles one way from the child's home to school in the district of residence over the shortest passable route; or
(C) whether the condition of the road or existence of a geographic barrier, such as a river or mountain pass, causes a hazard that prohibits safe travel between the home and school.
(ii) The decision of the county transportation committee is subject to
appeal to the superintendent of public instruction, as provided in 20-3-107,
but the decision must be considered as final for the purpose of the payment of
tuition under 20-5-324(6) until a decision is issued by the superintendent of
public instruction. The superintendent of public instruction may review and
rule upon a decision of the county transportation committee without an appeal
being filed;.
(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;. A child enrolled in an elementary school
pursuant to this subsection (1)(c) may continue to attend the elementary
school after the other child has left the high school.
(d) the child is under the protective care of a state agency or has been adjudicated to be a youth in need of intervention or a delinquent youth, as defined in 41-5-103; or
(e) the child is required to attend school outside of the district of residence as the result of a placement in foster care or a group home licensed by the state.
(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 that 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) (i) 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. The
trustees of the district of choice may waive the tuition for all students whose
tuition is required to be paid by one type of entity and may charge tuition for
all students whose tuition is required to be paid by another type of entity.
However, any waiver of tuition must be applied equally to all students whose
tuition is paid by the same type of entity.
(ii) As used in this subsection (2)(c), "entity" means a parent, guardian, the trustees of the district of residence, or a state agency.
(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 county superintendent shall
approve the agreement for payment under 20-5-324(5) approve the agreement
for payment under 20-5-324(5).
(4) Unless the child is a child with a disability 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."
Section 3. Section 20-5-323, MCA, is amended to read:
"20-5-323. Tuition and transportation rates. (1) Except as provided in
subsections (3) (2) through (5), whenever a child has approval to attend a
school outside of the child's district of residence under the provisions of
20-5-320 or 20-5-321, the basis of the rate of tuition is a flat rate for each of
the 15 district-size groupings determined by rule by the superintendent of
public instruction by March 15 of each year, using statewide district
expenditure and revenue data for the general fund, debt service fund, and
retirement fund to determine the average district contribution charged for a
Montana resident student may not exceed 20% of the per-ANB maximum rate
established in 20-9-306 for the year of attendance.
(2) The tuition for a child with a disability must be determined under rules adopted by the superintendent of public instruction for the calculation of tuition for special education pupils.
(3) The tuition rate for out-of-district placement pursuant to 20-5-321(1)(d) and (1)(e) for a student without disabilities who requires a program with costs that exceed the average district costs must be determined as the actual individual costs of providing that program according to the following:
(a) the district of attendance and the district, person, or entity responsible
for the tuition payments shall approve an agreement with the district of
attendance for the tuition cost; and
(b) for a Montana resident student, the average district 80% of the
maximum per-ANB foundation payment amount rate established in
20-9-306(10), received in the year for which the tuition charges are calculated
must be subtracted from the per-student program costs for a Montana resident
student; and
(c) the maximum tuition rate paid to a district under this section may not exceed $2,500 per ANB.
(4) When a child attends a public school of another state or province, the amount of daily tuition may not be greater than the average annual cost per student in the child's district of residence. This calculation for tuition purposes is determined by totaling all of the expenditures for all of the district budgeted funds for the preceding school fiscal year and dividing that amount by the October 1 enrollment in the preceding school fiscal year. For the purposes of this subsection, the following do not apply:
(a) placement of a child with a disability pursuant to Title 20, chapter 7, part 4;
(b) placement made in a state or province with a reciprocal tuition agreement pursuant to 20-5-314;
(c) an order issued under Title 40, chapter 4, part 2; or
(d) out-of-state placement by a state agency.
(5) When a child is placed by a state agency in an out-of-state residential facility, the state agency making the placement is responsible for the education costs resulting from the placement.
(6) The amount, if any, charged for transportation may not exceed the lesser of the average transportation cost per student in the child's district of residence or 21.25 cents per mile. The average expenditures for the district transportation fund for the preceding school fiscal year must be calculated by dividing the transportation fund expenditures by the October 1 enrollment for the preceding fiscal year."
Section 4. Section 20-5-324, MCA, is amended to read:
"20-5-324. Tuition report and payment provisions -- exemption. (1)
At the close of the school term of each school fiscal year and before July 15
and before July 15, the trustees of a district shall report to the county county
superintendent:
(a) the name and district of residence of each child who is attending a
school of the district under an approved a mandatory out-of-district
attendance agreement approved under the provisions of 20-5-321(1)(b),
(1)(d), or (1)(e);
(b) the number of days of enrollment for each child reported under the provisions of subsection (1)(a);
(c) the annual tuition rate for each child's tuition payment, as determined under the provisions of 20-5-323, and the tuition cost for each reported child; and
(d) the names, districts of attendance, and amount of tuition to be paid by the district for resident students attending public schools out of state.
(2) The county superintendent shall send, as soon as practicable, the
reported information to the county superintendent of the county in which a
reported child resides. The county superintendent shall send, as soon as
practicable, the reported information to the county superintendent of the
county in which a reported child resides.
(3) Before July 30, the county superintendent shall report
(3) Before July 30, the county superintendent shall report the information
in subsection (1)(d) to to the superintendent of public instruction, who, who
shall determine the total per-ANB entitlement for which the district would be
eligible if the student were enrolled in the resident district. The
reimbursement amount is the difference between the actual amount paid and
the amount calculated in this subsection.
(4)(4) Notwithstanding the requirements of subsection (5) (5)(a), tuition
payment provisions for out-of-district placement of students with disabilities
must be determined pursuant to Title 20, chapter 7, part 4.
(5)(5) (a) Except as provided in subsection (6), when When a child has
approval to attend a school outside the child's district of residence under the
provisions of 20-5-320 or 20-5-321(1)(a) or (1)(b), the district of residence
shall finance the tuition amount from the district tuition fund and any
transportation amount from the transportation fund.
(b) When a child has approval to attend a school outside the child's district of residence under the provisions of 20-5-321(1)(c), the parent or guardian of the child shall finance the tuition and transportation amount.
(6)(6) When a child has mandatory approval under the provisions of
20-5-321(1)(d) or (1)(e), the tuition and transportation and transportation
obligation for an elementary school child attending a school outside of the
child's county of residence for an elementary school child attending a school
outside of the child's district of residence must be financed by the basic
county tax for elementary equalization, as provided in 20-9-331, for the
child's county of residence or for a high school child attending a school
outside the county of residence by the basic county tax for high school
equalization, as provided in 20-9-333, for the child's county of residence basic
county tax for elementary equalization, as provided in 20-9-331, for the
child's county of residence or for a high school child attending a school
outside the district of residence by the basic county tax for high school
equalization, as provided in 20-9-333, for the child's county of residence.
(7)(7) By December 31 of the school fiscal year, the county
superintendent or the trustees shall pay at least one-half of any tuition and
transportation obligation established under this section out of the money
realized to date from the appropriate elementary or high school county
equalization fund provided for in 20-9-335 or from the district tuition or
transportation fund. The remaining tuition and transportation obligation must
be paid by June 15 of the school fiscal year. The payments must be made to
the county treasurer in each county with a school district that is entitled to
tuition and transportation. By December 31 of the school fiscal year, the
county superintendent or the trustees shall pay at least one-half of any tuition
and transportation obligation established under this section out of the money
realized to date from the appropriate elementary or high school county
equalization fund provided for in 20-9-335 or from the district tuition or
transportation fund. The remaining tuition and transportation obligation must
be paid by June 15 of the school fiscal year. The payments must be made to
the county treasurer in each county with a school district that is entitled to
tuition and transportation. Except as provided in subsection (9) (9), the county
treasurer shall credit tuition receipts to the general fund of a school district
entitled to a tuition payment. The tuition receipts must be used in accordance
with the provisions of 20-9-141. The county treasurer shall credit
transportation receipts to the transportation fund of a school district entitled to
a transportation payment.
(8)(8) The superintendent of public instruction shall reimburse the district
of residence for the per-ANB entitlement determined in subsection (3) (3).
(9)(9) (a) Any tuition receipts received under the provisions of
20-5-323(3) for the current school fiscal year that exceed the tuition receipts
of the prior year may be deposited in the district miscellaneous programs fund
and must be used for that year in the manner provided for in 20-9-507 to
support the costs of the program for which the tuition was received.
(b) Any tuition receipts received for the current school fiscal year for a pupil who is a child with a disability that exceed the tuition amount received for a pupil without disabilities may be deposited in the district miscellaneous programs fund and must be used for that year in the manner provided for in 20-9-507 to support the costs of the program for which the tuition was received.
(c) Any other tuition receipts received for the current school fiscal year
that exceed the tuition receipts of the prior year may be deposited in the
district miscellaneous programs fund and may be used for that year in the
manner provided for in that fund. For the ensuing school fiscal year, the
receipts must be credited to the district general fund budget.
(c) Any other tuition receipts received for the current school fiscal year that exceed the tuition receipts of the prior year may be deposited in the district miscellaneous programs fund and may be used for that year in the manner provided for in that fund. For the ensuing school fiscal year, the receipts must be credited to the district general fund budget.
(10)(10) The provisions of this section do not apply to out-of-state
placements made by a state agency pursuant to 20-7-422."
Section 5. Section 20-9-141, MCA, is amended to read:
"20-9-141. Computation of general fund net levy requirement by county superintendent. (1) The county superintendent shall compute the levy requirement for each district's general fund on the basis of the following procedure:
(a) Determine the funding required for the district's final general fund budget less the sum of direct state aid and the special education allowable cost payment for the district by totaling:
(i) the district's nonisolated school BASE budget requirement to be met by a district levy as provided in 20-9-303; and
(ii) any general fund budget amount adopted by the trustees of the district under the provisions of 20-9-308 and 20-9-353, including any additional funding for a general fund budget that exceeds the maximum general fund budget.
(b) Determine the money available for the reduction of the property tax on the district for the general fund by totaling:
(i) the general fund balance reappropriated, as established under the provisions of 20-9-104;
(ii) 98% of actual amounts received in fiscal year 1999 for light vehicle taxes under 61-3-504;
(iii) amounts received in the last fiscal year for which revenue reporting was required for each of the following:
(A) revenue from taxes and fees imposed under 23-2-517, 23-2-803, 61-3-521, 61-3-527, 61-3-529, 61-3-560 through 61-3-562, 61-3-570, and 67-3-204;
(B) interest earned by the investment of general fund cash in accordance with the provisions of 20-9-213(4); and
(C) any other revenue received during the school fiscal year that may be used to finance the general fund, excluding any guaranteed tax base aid;
(iv) anticipated tuition payments for out-of-district pupils under the
provisions of 20-5-321 through 20-5-323, except the amount of tuition
received for a pupil who is a child with a disability in excess of the amount
received for a pupil without disabilities, as calculated under 20-5-323(2);
(v)(iv) anticipated oil and natural gas production taxes;
(vi)(v) pursuant to subsection (4), anticipated revenue from coal gross
proceeds under 15-23-703 and property tax reimbursements under 15-1-111,
15-1-112, and section 167, Chapter 584, Laws of 1999; and
(vii)(vi) anticipated revenue from corporation license taxes collected from
financial institutions under the provisions of 15-31-702.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (2), subtract the money available to reduce the property tax required to finance the general fund that has been determined in subsection (1)(b) from any general fund budget amount adopted by the trustees of the district, up to the BASE budget amount, to determine the general fund BASE budget levy requirement.
(d) Subtract Determine the sum of any amount remaining after the
determination in subsection (1)(c) and any tuition payments for out-of-district
pupils to be received under the provisions of 20-5-320 through 20-5-324,
except the amount of tuition received for a pupil who is a child with a
disability in excess of the amount received for a pupil without disabilities, as
calculated under 20-5-323(2).
(e) Subtract the amount determined in subsection (1)(d) from any additional funding requirement to be met by an over-BASE budget amount, a district levy as provided in 20-9-303, and any additional financing as provided in 20-9-353 to determine any additional general fund levy requirements.
(2) The county superintendent shall calculate the number of mills to be levied on the taxable property in the district to finance the general fund levy requirement for any amount that does not exceed the BASE budget amount for the district by dividing the amount determined in subsection (1)(c) by the sum of:
(a) the amount of guaranteed tax base aid that the district will receive for each mill levied, as certified by the superintendent of public instruction; and
(b) the current total taxable valuation of the district, as certified by the department of revenue under 15-10-202, divided by 1,000.
(3) The net general fund levy requirement determined in subsections (1)(c) and (1)(d) must be reported to the county commissioners on the fourth Monday of August by the county superintendent as the general fund net levy requirement for the district, and a levy must be set by the county commissioners in accordance with 20-9-142.
(4) For each school district, the department of revenue shall calculate and report to the county superintendent the amount of revenue anticipated for the ensuing fiscal year from revenue from coal gross proceeds under 15-23-703 and property tax reimbursements under 15-1-111, 15-1-112, and section 167, Chapter 584, Laws of 1999."
Section 6. Section 20-9-212, MCA, is amended to read:
"20-9-212. Duties of county treasurer. The county treasurer of each county shall:
(1) receive and hold all school money subject to apportionment and keep a separate accounting of its apportionment to the several districts that are entitled to a portion of the money according to the apportionments ordered by the county superintendent or by the superintendent of public instruction. A separate accounting must be maintained for each county fund supported by a countywide levy for a specific, authorized purpose, including:
(a) the basic county tax for elementary equalization;
(b) the basic county tax for high school equalization;
(c) the county tax in support of the transportation schedules;
(d) the county tax in support of the elementary and high school district retirement obligations; and
(e) any other county tax for schools, including the community colleges, that may be authorized by law and levied by the county commissioners.
(2) whenever requested, notify the county superintendent and the superintendent of public instruction of the amount of county school money on deposit in each of the funds enumerated in subsection (1) and the amount of any other school money subject to apportionment and apportion the county and other school money to the districts in accordance with the apportionment ordered by the county superintendent or the superintendent of public instruction;
(3) keep a separate accounting of the receipts, expenditures, and cash balances for each fund;
(4) except as otherwise limited by law, pay all warrants properly drawn on the county or district school money;
(5) receive all revenue collected by and for each district and deposit these receipts in the fund designated by law or by the district if a fund is not designated by law. Interest and penalties on delinquent school taxes must be credited to the same fund and district for which the original taxes were levied.
(6) send all revenue received for a joint district, part of which is situated in the county, to the county treasurer designated as the custodian of the revenue, no later than December 15 of each year and every 3 months after that date until the end of the school fiscal year;
(7) at the direction of the trustees of a district, assist the district in the issuance and sale of tax and revenue anticipation notes as provided in Title 7, chapter 6, part 11;
(8) register district warrants drawn on a budgeted fund in accordance with 7-6-2604 when there is insufficient money available in all funds of the district to make payment of the warrant. Redemption of registered warrants must be made in accordance with 7-6-2116, 7-6-2605, and 7-6-2606.
(9) when directed by the trustees of a district, invest the money of the district within 3 working days of the direction;
(10) each month give to the trustees of each district an itemized report for each fund maintained by the district, showing the paid warrants, registered warrants, interest distribution, amounts and types of revenue received, and the cash balance;
(11) remit promptly to the state treasurer receipts for the county tax for a vocational-technical program within a unit of the university system when levied by the board of county commissioners under the provisions of 20-25-439;
(12) invest the money received from the basic county taxes for elementary and high school equalization, the county levy in support of the elementary and high school district retirement obligations, and the county levy in support of the transportation schedules within 3 working days of receipt. The money must be invested until the working day before it is required to be distributed to school districts within the county or remitted to the state. Permissible investments are specified in 20-9-213(4). All investment income must be deposited, and credited proportionately, in the funds established to account for the taxes received for the purposes specified in subsections (1)(a) through (1)(d).
(13) remit on a monthly basis to the state treasurer, in accordance with the
provisions of 15-1-504, all county equalization revenue received under the
provisions of 20-9-331 and 20-9-333, including all interest earned and
excluding any amount required for high school out-of-county tuition under the
provisions of 20-9-334 and excluding any amount required for tuition paid
under the provisions of 20-5-324(6) or (7), in repayment of the state advance
for county equalization prescribed in 20-9-347. Any funds in excess of a state
advance must be used as required in 20-9-331(1)(b) and 20-9-333(1)(b)."
Section 7. Section 20-9-335, MCA, is amended to read:
"20-9-335. Formula for apportionment of county equalization money. (1) The superintendent of public instruction shall calculate the apportionment of revenue available in the elementary and high school county equalization funds in accordance with the following procedure:
(a) determine the percentage that the county equalization money available for the support of the elementary direct state aid of the districts in the county is of the total elementary direct state aid of all districts in the county;
(b) multiply the elementary direct state aid amount of each district by the percentage determined in subsection (1)(a) to determine the portion of the county equalization money available to each school district.
(2) The procedure in subsection (1) must also be applied for the high
school direct state aid after the deduction of the county's obligation for high
school out-of-county tuition after the deduction of the county's obligation for
tuition paid under the provisions of 20-5-324(6) and (7).
(3) Territory situated within a county may not be excluded from the calculations of the county equalization money under this section solely because the territory lies within the boundaries of a joint district. Cash balances to the credit of any district at the end of a school fiscal year may not be considered in the apportionment procedure prescribed in this section.
(4) The county equalization money reported under these procedures is the first source of revenue for financing the elementary and high school direct state aid payments."
Section 8. Section 20-10-132, MCA, is amended to read:
"20-10-132. Duties of county transportation committee. (1) It is the duty of the county transportation committee to:
(a) establish the transportation service areas within the county, without regard to district boundary lines, for each district that operates a school bus transportation program;
(b) except as provided in subsection (2), approve, disapprove, or adjust the school bus routes submitted by the trustees of each district in conformity with the transportation service areas established in subsection (1)(a);
(c) approve, disapprove, or adjust applications, approved by the trustees,
for increased reimbursements for individual transportation because of isolated
conditions of the eligible transportee's residence; and
(d) conduct hearings to establish the facts of transportation controversies that have been appealed from the decision of the trustees and act on the appeals on the basis of the facts established at the hearing; and
(e) determine if geographic conditions make it impractical for a child to attend school in the district of residence, in accordance with 20-5-321(1)(b).
(2) In an emergency situation, a temporary bus route change may be approved by the county superintendent. A bus route change approved by the county superintendent must be confirmed by the county transportation committee within 30 days in order to be continued for a period longer than 30 days.
(3) When the county transportation committee reviews a request for a new bus route or a change to an existing route, the committee shall consider the following:
(a) a map of the existing and proposed bus route;
(b) a description of turnarounds;
(c) conditions affecting safety;
(d) the total mileage and change in mileage of the affected bus route;
(e) the approximate total cost;
(f) reasons for the proposed bus route change;
(g) the number of children to be served;
(h) a copy of the official minutes of the meeting at which the school trustees approved the new bus route or route change; and
(i) any other information that the county transportation committee considers relevant.
(4) When an application for increased reimbursement for individual transportation is presented to the county transportation committee, it must include a signed individual transportation contract and a copy of the official minutes of the meeting at which the trustees acted upon the request for increased reimbursement.
(5) After a factfinding hearing and decision on a transportation controversy, the trustees or a patron of the district may appeal the decision to the superintendent of public instruction who shall issue a decision on the basis of the facts established at the county transportation committee hearing."
Section 9. Repealer. Section 20-9-334, MCA, is repealed.
Section 10. Effective dates. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), [this act] is effective July 1, 2001.
(2) [Section 5] is effective July 1, 2002.
Section 11. Applicability. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), [this act] applies to tuition paid for students who enroll out of district in the school fiscal year beginning on or after July 1, 2001.
(2) [Section 5] is applicable to budgets for the school fiscal year beginning on or after July 1, 2002.
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Latest Version of SB 65 (SB0065.ENR)
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Status of this Bill | 2001 Legislature | Leg. Branch
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