Additional Bill Links PDF (with line numbers)
SENATE BILL NO. 257
INTRODUCED BY L. JONES, ARNTZEN, COOK, HOLLANDSWORTH, RIPLEY
A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT CLARIFYING THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION; CLARIFYING THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF LOCAL TRUSTEES; AMENDING SECTIONS 20-1-101 AND 20-3-324, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE."
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. Section 20-1-101, MCA, is amended to read:
"20-1-101. Definitions. As used in this title, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following definitions apply:
(1) (a) "Accreditation standards" means the body of administrative rules governing standards such as:
(a)(i) school leadership;
(b)(ii) educational opportunity;
(c)(iii) academic requirements;
(d)(iv) program area standards;
(e)(v) content and performance standards;
(f)(vi) school facilities and records;
(g)(vii) student assessment; and
(h)(viii) general provisions.
(b) Accreditation standards represent the minimum standards upon which a basic system of free quality public elementary and secondary schools is built.
(2) "Aggregate hours" means the hours of pupil instruction for which a school course or program is offered or for which a pupil is enrolled.
(3) "Agricultural experiment station" means the agricultural experiment station established at Montana state university-Bozeman.
(4) "At-risk student" means any student who is affected by environmental conditions that negatively impact the student's educational performance or threaten a student's likelihood of promotion or graduation.
(5) "Average number belonging" or "ANB" means the average number of regularly enrolled, full-time pupils physically attending or receiving educational services at an offsite instructional setting from the public schools of a district.
(6) "Board of public education" means the board created by Article X, section 9, subsection (3), of the Montana constitution and 2-15-1507.
(7) "Board of regents" means the board of regents of higher education created by Article X, section 9, subsection (2), of the Montana constitution and 2-15-1505.
(8) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of higher education created by Article X, section 9, subsection (2), of the Montana constitution and 2-15-1506.
(9) "County superintendent" means the county government official who is the school officer of the county.
(10) "District superintendent" means a person who holds a valid class 3 Montana teacher certificate with a superintendent's endorsement that has been issued by the superintendent of public instruction under the provisions of this title and the policies adopted by the board of public education and who has been employed by a district as a district superintendent.
(11) (a) "Educational program" means a set of educational offerings designed to meet the program area standards contained in the accreditation standards.
(b) The term does not include an educational program or programs used in 20-4-121 and 20-25-803.
(12) "General supervision" or "generally supervise" means:
(a) when used to describe the power of the board of public education under this title, the authority to establish ADOPT accreditation standards, to adopt AND rules under the authority of the board of public education as set forth in this title, and to ensure compliance with the adopted rules; and
(b) when used to describe the power of the superintendent of public instruction or a county superintendent under this title, the authority to adopt rules under the authority of the superintendent of public instruction or county superintendent as set forth in this title and to ensure compliance with the adopted rules.
(12)(13) "K-12 career and vocational/technical education" means organized educational activities that have been approved by the office of public instruction and that:
(a) offer a sequence of courses that provide a pupil with the academic and technical knowledge and skills that the pupil needs to prepare for further education and for careers in the current or emerging employment sectors; and
(b) include competency-based applied learning that contributes to the academic knowledge, higher-order reasoning and problem-solving skills, work attitudes, general employability skills, technical skills, and occupation-specific skills of the pupil.
(13)(14) (a) "Minimum aggregate hours" means the minimum hours of pupil instruction that must be conducted during the school fiscal year in accordance with 20-1-301 and includes passing time between classes.
(b) The term does not include lunch time and periods of unstructured recess.
(14)(15) "Offsite instructional setting" means an instructional setting at a location, separate from a main school site, where a school district provides for the delivery of instruction to a student who is enrolled in the district.
(15)(16) "Principal" means a person who holds a valid class 3 Montana teacher certificate with an applicable principal's endorsement that has been issued by the superintendent of public instruction under the provisions of this title and the policies adopted by the board of public education and who has been employed by a district as a principal. For the purposes of this title, any reference to a teacher must be construed as including a principal.
(16)(17) "Pupil" means a child who is 6 years of age or older on or before September 10 of the year in which the child is to enroll or has been enrolled by special permission of the board of trustees under 20-5-101(3) but who has not yet reached 19 years of age and who is enrolled in a school established and maintained under the laws of the state at public expense. For purposes of calculating the average number belonging pursuant to 20-9-311, the definition of pupil includes a person who has not yet reached 19 years of age by September 10 of the year and is enrolled under 20-5-101(3) in a school established and maintained under the laws of the state at public expense.
(17)(18) "Pupil instruction" means the conduct of organized instruction of pupils enrolled in public schools while under the supervision of a teacher.
(18)(19) "Qualified and effective teacher or administrator" means an educator who is licensed and endorsed in the areas in which the educator teaches, specializes, or serves in an administrative capacity as established by the board of public education.
(19)(20) "Regents" means the board of regents of higher education.
(20)(21) "School food services" means a service of providing food for the pupils of a district on a nonprofit basis and includes any food service financially assisted through funds or commodities provided by the United States government.
(21)(22) "State board of education" means the board composed of the board of public education and the board of regents as specified in Article X, section 9, subsection (1), of the Montana constitution.
(22)(23) "State university" means Montana state university-Bozeman.
(23)(24) "Student with limited English proficiency" means any student:
(a) (i) who was not born in the United States or whose native language is a language other than English;
(ii) who is an American Indian and who comes from an environment in which a language other than English has had a significant impact on the individual's level of English proficiency; or
(iii) who is migratory, whose native language is a language other than English, and who comes from an environment in which a language other than English is dominant; and
(b) whose difficulties in speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language may be sufficient to deny the student:
(i) the ability to meet the state's proficiency assessments;
(ii) the ability to successfully achieve in classrooms where the language of instruction is English; or
(iii) the opportunity to participate fully in society.
(24)(25) "Superintendent of public instruction" means that state government official designated as a member of the executive branch by the Montana constitution.
(26) "Supervision and control" means the oversight and governance exercised by trustees under Article X, section 8, of the Montana constitution. The oversight and governance must include the authority to determine the specific means by which a school district strategically plans and engages families and communities. The trustees have the authority to oversee, implement, assess, and adjust the methods by which a school district educates the district's students and otherwise pursues the goal of developing the full educational potential of its students as set forth in Article X, section 1, of the Montana constitution.
(25)(27) "System" means the Montana university system.
(26)(28) "Teacher" means a person, except a district superintendent, who holds a valid Montana teacher certificate that has been issued by the superintendent of public instruction under the provisions of this title and the policies adopted by the board of public education and who is employed by a district as a member of its instructional, supervisory, or administrative staff. This definition of a teacher includes a person for whom an emergency authorization of employment has been issued under the provisions of 20-4-111.
(27)(29) "Textbook" means a book or manual used as a principal source of study material for a given class or group of students.
(28)(30) "Textbook dealer" means a party, company, corporation, or other organization selling, offering to sell, or offering for adoption textbooks to districts in the state.
(29)(31) "Trustees" means the governing board of a district.
(30)(32) "University" means the university of Montana-Missoula.
(31)(33) "Vocational-technical education" means vocational-technical education of vocational-technical students that is conducted by a unit of the Montana university system, a community college, or a tribally controlled community college, as designated by the board of regents."
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 exercise supervision and control over the district. Without limiting the trustees' general authority as specified in Article X, section 8, of the Montana constitution, the trustees shall perform the following duties:
(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 at the sole discretion of 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's 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 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 school 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 programs fund, building fund, lease or rental agreement fund, traffic education fund, impact aid fund, interlocal cooperative fund, and other funds as authorized by the state superintendent of public instruction 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) set the length of the school term, school day, and school week in accordance with 20-1-302;
(18) establish and maintain the instructional services of the schools of the district in accordance with the provisions of the instructional services, textbooks, K-12 career and vocational/technical education, and special education parts of this title;
(19) establish and maintain the school food services of the district in accordance with the provisions of the school food services parts of this title;
(20) make reports from time to time as the county superintendent, superintendent of public instruction, and board of public education may require;
(21) 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;
(22) 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 that trustees from a first-class school district may share the responsibility for visiting each school in the district;
(23) 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;
(24) 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.
(25) 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;
(26) 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;
(27) consider and may enter into an interlocal agreement with a postsecondary institution, as defined in 20-9-706, that authorizes 11th and 12th grade students to obtain credits through classes available only at a postsecondary institution;
(28) approve or disapprove the conduct of school on a Saturday in accordance with the provisions of 20-1-303;
(29) consider and, if advisable for a high school or K-12 district, establish a student financial institution, as defined in 32-1-115; and
(30) 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."
NEW SECTION. Section 3. Effective date. [This act] is effective on passage and approval.
- END -
Latest Version of SB
257 (SB0257.02)
Processed for the Web on February 18, 2013 (1:47pm)
New language in a bill appears underlined, deleted material appears stricken.
Sponsor names are handwritten on introduced bills, hence do not appear on the bill until it is reprinted.
See the status of this bill for the bill's primary sponsor.
Status of this
Bill | 2013
Legislature | Leg. Branch Home
All versions of this bill
(PDF format)
Authorized print version of this bill
w/line numbers (PDF format)
[ NEW
SEARCH ]
Prepared by Montana
Legislative Services
(406) 444-3064