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SENATE BILL NO. 35
INTRODUCED BY F. THOMAS
AN ACT REVISING LAWS RELATED TO SCHOOL SAFETY; CLARIFYING COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN YOUTH COURTS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS; STRENGTHENING COUNTY INTERDISCIPLINARY CHILD INFORMATION AND SCHOOL SAFETY TEAMS; ALLOWING REGIONAL INTERDISCIPLINARY CHILD INFORMATION AND SCHOOL SAFETY TEAMS; REVISING REQUIREMENTS FOR WRITTEN AGREEMENTS; AMENDING SECTIONS 20-1-401, 41-3-205, 41-3-208, 41-5-215, 52-2-211, AND 52-2-304, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. Section 20-1-401, MCA, is amended to read:
"20-1-401. Disaster drills to be conducted regularly -- districts to identify disaster risks and adopt school safety plan. (1) As used in this part, "disaster" means the occurrence or imminent threat of damage, injury, or loss of life or property. Disaster drills must be conducted regularly in accordance with this part.
(2) A board of trustees shall identify the local hazards that exist within the boundaries of its school district and design and incorporate drills in its school safety plan or emergency operations plan to address those hazards.
(3) A board of trustees shall adopt a school safety plan or emergency operations plan that addresses issues of school safety relating to school buildings and facilities, communications systems, and school grounds with the input from the local community and that addresses coordination on issues of school safety, if any, with the county or regional interdisciplinary child information and school safety team provided for in 52-2-211. The trustees shall certify to the office of public instruction that a school safety plan or emergency operations plan has been adopted. The trustees shall review the school safety plan or emergency operations plan periodically and update the plan as determined necessary by the trustees based on changing circumstances pertaining to school safety. Once the trustees have made the certification to the office of public instruction, the trustees may transfer funds pursuant to 20-9-236 to make improvements to school safety and security."
Section 2. Section 41-3-205, MCA, is amended to read:
"41-3-205. Confidentiality -- disclosure exceptions. (1) The case records of the department and its local affiliate, the local office of public assistance, the county attorney, and the court concerning actions taken under this chapter and all records concerning reports of child abuse and neglect must be kept confidential except as provided by this section. Except as provided in subsections (9) and (10), a person who purposely or knowingly permits or encourages the unauthorized dissemination of the contents of case records is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(2) Records may be disclosed to a court for in camera inspection if relevant to an issue before it. The court may permit public disclosure if it finds disclosure to be necessary for the fair resolution of an issue before it.
(3) Records, including case notes, correspondence, evaluations, videotapes, and interviews, unless otherwise protected by this section or unless disclosure of the records is determined to be detrimental to the child or harmful to another person who is a subject of information contained in the records, may be disclosed to the following persons or entities in this state and any other state or country:
(a) a department, agency, or organization, including a federal agency, military enclave, or Indian tribal organization, that is legally authorized to receive, inspect, or investigate reports of child abuse or neglect and that otherwise meets the disclosure criteria contained in this section;
(b) a licensed youth care facility or a licensed child-placing agency that is providing services to the family or child who is the subject of a report in the records or to a person authorized by the department to receive relevant information for the purpose of determining the best interests of a child with respect to an adoptive placement;
(c) a health or mental health professional who is treating the family or child who is the subject of a report in the records;
(d) a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother, sister, guardian, mandatory reporter provided for in 41-3-201(2) and (5), or person designated by a parent or guardian of the child who is the subject of a report in the records or other person responsible for the child's welfare, without disclosure of the identity of any person who reported or provided information on the alleged child abuse or neglect incident contained in the records;
(e) a child named in the records who was allegedly abused or neglected or the child's legal guardian or legal representative, including the child's guardian ad litem or attorney or a special advocate appointed by the court to represent a child in a pending case;
(f) the state protection and advocacy program as authorized by 42 U.S.C. 15043(a)(2);
(g) approved foster and adoptive parents who are or may be providing care for a child;
(h) a person about whom a report has been made and that person's attorney, with respect to the relevant records pertaining to that person only and without disclosing the identity of the reporter or any other person whose safety may be endangered;
(i) an agency, including a probation or parole agency, that is legally responsible for the supervision of an alleged perpetrator of child abuse or neglect;
(j) a person, agency, or organization that is engaged in a bona fide research or evaluation project and that is authorized by the department to conduct the research or evaluation;
(k) the members of an interdisciplinary child protective team authorized under 41-3-108 or of a family group decisionmaking meeting for the purposes of assessing the needs of the child and family, formulating a treatment plan, and monitoring the plan;
(l) the coroner or medical examiner when determining the cause of death of a child;
(m) a child fatality review team recognized by the department[, including the child abuse and neglect review commission established in 2-15-2019];
(n) a department or agency investigating an applicant for a license or registration that is required to operate a youth care facility, day-care facility, or child-placing agency;
(o) a person or entity who is carrying out background, employment-related, or volunteer-related screening of current or prospective employees or volunteers who have or may have unsupervised contact with children through employment or volunteer activities. A request for information under this subsection (3)(o) must be made in writing. Disclosure under this subsection (3)(o) is limited to information that indicates a risk to children, persons with developmental disabilities, or older persons posed by the person about whom the information is sought, as determined by the department.
(p) the news media, if disclosure is limited to confirmation of factual information regarding how the case was handled and if disclosure does not violate the privacy rights of the child or the child's parent or guardian, as determined by the department;
(q) an employee of the department or other state agency if disclosure of the records is necessary for administration of programs designed to benefit the child;
(r) an agency of an Indian tribe, a qualified expert witness, or the relatives of an Indian child if disclosure of the records is necessary to meet requirements of the federal Indian Child Welfare Act;
(s) a juvenile probation officer who is working in an official capacity with the child who is the subject of a report in the records;
(t) an attorney who is hired by or represents the department if disclosure is necessary for the investigation, defense, or prosecution of a case involving child abuse or neglect;
(u) a foster care review committee established under 41-3-115 or, when applicable, a citizen review board established under Title 41, chapter 3, part 10;
(v) a school employee participating in an interview of a child by a social worker, county attorney, or peace officer, as provided in 41-3-202;
(w) a member of a county or regional interdisciplinary child information and school safety team formed under the provisions of 52-2-211;
(x) members of a local interagency staffing group provided for in 52-2-203;
(y) a member of a youth placement committee formed under the provisions of 41-5-121; or
(z) a principal of a school or other employee of the school district authorized by the trustees of the district to receive the information with respect to a student of the district who is a client of the department.
(4) (a) The records described in subsection (3) must be disclosed to a member of the United States congress or a member of the Montana legislature if all of the following requirements are met:
(i) the member receives a written inquiry regarding a child and whether the laws of the United States or the state of Montana that protect children from abuse or neglect are being complied with or whether the laws need to be changed to enhance protections for children;
(ii) the member submits a written request to the department requesting to review the records relating to the written inquiry. The member's request must include a copy of the written inquiry, the name of the child whose records are to be reviewed, and any other information that will assist the department in locating the records.
(iii) before reviewing the records, the member:
(A) signs a form that outlines the state and federal laws regarding confidentiality and the penalties for unauthorized release of the information; and
(B) receives from the department an orientation of the content and structure of the records.
(b) Records disclosed pursuant to subsection (4)(a) are confidential, must be made available for the member to view at a location determined by the department but may not be copied, recorded, photographed, or otherwise replicated by the member, and must remain solely in the department's possession.
(c) Access to records requested pursuant to this subsection (4) is limited to 6 months from the date the written request to review records was received by the department.
(5) (a) The records described in subsection (3) must be promptly released to any of the following individuals upon a written request by the individual to the department or the department's designee:
(i) the attorney general;
(ii) a county attorney or deputy county attorney of the county in which the alleged abuse or neglect occurred;
(iii) a peace officer, as defined in 45-2-101, in the jurisdiction in which the alleged abuse or neglect occurred; or
(iv) the office of the child and family ombudsman.
(b) The records described in subsection (3) must be promptly disclosed by the department to an appropriate individual described in subsection (5)(a) or to a county or regional interdisciplinary child information and school safety team established pursuant to 52-2-211 upon the department's receipt of a report indicating that any of the following has occurred:
(i) the death of the child as a result of child abuse or neglect;
(ii) a sexual offense, as defined in 46-23-502, against the child;
(iii) exposure of the child to an actual and not a simulated violent offense as defined in 46-23-502; or
(iv) child abuse or neglect, as defined in 41-3-102, due to exposure of the child to circumstances constituting the criminal manufacture or distribution of dangerous drugs.
(c) (i) The department shall promptly disclose the results of an investigation to an individual described in subsection (5)(a) or to a county or regional interdisciplinary child information and school safety team established pursuant to 52-2-211 upon the determination that:
(A) there is reasonable cause to suspect that a child has been exposed to a Schedule I or Schedule II drug whose manufacture, sale, or possession is prohibited under state law; or
(B) a child has been exposed to drug paraphernalia used for the manufacture, sale, or possession of a Schedule I or Schedule II drug that is prohibited by state law.
(ii) For the purposes of this subsection (5)(c), exposure occurs when a child is caused or permitted to inhale, have contact with, or ingest a Schedule I or Schedule II drug that is prohibited by state law or have contact with drug paraphernalia as defined in 45-10-101.
(6) A school or school district may disclose, without consent, personally identifiable information from the education records of a pupil to the department, the court, a review board, and the child's assigned attorney, guardian ad litem, or special advocate.
(7) Information that identifies a person as a participant in or recipient of substance abuse treatment services may be disclosed only as allowed by federal substance abuse confidentiality laws, including the consent provisions of the law.
(8) The confidentiality provisions of this section must be construed to allow a court of this state to share information with other courts of this state or of another state when necessary to expedite the interstate placement of children.
(9) A person who is authorized to receive records under this section shall maintain the confidentiality of the records and may not disclose information in the records to anyone other than the persons described in subsections (3)(a) and (5). However, this subsection may not be construed to compel a family member to keep the proceedings confidential.
(10) A news organization or its employee, including a freelance writer or reporter, is not liable for reporting facts or statements made by an immediate family member under subsection (9) if the news organization, employee, writer, or reporter maintains the confidentiality of the child who is the subject of the proceeding.
(11) This section is not intended to affect the confidentiality of criminal court records, records of law enforcement agencies, or medical records covered by state or federal disclosure limitations.
(12) Copies of records, evaluations, reports, or other evidence obtained or generated pursuant to this section that are provided to the parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother, sister, guardian, or parent's or guardian's attorney must be provided without cost. (Bracketed language in subsection (3)(m) terminates September 30, 2021--sec. 12, Ch. 235, L. 2017.) "
Section 3. Section 41-3-208, MCA, is amended to read:
"41-3-208. Rulemaking authority. (1) The department of public health and human services shall adopt rules to govern the procedures used by department personnel in preparing and processing reports and in making investigations authorized by this chapter.
(2) The department may adopt rules to govern the disclosure of case records containing reports of child abuse and neglect.
(3) The department shall adopt a rule specifying the procedure to be used for the release and disclosure of records as provided in 41-3-205(5). In adopting the rule, the department shall collaborate with the attorney general, the office of the child and family ombudsman, and appropriate county attorneys, law enforcement agencies, and county or regional interdisciplinary child information and school safety teams established pursuant to 52-2-211."
Section 4. Section 41-5-215, MCA, is amended to read:
"41-5-215. Youth court and department records -- notification of school. (1) Formal youth court records, including reports of preliminary inquiries, petitions, motions, other filed pleadings, court findings, verdicts, and orders and decrees on file with the clerk of court, are public records and are open to public inspection until the records are sealed under 41-5-216.
(2) Social, medical, and psychological records, youth assessment materials, predispositional studies, and supervision records of probationers are open only to the following:
(a) the youth court and its professional staff;
(b) representatives of any agency providing supervision and having legal custody of a youth;
(c) any other person, by order of the court, having a legitimate interest in the case or in the work of the court;
(d) any court and its probation and other professional staff or the attorney for a convicted party who had been a party to proceedings in the youth court when considering the sentence to be imposed upon on the party;
(e) the county attorney;
(f) the youth who is the subject of the report or record, after emancipation or reaching the age of majority;
(g) a member of a county or regional interdisciplinary child information and school safety team formed under 52-2-211 who is not listed in this subsection (2);
(h) members of a local interagency staffing group provided for in 52-2-203;
(i) persons allowed access under 42-3-203; and
(j) persons conducting evaluations as required in 41-5-2003.
(3) (a) Notwithstanding the requirements of 20-5-321(1)(d) or (1)(e), subject to the provisions of subsection (3)(b) of this section, and according to the guidelines in subsection (3)(f) of this section, the chief probation officer or other designee from the district that has jurisdiction over the matter or the department of corrections for youth under the supervision of the department shall notify the school district that the youth presently attends or the school district that the youth has applied to attend of a youth's past or current drug use or criminal activity if after an investigation has been completed:
(i) a petition has been filed with the youth court or charges are filed in district court alleging a violation of any section in Title 45, chapter 5; or
(ii) the youth has admitted the allegation and the acts involve any offense in which another youth was an alleged victim and the admitted activity has a bearing on the safety of children.
(b) Notification under subsection (3)(a) may not be given for status offenses.
(c) Notification under subsection (3)(a) terminates upon the end of the youth court's supervision or the discharge of the youth by the department of corrections.
(d) A school district may not refuse to accept the student if refusal violates the federal Individuals With Disabilities Education Act or the federal Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990.
(e) The administrative officials of the school district may enforce school disciplinary procedures that existed at the time of the admission or adjudication. The information may not be further disclosed and may not be made part of the student's permanent records.
(f) Notification to the school district under subsection (3)(a) must be provided to:
(i) the school district superintendent or the superintendent's designee in districts that employ a superintendent;
(ii) the building principal or the principal's designee in school districts where the building principal is the only administrator; or
(iii) the county superintendent in school districts that do not employ an administrator.
(4)(3) In all cases, a victim is entitled to all information concerning the identity and disposition of the youth, as provided in 41-5-1416.
(5)(4) The school district may disclose, without consent, personally identifiable information from an education record of a pupil to the youth court and law enforcement authorities pertaining to violations of the Montana Youth Court Act or criminal laws by the pupil. The youth court or law enforcement authorities receiving the information shall certify in writing to the school district that the information will not be disclosed to any other party except as provided under state law without the prior consent of the parent or guardian of the pupil.
(6)(5) Any part of records information secured from records listed in subsection (2), when presented to and used by the court in a proceeding under this chapter, must also be made available to the counsel for the parties to the proceedings."
Section 5. Section 52-2-211, MCA, is amended to read:
"52-2-211. County or regional interdisciplinary child information and school safety team. (1) The following persons and agencies operating within a county commissioners of each county shall by written agreement form ensure the formation of a county or regional interdisciplinary child information and school safety team that includes representatives authorized by any of the following:
(a) the youth court;
(b) the county attorney;
(c) the department of public health and human services;
(d) the county superintendent of schools;
(e) the sheriff;
(f) the chief of any police force;
(g) the superintendents of public school districts any board of trustees of a public school district operating within the boundaries of the county; and
(h) the department of corrections.
(2) Officials under subsection (1) from one county may also cooperate with officials under subsection (1) from any other county to form regional interdisciplinary child information and school safety teams, in which case access to information under 41-5-215(2) is authorized for all members of the regional team for each county participating in a regional team. The formation of regional teams must be formalized by written agreement between participating counties.
(2)(3) The persons and agencies signing a written agreement under subsection (1) listed in subsection (1) or (2) may by majority vote allow the following persons to sign the written agreement and join the team:
(a) physicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, nurses, and other providers of medical and mental health care;
(b) entities operating private elementary and secondary schools;
(c) attorneys; and
(d) a person or entity that has or may have a legitimate interest in one or more children that the team will serve.
(3)(4) (a) The members of the team or their designees may form one or more auxiliary teams for the purpose of providing service to a single child, a group of children, or children with a particular type of problem or for any other purpose. Auxiliary teams are subject to the written agreement.
(b) A member of an auxiliary team must be a person who has personal knowledge of or experience with the child or children in the member's respective field.
(4)(5) The purpose of the team and written agreement is to facilitate the ensure the timely exchange and sharing of information that one or more team members may be able to use in serving a child in the course of their professions and occupations, including but not limited to abused or neglected children, delinquent youth, and youth in need of intervention, and of information relating to issues of school safety. Information regarding a child that a team member supplies to other team members or that is disseminated to a team member under 41-3-205 or 41-5-215(2) and (3) may not be disseminated beyond the organizations or departments that have an authorized member on the team under subsection (1) or (2) this section.
(5)(6) The terms of the A written agreement must may be created to provide for the rules under which the team will operate, the method by which information will be shared, distributed, and managed, and any other matters necessary to the purpose and functions of the team. Any agreement created may not limit access of any team member to information under 41-5-215(2).
(6)(7) The terms of the written agreement must state how the team will An interdisciplinary child information and school safety team shall coordinate its efforts with interdisciplinary child protective teams as provided in 41-3-108 and youth placement committees as provided for in 41-5-121.
(7)(8) To the extent that the county or regional interdisciplinary child information and school safety team is involved in a proceeding that is held prior to adjudication of a youth in youth court, the team satisfies the requirements of 20 U.S.C. 1232g(b)(1)(E)(ii)(I) of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. Montana school districts may release education records to the team. The terms of the written agreement described in subsection (5) must include a requirement that the The officials and authorities to whom the information is disclosed certify in writing to the school district that is releasing the education records that the education records or information from the education records will not be disclosed may not disclose any information to any other party without the prior written consent of the parent or guardian of the student.
(9) The county superintendent of schools shall provide to the office of public instruction a current copy of any written agreement under this section no later than September 1. The office of public instruction shall report to the education interim committee no later than September 15 any county that has not provided a written agreement under this section."
Section 6. Section 52-2-304, MCA, is amended to read:
"52-2-304. Committee duties. (1) The committee established in 52-2-303 shall, to the extent possible within existing resources:
(a) develop policies aimed at eliminating or reducing barriers to the implementation of a system of care;
(b) promote the development of an in-state quality array of core services in order to assist in returning high-risk children with multiagency service needs from out-of-state placements, limiting and preventing the placement of high-risk children with multiagency service needs out of state, and maintaining high-risk children with multiagency service needs within the least restrictive and most appropriate setting;
(c) advise local agencies to ensure that the agencies comply with applicable statutes, administrative rules, and department policy in committing funds and resources for the implementation of unified plans of care for high-risk children with multiagency service needs and in making any determination that a high-risk child with multiagency service needs cannot be served by an in-state provider;
(d) encourage the development of local interagency teams with participation from representatives from child serving agencies who are authorized to commit resources and make decisions on behalf of the agency represented;
(e) specify outcome indicators and measures to evaluate the effectiveness of the system of care;
(f) develop mechanisms to elicit meaningful participation from parents, family members, and youth who are currently being served or who have been served in the children's system of care; and
(g) take into consideration the policies, plans, and budget developed by any service area authority provided for in 53-21-1006.
(2) The committee shall coordinate responsibility for the development of a stable system of care for high-risk children with multiagency service needs that may include, as appropriate within existing resources:
(a) pooling funding from federal, state, and local sources to maximize the most cost-effective use of funds to provide services in the least restrictive and most appropriate setting to high-risk children with multiagency service needs;
(b) applying for federal waivers and grants to improve the delivery of integrated services to high-risk children with multiagency service needs;
(c) providing for multiagency data collection and for analysis relevant to the creation of an accurate profile of the state's high-risk children with multiagency service needs in order to provide for the use of services based on client needs and outcomes and use of the analysis in the decisionmaking process;
(d) developing mechanisms for the pooling of human and fiscal resources; and
(e) providing training and technical assistance, as funds permit, at the local level regarding governance, development of a system of care, and delivery of integrated multiagency children's services.
(3) (a) In order to maximize integration and minimize duplication, the local interagency team, provided for in subsection (1)(d), may be facilitated in conjunction with an existing statutory team for providing youth services, including:
(i) a child protective team as provided for in 41-3-108;
(ii) a youth placement committee as provided for in 41-5-121 and 41-5-122;
(iii) a county or regional interdisciplinary child information and school safety team or an auxiliary team as provided for in 52-2-211;
(iv) a foster care review committee as provided for in 41-3-115;
(v) a local citizen review board as provided for in 41-3-1003; and
(vi) a local advisory council as provided for in 53-21-702.
(b) If the local interagency team decides to coordinate and consolidate statutory teams, it shall ensure that all state and federal rules, laws, and policies required of the individual statutory teams are fulfilled."
Section 7. Effective date. [This act] is effective on passage and approval.
- END -
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