INTRODUCED
BY D. Salomon
By Request of the Education Interim Committee
AN ACT REVISING LAWS RELATED TO SECONDARY K-12 CAREER AND VOCATIONAL/TECHNICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS; clarifying state support for SECONDARY K-12 CAREER AND VOCATIONAL/TECHNICAL EDUCATION and for State-level strengthening career and technology student organizations; AMENDING Section 20-7-305, MCA; and PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE and AN APPLICABILITY DATE."
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. Section 20-7-305, MCA, is amended to read:
"20-7-305. Funding for secondary K-12 career and vocational/technical education programs -- application -- rules. (1) The superintendent of public instruction shall annually distribute money from the biennial appropriation for secondary K-12 career and vocational/technical education. The money must be allocated to:
(a) high school districts providing approved secondary K-12 career and vocational/technical education programs in accordance with 20-7-306 and this section; and
(b) career
and technical student organizations for grants in accordance with 20-7-320.
(2) A high school district providing secondary K-12 career and vocational/technical education programs shall apply to the superintendent of public instruction for funds available under 20-7-306 and this section. The superintendent of public instruction shall by rule prescribe the method for distribution, the form of the application, budget procedures, and accounting rules for the funds. The superintendent of public instruction may prescribe other requirements for the receipt of funding consistent with Title 20, chapter 7, part 3.
(3) A secondary K-12 career and vocational/technical education program in a high school district may not be funded until that program has been offered by the school district for 1 school year.
(4) As used in 20-7-306 and this section, the term "school district" means a district organized for the purpose of providing educational services for grades 9 through 12, but the term does not include postsecondary vocational education centers."
Section 2. Effective date. [This act] is effective July 1, 2021.
Section 3. Applicability. [This act] applies to school fiscal years beginning on or after July 1, 2021.