19-20-302. Active membership. (1) Unless otherwise provided by this chapter, the following persons must be active members of the retirement system:
     (a) a person who is a teacher, principal, or district superintendent as defined in 20-1-101;
     (b) a person who is an administrative officer or a member of the instructional or scientific staff of a unit of the Montana university system and who has not elected or is not required to participate in the optional retirement program under Title 19, chapter 21;
     (c) a person employed as a speech-language pathologist, school nurse, or school psychologist or in a teaching capacity by the office of the superintendent of public instruction, the office of a county superintendent, a special education cooperative, a public institution of the state of Montana, the Montana state school for the deaf and blind, or a school district;
     (d) a person who is an administrative officer or a member of the instructional staff of the board of public education; and
     (e) the superintendent of public instruction or a person employed in an instructional services capacity by the office of public instruction.
     (2) A person elected to the office of county superintendent of schools after July 1, 1995, is not eligible for optional membership in the public employees' retirement system under the provisions of 19-3-412 and may, within 30 days of taking office, elect to become an active member of the teachers' retirement system. The retirement system membership of an elected county superintendent of schools as of June 30, 1995, must remain unchanged for as long as the person continues to serve in the capacity of county superintendent of schools.
     (3) In order to be eligible for active membership, a person described in subsection (1) or (2) must:
     (a) be employed in the capacity prescribed for the person's eligibility for at least 30 days in any fiscal year; and
     (b) have the compensation for the person's creditable service totally paid by an employer.
     (4) (a) A substitute teacher or a part-time teacher's aide:
     (i) shall file an irrevocable written election determining whether to become an active member of the retirement system on the first day of employment; or
     (ii) is required to become an active member of the retirement system after completing 210 hours of employment in any fiscal year if the substitute teacher or part-time teacher's aide has not elected membership under subsection (4)(a)(i).
     (b) Once a part-time teacher's aide becomes a member, the aide is required to remain an active member as long as the aide is employed in that capacity. Once a substitute teacher becomes a member, the substitute teacher is required to remain a member as long as the teacher is available for employment in that capacity.
     (c) A person employed as a substitute teacher on July 1, 1999, who has not elected to become a member by that date shall file an irrevocable written election as required by subsection (4)(a)(i) on the first day of employment as a substitute in the next school year after July 1, 1999.
     (d) A person employed as a part-time teacher's aide on July 1, 2001, who is not a member of the retirement system shall file an irrevocable written election as required by subsection (4)(a)(i) on the first day of employment as a part-time teacher's aide after July 1, 2001.
     (e) The employer shall give written notification to a substitute teacher or part-time teacher's aide on the first day of employment of the option to elect membership under subsection (4)(a)(i).
     (f) If a substitute teacher or part-time teacher's aide declines to elect membership during the election period, the teacher or part-time teacher's aide shall file a written statement with the employer waiving membership and the employer shall retain the statement.
     (5) A school district clerk or business official may not become a member of the teachers' retirement system. A school district clerk or business official who is a member of the system on July 1, 2001, is required to remain an active member of the system while employed in that capacity, and any postretirement earnings from employment as a school district clerk or school business official are subject to the limit on earnings provided in 19-20-804.
     (6) At any time that a person's eligibility to become a member of the retirement system is in doubt, the retirement board shall determine the person's eligibility for membership. All persons in similar circumstances must be treated alike.
     (7) As used in this section, "part-time teacher's aide" means an individual who works less than 7 hours a day assisting a certified teacher in a classroom.

     History: En. 75-6209 by Sec. 104, Ch. 5, L. 1971; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 127, L. 1977; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 331, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 75-6209; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 221, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 210, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 22, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 296, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 12, Ch. 494, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 658, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 56, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 178, L. 1993; Sec. 19-4-302, MCA 1991; redes. 19-20-302 by Code Commissioner, 1993; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 111, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 10, Ch. 308, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 108, Ch. 42, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 111, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 45, L. 2001.