20-7-420. Residency requirements -- financial responsibility for special education. (1) Except for a pupil attending the Montana youth challenge program or a job corps program pursuant to 20-9-707, a child's district of residence for special education purposes must be determined in accordance with the provisions of 1-1-215, unless otherwise determined by the court. This applies to a child living at home, in an institution, or under foster care. If the parent has left the state, the parent's last-known district of residence is the child's district of residence.
     (2) The superintendent of public instruction is financially responsible for tuition and transportation as established under 20-5-323 and 20-5-324 for a child with a disability, as defined in 20-7-401, who attends school outside the district and county of residence because the student has been placed in a foster care or group home licensed by the state. The superintendent of public instruction is not financially responsible for tuition and transportation for a child who is placed by a state agency in an out-of-state public school or an out-of-state private residential facility.
     (3) If an eligible child, as defined in 20-7-436, is receiving inpatient treatment in an in-state residential treatment facility or children's psychiatric hospital, as defined in 20-7-436, and the educational services are provided by a public school district under the provisions of 20-7-411 or 20-7-435, the superintendent of public instruction shall reimburse the district providing the services for the negotiated amount, as established pursuant to 20-7-435(5), that represents the district's costs of providing education and related services. Payments must be made from funds appropriated for this purpose. If the negotiated amount exceeds the daily membership rate under 20-7-435(3) and any per-ANB amount of direct state aid, the superintendent of public instruction shall pay the remaining balance from available funds. However, the amount spent from available funds for this purpose may not exceed $500,000 during a biennium.
     (4) A state agency that makes a placement of a child with a disability is responsible for the financial costs of room and board and the treatment of the child. The state agency that makes an out-of-state placement of a child with a disability is responsible for the education fees required to provide a free appropriate public education that complies with the requirements of Title 20, chapter 7, part 4.

     History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 470, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 765, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 375, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 10, Ch. 563, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 28, Ch. 509, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 529, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 99(4), Ch. 51, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 343, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 132, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 255, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 463, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 137, L. 2009.