Montana Code Annotated 2023

TITLE 20. EDUCATION

CHAPTER 5. PUPILS

Part 3. Attendance Outside School District

Tuition Payment Provisions -- State Obligations -- District Obligations -- Financing -- Reporting

20-5-324. Tuition payment provisions -- state obligations -- district obligations -- financing -- reporting. (1) In order to be eligible to receive state reimbursement or payment under subsection (2)(a), the trustees of a district shall report to the superintendent of public instruction by June 30 the following information for the concluding school fiscal year:

(a) the name and district of residence of each child who attended a school of the district under a mandatory out-of-district attendance agreement approved under the provisions of 20-5-321(1)(d) or (1)(e);

(b) the number of days of enrollment for each child reported under the provisions of subsection (1)(a);

(c) the annual tuition rate for each child's tuition payment, as determined under the provisions of 20-5-323, and the tuition cost for each child reported under the provisions of subsection (1)(a);

(d) the names, districts of attendance, and amount of tuition paid by the district for resident students attending public schools out of state; and

(e) the names, schools of attendance, and amount of tuition to be paid by the district for resident students attending day-treatment programs under approved individualized education programs at private, nonsectarian schools.

(2) (a) Subject to the limitations of 20-5-323, the superintendent of public instruction shall:

(i) except as provided in subsection (2)(b) of this section, pay the district of attendance the amount of the tuition obligation reported under subsection (1)(c) of this section, prorated for the actual days of enrollment;

(ii) determine the total per-ANB entitlement for which the district of residence would have been eligible if the students reported in subsections (1)(d) and (1)(e) of this section had been enrolled in the resident district in the prior year; and

(iii) reimburse the district of residence for the state portion of the per-ANB entitlement for each student reported in subsections (1)(d) and (1)(e) of this section, not to exceed the district's actual payment of tuition or fees for service for the student in the previous year.

(b) The district of residence for each child reported under the provisions of subsection (1)(a) of this section shall pay the district of attendance the tuition rate under 20-5-323(1) prorated for the actual days of enrollment. The superintendent of public instruction is only responsible for any additional tuition amount pursuant to 20-5-323(2) and (3).

(3) Whenever a child enrolls in and attends a school outside of the child's district of residence under the provisions of 20-5-320 or 20-5-321, by July 15 following the year of attendance, the district of attendance shall notify the district of residence of an obligation under 20-5-323.

(4) (a) (i) When a child attends a school outside the child's district of residence at the resident district's expense under the provisions of 20-5-320 or 20-5-321 or when a child has approval to attend a day-treatment program under an approved individualized education program at a private, nonsectarian school located in or outside of the child's district of residence, the district of residence shall finance any tuition amount required under 20-5-323 from the levy authorized to support the district tuition fund or from the district's general fund or any other legally available fund in the discretion of the trustees and any transportation amount from the levy authorized to support the transportation fund or from the district's general fund or any other legally available fund in the discretion of the trustees.

(ii) By December 31 of the school fiscal year following the year of attendance, the district of residence shall pay at least one-half of any tuition and transportation obligation established under subsection (4)(a)(i). The remaining tuition and transportation obligation must be paid by June 15 of the school fiscal year following the year of attendance.

(iii) In addition to use of a tuition levy to pay tuition for out-of-district attendance of a resident pupil, a school district may also include in its tuition levy an amount necessary to pay for the full costs of providing a free appropriate public education, as defined in 20-7-401, in the district to any child with a disability who lives in the district. The amount of the levy imposed for the costs associated with educating each child with a disability under this subsection (4)(a)(iii) is limited to the actual cost of service under the child's individualized education program minus:

(A) the student's state special education payment;

(B) the student's federal special education payment;

(D) the prorated portion of the district's basic entitlement for each qualifying student; and

(E) the prorated portion of the district's general fund payments in 20-9-327 through 20-9-330 for each qualifying student.

(b) When a child has approval to attend a school outside the child's district of residence because of a parent's or guardian's request under the provisions of 20-5-320 or 20-5-321(1)(c), the parent or guardian of the child is responsible for transportation unless otherwise agreed to in the out-of-district attendance agreement.

(5) (a) Except as provided in subsection (5)(b), the district of attendance shall anticipate and credit tuition receipts to the district general fund, to reduce the general fund net levy requirement first to the BASE budget and any remaining to the over-BASE budget pursuant to 20-9-141, and transportation receipts to the transportation fund. In order to provide local property tax reduction for the tuition amount received under 20-5-323(1), the amount of the reduction in the BASE budget mills levied as a result of anticipated tuition payments must be calculated as a final step in computing the district's general fund net BASE levy requirement pursuant to the procedure set forth in 20-9-141(2) and the district's guaranteed tax base aid must be calculated prior to the reduction in BASE mills.

(b) Any tuition receipts received for a pupil who is a child with a disability under 20-5-323(2) or for a student without disabilities who requires a program with costs that exceed the average district costs under 20-5-323(3) that exceed the tuition amount received for a pupil without disabilities must be deposited in the district miscellaneous programs fund and must be used in the manner provided for in 20-9-507 to support the costs of the program for which the tuition was received.

(6) The reimbursements paid under subsection (2)(a)(iii) must be deposited into the district tuition fund and must be used by the district to pay obligations for resident students attending public schools out of state or for resident students attending day-treatment programs under approved individualized education programs at private, nonsectarian schools at district expense.

(7) The provisions of this section do not apply to out-of-state placements made by a state agency pursuant to 20-7-422.

(8) In accordance with 5-11-210, the superintendent of public instruction shall report annually to the education interim committee on out-of-district attendance under 20-5-320 through 20-5-324 in the prior school fiscal year. The report must include the following for each school district:

(a) the total enrollment of the district;

(b) the number of nonresident students served by the district under out-of-district attendance agreements; and

History: En. Sec. 5, Ch. 563, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 27, Ch. 509, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 9, Ch. 22, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 389, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 529, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 99(4), Ch. 51, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 464, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 130, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 463, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 305, L. 2013; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 371, L. 2021; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 368, L. 2023.