20-8-102. Objects and purposes -- assistance to programs -- tracking children who are deaf or hard of hearing or blind -- fee. (1) The Montana school for the deaf and blind is a residential and day school for children and adolescents who are deaf or hard of hearing or blind or whose hearing or sight requires specialized support to develop their full educational potential.

(2) The school shall serve as a consultative resource for parents of deaf or hard-of-hearing and visually impaired children not yet enrolled in an educational program and for public schools of the state in which deaf or hard-of-hearing or visually impaired children are enrolled. The school upon request shall ensure that services and programs for deaf or hard-of-hearing or visually impaired children are appropriate and sufficient. The school may provide assistance to the programs that the school determines is needed. The school may collect a reasonable fee for the assistance from the public school or other responsible agency receiving the assistance.

(3) The school shall establish a system for tracking a child identified as deaf or hard of hearing or visually impaired from the time of identification as a child with a disability through the child's exit from intervention or educational services.

(4) The object and purpose of the school are to furnish and provide, by the use of specialized methods and systems, an education for the deaf or hard-of-hearing and visually impaired children of this state that is commensurate with the education provided to children who are not deaf or hard of hearing or blind in the public schools and that will enable children being served by the school to become independent and self-sustaining citizens.