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68th Legislature 2023 HB 396.1
1 HOUSE BILL NO. 396
2 INTRODUCED BY N. HASTINGS, S. ESSMANN, S. VINTON, T. MOORE, K. SEEKINS -CROWE, R.
3 KNUDSEN
4
5 A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: “AN ACT REVISING LAWS RELATED TO THE ADMITTANCE OF
6 CHILDREN TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS; REQUIRING TRUSTEES TO ADMIT RESIDENT SCHOOL-AGED
7 CHILDREN ON A PART-TIME BASIS AT THE PARENT'S REQUEST; AMENDING SECTIONS 20-5-101 AND
8 20-5-102, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE AND AN APPLICABILITY DATE.”
9
10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
11
12 Section 1. Section 20-5-101, MCA, is amended to read:
13 "20-5-101. Admittance of child to school. (1) The trustees shall assign and admit a child to a school
14 in the district when the child is:
15 (a) 5 years of age or older on or bef ore September 10 of the year in which the child is to enroll but
16 is not yet 19 years of age;
17 (b) a resident of the district; and
18 (c) otherwise qualif ied under the provisions of this title to be admitted to the school.
19 (2) The trustees of a district may assign and admit any nonresident child to a school in the district
20 under the tuition provisions of this title.
21 (3) The trustees may at their discretion assign and admit a child to a school in the district who is
22 under 5 years of age or an adult who is 19 years of age or older if there are exceptional circumstances that
23 merit waiving the age provision of this section. The trustees may also admit an individual who has graduated
24 f rom high school but is not yet 19 years of age even though no special circumstances exist f or waiver of the age
25 provision of this section.
26 (4) The trustees shall assign and admit a child who is homeless, as def ined in the Stewart B.
27 McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (Public Law 100-77), to a school in the district regardless of residence. The
28 trustees may not require an out-of -district attendance agreement or tuition f or a homeless child.
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68th Legislature 2023 HB 396.1
1 (5) The trustees shall assign and admit a child whose parent or guardian is being relocated to
2 Montana under military orders to a school in the district and allow the child to preliminarily enroll in classes and
3 apply f or programs of fered by the district prior to arriv al and establishing residency.
4 (6) Except f or the provisions of subsection (4), tuition f or a nonresident child must be paid in
5 accordance with the tuition provisions of this title.
6 (7) The trustees' assignment of a child meeting the qualif ications of subs ection (1) to a school in
7 the district outside of the adopted school boundaries applicable to the child is subject to the district's grievance
8 policy. Upon completion of procedures set f orth in the district's grievance policy, the trustees' decision regard ing
9 the assignment is f inal.
10 (8) The trustees shall assign and admit a child who is enrolled in a nonpublic or home school and
11 who meets the requirements of subsection (1) as a part-time enrollee at the request of the child's parent or
12 guardian."
13
14 Section 2. Section 20-5-102, MCA, is amended to read:
15 "20-5-102. Compulsory enrollment and excuses. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), any
16 parent, guardian, or other person who is responsible f or the care of any child who is 7 years of age or older
17 prior to the f irst day of school in any school f iscal year shall cause the child to be instructed in the program
18 prescribed by the board of public education pursuant to 20-7-111 until the later of the f ollowing dates:
19 (a) the child's 16th birthday; or
20 (b) the date of completion of the work of the 8th grade.
21 (2) A parent, guardian, or other person shall enroll the child in the school assigned by the trustees
22 of the district within the f irst week of the school term or when the parent, guardian, or person establis hes
23 residence in the district unless the child is:
24 (a) enrolled in a school of another district or state under any of the tuition provisions of this title;
25 (b) provided with supervised correspondence study or supervised home study under the
26 transportation provisions of this title;
27 (c) excused f rom compulsory school attendance upon a determination by a district judge that
28 attendance is not in the best interest of the child;
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68th Legislature 2023 HB 396.1
1 (d) excused by the board of trustees upon a determination that attendance by a child who has
2 attained the age of 16 is not in the best interest of the child and the school; or
3 (e) enrolled in a nonpublic or home school that complies with the provisions of 20-5-109. For the
4 purposes of this subsection (2)(e), a home school is the instructio n by a parent of the parent's child, stepchild,
5 or ward in the parent's residence and a nonpublic school includes a parochial, church, religious, or private
6 school. A child enrolled in a nonpublic or home school may enroll on a part -time basis in a public school."
7
8 NEW SECTION. Section 3. Effective date. [This act] is ef f ective July 1, 2023.
9
10 NEW SECTION. Section 4. Applicability. [This act] applies to school years beginning on or af ter
11 July 1, 2023.
12 - END -
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Statutes affected:
HB0396_1.pdf: 20-5-101, 20-5-102
HB0396_2.pdf: 20-5-101, 20-5-102
Amended: 20-5-101, 20-5-102
Introduced: 20-5-101, 20-5-102