House Bill No. [insert bill number] seeks to enhance early literacy targeted intervention programs in Montana by revising existing education laws. The bill clarifies that school districts can partner with community organizations to include children in enrollment counts for Average Number Belonging (ANB) purposes, allowing districts to increase their ANB count when expanding early literacy programs. It establishes a temporary grant program to support the creation or expansion of these initiatives and amends several sections of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA), specifically sections 20-9-311, 20-9-313, and 20-9-516. Key amendments include provisions for including students in in-person early literacy programs in ANB calculations, provided these programs are supervised by the school board and conducted by district-employed teachers.

Additionally, the bill introduces an early literacy targeted intervention boost grant program for the biennium beginning July 1, 2025, which aims to support school districts in expanding access to early literacy programs without imposing additional costs on local taxpayers. The program will allocate $1,000 for every ANB increase to qualifying districts, with specific requirements for fund usage. The bill appropriates $2 million from the school facility and technology account for this purpose and stipulates that the act will apply to school fiscal years starting on or after July 1, 2025, with a termination date of June 30, 2027, for the relevant sections.

Statutes affected:
LC Text: 20-9-311, 20-9-313, 20-9-516
HB0654_1(1): 20-9-311, 20-9-313, 20-9-516
HB0654_1: 20-9-311, 20-9-313, 20-9-516