Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

67th Legislature                                                                                                      SB 342.1
                                                     SENATE BILL NO. 342
                                                 INTRODUCED BY S. O'BRIEN
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   A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: “AN ACT GENERALLY REVISING EDUCATION LAWS RELATED TO
   PUBLIC PRESCHOOL PROGRAMS; REVISING THE DEFINITION OF "PUPIL"; ALLOWING PRESCHOOL
   PUPILS TO BE INCLUDED IN AVERAGE NUMBER BELONGING CALCULATIONS; ELIMINATING THE BAR
   AGAINST USING STATE EQUALIZATION AID TO PROVIDE FUNDING FOR PRESCHOOL PROGRAMS;
   AMENDING SECTIONS 20-1-101, 20-1-301, 20-5-101, 20-7-117, AND 20-9-311, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN
   EFFECTIVE DATE.”
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   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
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              Section 1. Section 20-1-101, MCA, is amended to read:
              "20-1-101.    Definitions. As used in this title, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the
   following definitions apply:
              (1)   "Accreditation standards" means the body of administrative rules governing standards such as:
              (a)   school leadership;
              (b)   educational opportunity;
              (c)   academic requirements;
              (d)   program area standards;
              (e)   content and performance standards;
              (f)   school facilities and records;
              (g)   student assessment; and
              (h)   general provisions.
              (2)   "Aggregate hours" means the hours of pupil instruction for which a school course or program is
   offered or for which a pupil is enrolled.
              (3)   "Agricultural experiment station" means the agricultural experiment station established at Montana
   state university-Bozeman.
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              (4)   "At-risk student" means any student who is affected by environmental conditions that negatively
   impact the student's educational performance or threaten a student's likelihood of promotion or graduation.
              (5)   "Average number belonging" or "ANB" means the average number of regularly enrolled, full-time
   pupils physically attending or receiving educational services at an offsite instructional setting from the public
   schools of a district.
              (6)   "Board of public education" means the board created by Article X, section 9, subsection (3), of the
   Montana constitution and 2-15-1507.
              (7)   "Board of regents" means the board of regents of higher education created by Article X, section 9,
   subsection (2), of the Montana constitution and 2-15-1505.
              (8)   "Commissioner" means the commissioner of higher education created by Article X, section 9,
   subsection (2), of the Montana constitution and 2-15-1506.
              (9)   "County superintendent" means the county government official who is the school officer of the
   county.
              (10) "District superintendent" means a person who holds a valid class 3 Montana teacher certificate
   with a superintendent's endorsement that has been issued by the superintendent of public instruction under the
   provisions of this title and the policies adopted by the board of public education and who has been employed by
   a district as a district superintendent.
              (11) (a) "Educational program" means a set of educational offerings designed to meet the program
   area standards contained in the accreditation standards.
              (b)   The term does not include an educational program or programs used in 20-4-121 and 20-25-803.
              (12) "K-12 career and vocational/technical education" means organized educational activities that have
   been approved by the office of public instruction and that:
              (a)   offer a sequence of courses that provide a pupil with the academic and technical knowledge and
   skills that the pupil needs to prepare for further education and for careers in the current or emerging
   employment sectors; and
              (b)   include competency-based applied learning that contributes to the academic knowledge, higher-
   order reasoning and problem-solving skills, work attitudes, general employability skills, technical skills, and
   occupation-specific skills of the pupil.
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               (13) (a) "Minimum aggregate hours" means the minimum hours of pupil instruction that must be
   conducted during the school fiscal year in accordance with 20-1-301 and includes passing time between
   classes.
               (b)   The term does not include lunch time and periods of unstructured recess.
               (14) "Offsite instructional setting" means an instructional setting at a location, separate from a main
   school site, where a school district provides for the delivery of instruction to a student who is enrolled in the
   district.
               (15) "Principal" means a person who holds a valid class 3 Montana teacher certificate with an
   applicable principal's endorsement that has been issued by the superintendent of public instruction under the
   provisions of this title and the policies adopted by the board of public education and who has been employed by
   a district as a principal. For the purposes of this title, any reference to a teacher must be construed as including
   a principal.
               (16) "Pupil" means a child who is 5 years of age or older on or before September 10 of the year in
   which the child is to enroll or has been enrolled by special permission of the board of trustees under 20-5-
   101(3) but who has not yet reached 19 years of age and an individual who is admitted by the board of trustees
   pursuant to 20-5-101 and who is enrolled in a school established and maintained under the laws of the state at
   public expense. For purposes of calculating the average number belonging pursuant to 20-9-311, the definition
   of pupil includes a person who has not yet reached 19 years of age by September 10 of the year and is enrolled
   under 20-5-101(3) in a school established and maintained under the laws of the state at public expense. The
   eligibility of pupils and calculations for average number belonging are governed by 20-9-311.
               (17) "Pupil instruction" means the conduct of organized instruction of pupils enrolled in public schools
   while under the supervision of a teacher.
               (18) "Qualified and effective teacher or administrator" means an educator who is licensed and
   endorsed in the areas in which the educator teaches, specializes, or serves in an administrative capacity as
   established by the board of public education.
               (19) "Regents" means the board of regents of higher education.
               (20) "Regular school election" or "trustee election" means the election for school board members held
   on the day established in 20-20-105(1).
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67th Legislature                                                                                                     SB 342.1
              (21) "School election" means a regular school election or any election conducted by a district or
   community college district for authorizing taxation, authorizing the issuance of bonds by an elementary, high
   school, or K-12 district, or accepting or rejecting any proposition that may be presented to the electorate for
   decision in accordance with the provisions of this title.
              (22) "School food services" means a service of providing food for the pupils of a district on a nonprofit
   basis and includes any food service financially assisted through funds or commodities provided by the United
   States government.
              (23) "Special school election" means an election held on a day other than the day of the regular school
   election, primary election, or general election.
              (24) "State board of education" means the board composed of the board of public education and the
   board of regents as specified in Article X, section 9, subsection (1), of the Montana constitution.
              (25) "State university" means Montana state university-Bozeman.
              (26) "Student with limited English proficiency" means any student:
              (a)   (i) who was not born in the United States or whose native language is a language other than
   English;
              (ii) who is an American Indian and who comes from an environment in which a language other than
   English has had a significant impact on the individual's level of English proficiency; or
              (iii) who is migratory, whose native language is a language other than English, and who comes from an
   environment in which a language other than English is dominant; and
              (b)   whose difficulties in speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language may be
   sufficient to deny the student:
              (i)   the ability to meet the state's proficiency assessments;
              (ii) the ability to successfully achieve in classrooms where the language of instruction is English; or
              (iii) the opportunity to participate fully in society.
              (27) "Superintendent of public instruction" means that state government official designated as a
   member of the executive branch by the Montana constitution.
              (28) "System" means the Montana university system.
              (29) "Teacher" means a person, except a district superintendent, who holds a valid Montana teacher
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67th Legislature                                                                                                     SB 342.1
   certificate that has been issued by the superintendent of public instruction under the provisions of this title and
   the policies adopted by the board of public education and who is employed by a district as a member of its
   instructional, supervisory, or administrative staff. This definition of a teacher includes a person for whom an
   emergency authorization of employment has been issued under the provisions of 20-4-111.
              (30) "Textbook" means a book or manual used as a principal source of study material for a given class
   or group of students.
              (31) "Textbook dealer" means a party, company, corporation, or other organization selling, offering to
   sell, or offering for adoption textbooks to districts in the state.
              (32) "Trustees" means the governing board of a district.
              (33) "University" means the university of Montana-Missoula.
              (34) "Vocational-technical education" means vocational-technical education of vocational-technical
   students that is conducted by a unit of the Montana university system, a community college, or a tribally
   controlled community college, as designated by the board of regents."
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              Section 2. Section 20-1-301, MCA, is amended to read:
              "20-1-301.   School fiscal year. (1) The school fiscal year begins on July 1 and ends on June 30. At
   least the minimum aggregate hours required in subsection (2) must be conducted during each school fiscal
   year, except that 1,050 aggregate hours of pupil instruction for graduating seniors may be sufficient. The
   minimum aggregate hours required in subsection (2) are not required for any pupil demonstrating proficiency
   pursuant to 20-9-311(4)(d).
              (2)   The minimum aggregate hours required by grade are:
              (a)   360 hours for a half-time preschool or kindergarten program or 720 hours for a full-time preschool
   or kindergarten program, as provided in 20-7-117;
              (b)   720 hours for grades 1 through 3; and
              (c)   1,080 hours for grades 4 through 12.
              (3)   For any elementary or high school district that fails to provide for at least the minimum aggregate
   hours, as listed in subsections (1) and (2), to any pupil not demonstrating proficiency pursuant to 20-9-
   311(4)(d), the superintendent of public instruction shall reduce the direct state aid for the district for that school
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67th Legislature                                                                                                        SB 342.1
   year by two times an hourly rate, as calculated by the office of public instruction, for the aggregate hours
   missed by each pupil not demonstrating proficiency pursuant to 20-9-311(4)(d)."
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              Section 3. Section 20-5-101, MCA, is amended to read:
              "20-5-101.    Admittance of child to school. (1) The trustees shall assign and admit a child to a school
   in the district when the child is:
              (a)   5 years of age or older on or before September 10 of the year in which the child is to enroll but is
   not yet 19 years of age;
              (b)   a resident of the district; and
              (c)   otherwise qualified under the provisions of this title to be admitted to the school.
              (2)   The trustees of a district may assign and admit any nonresident child to a school in the district
   under the tuition provisions of this title.
              (3)   The trustees may at their discretion assign and admit to a school in the district:
              (a)   a child to a school in the district who is under 5 years of age or to be enrolled in a preschool or
   kindergarten program established under 20-7-117 or in a special education program established under 20-7-
   411;
              (b)   an adult who is 19 years of age or older if there are exceptional circumstances that merit waiving
   the age provision of this section. The trustees may also admit; and
              (c)   an individual who has graduated from high school but is not yet 19 years of age even though no
   special circumstances exist for waiver of the age provision of this section.
              (4)   The trustees shall assign and admit a child who is homeless, as defined in the Stewart B.
   McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (Public Law 100-77), to a school in the district regardless of residence. The
   trustees may not require an out-of-district attendance agreement or tuition for a homeless child.
              (5)   Except for the provisions of subsection (4), tuition for a nonresident child must be paid in
   accordance with the tuition provisions of this title.
              (6)   The trustees' assignment of a child meeting the qualifications of subsection (1) to a school in the
   district outside of the adopted school boundaries applicable to the child is subject to the district's grievance
   policy. Upon completion of procedures set forth in the district's grievance policy, the trustees' decision regarding
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67th Legislature                                                                                                 SB 342.1
   the assignment is final."
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              Section 4. Section 20-7-117, MCA, is amended to read:
              "20-7-117.    Kindergarten and preschool programs. (1) The trustees of an elementary district:
              (a)   may establish and operate a free preschool program for children 3 to 5 years of age pursuant to
   20-5-101(3)(a); and
              (b)    shall establish or make available a kindergarten program capable of accommodating, at a
   minimum, all the children in the district who will be 5 years old on or before September 10 of the school year for
   which the program is to be conducted or who have been enrolled by special permission at the discretion of the
   board of trustees pursuant to 20-5-101(3)(a).
              (2)   (a) The preschool program and the kindergarten program:, which the trustees may designate as
   either a half-time or full-time program,
              (i)   must be an integral part of the elementary school and must be financed and governed accordingly,
   provided that to be eligible for inclusion in the calculation of ANB pursuant to 20-9-311, a child must have
   reached 5 years of age on or before September 10 of the school year covered by the calculation or have been
   enrolled by special permission of the board of trustees. ;
              (ii) may be designated as either a half-time or a full-time program; and
              (iii) A kindergarten program must meet the minimum aggregate hour requirements established in 20-1-
   301.
              (b)   A preschool program or kindergarten program that is designated as a full-time program must allow
   a parent, guardian, or other person who is responsible for the enrollment of a child in school, as provided in 20-
   5-102, to enroll the child half-time.
              (2)   The trustees of an elementary school district may establish and operate a free preschool program
   for children between the ages of 3 and 5 years. When preschool programs are established, they must be an