Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

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68th Legislature 2023                                                                                             LC 1014
                                     _____________ BILL NO. _____________
                   INTRODUCED BY _________________________________________________
                                          (Primary Sponsor)
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  A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: “AN ACT GENERALLY REVISING LAWS RELATED TO EARLY
  CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS; 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; INCREASING STATE
  SUPPORT OF THE BEST BEGINNINGS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM TO DECREASE THE FINANCIAL
  BURDEN ON LOW-INCOME FAMILIES IN PROVIDING HIGH-QUALITY CHILD CARE; PROVIDING AN
  APPROPRIATION; AMENDING SECTIONS 20-1-301, 20-5-101, 20-7-117, 20-9-311, AND 20-9-313, 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 20-1-301, 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)      Except for a circumstance related to an unforeseen emergency pursuant to Title 20, chapter 9,
  part 8, 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
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  superintendent of public instruction shall reduce the BASE aid for the district for that school 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 2. 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)      The trustees shall assign and admit a child whose parent or guardian is being relocated to
  Montana under military orders to a school in the district and allow the child to preliminarily enroll in classes and
  apply for programs offered by the district prior to arrival and establishing residency.
           (6)      Except for the provisions of subsection (4), tuition for a nonresident child must be paid in
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68th Legislature 2023                                                                                              LC 1014
  accordance with the tuition provisions of this title.
          (7)      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
  the assignment is final."
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          Section 3. 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 a 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
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68th Legislature 2023                                                                                                 LC 1014
  integral part of the elementary school and must be governed accordingly. Financing of preschool programs may
  not be supported by money available from state equalization aid.
          (3)      The legislature intends that a board of trustees of an elementary or K-12 district that
  establishes a preschool program under this section does so in a collaborative manner that strengthens the
  existing network of early childhood care and education in the district and seeks to engage in partnerships to the
  greatest extent possible with the goal that each resident child of the district has access to a high-quality
  preschool education and enters kindergarten ready to develop the child's full educational potential.
          (4)      The trustees may contract with a head start provider or a community-based preschool provider
  to provide a preschool program under this section and include children served by the provider in the preschool
  enrollment counts for the purposes of ANB funding provided:
          (a)      the pupil's education program remains under the direction and supervision of the board of
  trustees as described in the terms of the contract;
          (b)      the contractor does not charge tuition or fees during any instructional time supported by public
  funds; and
          (c)      the contractor's preschool program is provided in accordance with the standards of
  accreditation for preschool programs adopted by the board of public education."
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          Section 4. Section 20-9-311, MCA, is amended to read:
          "20-9-311. Calculation of average number belonging (ANB) -- 3-year averaging. (1) Average
  number belonging (ANB) must be computed for each budget unit as follows:
          (a)      compute an average enrollment by adding a count of regularly enrolled pupils who were
  enrolled as of the first Monday in October of the prior school fiscal year to a count of regularly enrolled pupils on
  the first Monday in February of the prior school fiscal year or the next school day if those dates do not fall on a
  school day, and divide the sum by two; and
          (b)      multiply the average enrollment calculated in subsection (1)(a) by the sum of 180 and the
  approved pupil-instruction-related days for the current school fiscal year and divide by 180.
          (2)      For the purpose of calculating ANB under subsection (1), up to 7 approved pupil-instruction-
  related days may be included in the calculation.
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68th Legislature 2023                                                                                                  LC 1014
          (3)        When a school district has approval to operate less than the minimum aggregate hours under
  20-9-806, the total ANB must be calculated in accordance with the provisions of 20-9-805.
          (4)        (a)     Except as provided in subsection (4)(d), for the purpose of calculating ANB, enrollment
  in an education program:
          (i)        from 180 to 359 aggregate hours of pupil instruction per school year is counted as one-quarter-
  time enrollment;
          (ii)       from 360 to 539 aggregate hours of pupil instruction per school year is counted as half-time
  enrollment;
          (iii)      from 540 to 719 aggregate hours of pupil instruction per school year is counted as three-
  quarter-time enrollment; and
          (iv)       720 or more aggregate hours of pupil instruction per school year is counted as full-time
  enrollment.
          (b)        Except as provided in subsection (4)(d), enrollment in a program intended to provide fewer than
  180 aggregate hours of pupil instruction per school year may not be included for purposes of ANB.
          (c)        Enrollment in a self-paced program or course may be converted to an hourly equivalent based
  on the hours necessary and appropriate to provide the course within a regular classroom schedule.
          (d)        A school district may include in its calculation of ANB a pupil who is enrolled in a program
  providing fewer than the required aggregate hours of pupil instruction required under subsection (4)(a) or (4)(b)
  if the pupil has demonstrated proficiency in the content ordinarily covered by the instruction as determined by
  the school board using district assessments. The ANB of a pupil under this subsection (4)(d) must be converted
  to an hourly equivalent based on the hours of instruction ordinarily provided for the content over which the
  student has demonstrated proficiency.
          (e)        A pupil in kindergarten through grade 12 who is concurrently enrolled in more than one public
  school, program, or district may not be counted as more than one full-time pupil enrollment for ANB purposes.
          (5)        For a district that is transitioning from a half-time to a full-time preschool or kindergarten
  program, the state superintendent shall count preschool or kindergarten enrollment in the previous year as full-
  time enrollment for the purpose of calculating ANB for the elementary programs offering full-time preschool or
  kindergarten in the current year. For the purposes of calculating the 3-year ANB, the superintendent of public
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  instruction shall count the preschool or kindergarten enrollment as one-half enrollment and then add the
  additional kindergarten ANB to the 3-year average ANB for districts offering full-time preschool or kindergarten.
            (6)     When a pupil has been absent, with or without excuse, for more than 10 consecutive school
  days, the pupil may not be included in the enrollment count used in the calculation of the ANB unless the pupil
  resumes attendance prior to the day of the enrollment count.
            (7)     (a) The enrollment of preschool pupils, as provided in 20-7-117, may not be included in the
  ANB calculations.A pupil in the following programs may be included in the ANB calculations:
            (i)     a preschool program established under 20-7-117, provided the pupil has reached 3 years of
  age on or before September 10 of the school year; or
            (ii)    a special education program for a preschool child with a disability established under 20-7-
  411(3).
            (b)     Except as provided in subsection (7)(c), a pupil who has reached 19 years of age by
  September 10 of the school year may not be included in the ANB calculations.
            (c)     A pupil with disabilities who is over 19 years of age and has not yet reached 21 years of age by
  September 10 of the school year and who is receiving special education services from a school district pursuant
  to 20-7-411(4)(a) may be included in the ANB calculations if:
            (i)     the student has not graduated;
            (ii)    the student is eligible for special education services and is likely to be eligible for adult services
  for individuals with developmental disabilities due to the significance of the student's disability; and
            (iii)   the student's individualized education program has identified transition goals that focus on
  preparation for living and working in the community following high school graduation since age 16 or the
  student's disability has increased in significance after age 16.
            (d)     A school district providing special education services pursuant to subsection (7)(c) is
  encouraged to collaborate with agencies and programs that serve adults with developmental disabilities in
  meeting the goals of a student's transition plan.
            (8)     The average number belonging of the regularly enrolled pupils for the public schools of a
  district must be based on the aggregate of all the regularly enrolled pupils attending the schools of the district,
  except that:
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68th Legislature 2023                                                                                              LC 1014
          (a)      the ANB is calculated as a separate budget unit when:
          (i)      a school of the district is located more than 20 miles beyond the incorporated limits of a city or
  town located in the district and at least 20 miles from any other school of the district, the number of regularly
  enrolled pupils of the school must be calculated as a separate budget unit for ANB purposes and the district
  must receive a basic entitlement for the school calculated separately from the other schools of the district;
          (ii)     a school of the district is located more than 20 miles from any other school of the district and
  incorporated territory is not involved in the district, the number of regularly enrolled pupils of the school must be
  calculated separately for ANB purposes and the district must receive a basic entitlement for the school
  calculated separately from the other schools of the district;
          (iii)    the superintendent of public instruction approves an application not to aggregate when
  conditions exist affecting transportation, such as poor roads, mountains, rivers, or other obstacles to travel, or
  when any other condition exists that would result in an unusual hardship to the pupils of the school if they were
  transported to another school, the number of regularly enrolled pupils of the school must be calculated
  separately for ANB purposes and the district must receive