20-5-324. (Temporary) Tuition report and payment provisions. (1) In order to be eligible to receive payment under subsection (2), the trustees of a district shall report to the superintendent of public instruction by June 30 the following information for the concluding school fiscal year:

Terms Used In Montana Code 20-5-324

  • Basic entitlement: means :

    (a)for each high school district:

    (i)$343,483 for fiscal year 2024 and $353,787 for each succeeding fiscal year for school districts with an ANB of 800 or fewer; and

    (ii)$343,483 for fiscal year 2024 and $353,787 for each succeeding fiscal year for school districts with an ANB of more than 800, plus $17,175 for fiscal year 2024 and $17,690 for each succeeding fiscal year for each additional 80 ANB over 800;

    (b)for each elementary school district or K-12 district elementary program without an approved and accredited junior high school, 7th and 8th grade program, or middle school:

    (i)$57,246 for fiscal year 2024 and $58,963 for each succeeding fiscal year for school districts or K-12 district elementary programs with an ANB of 250 or fewer; and

    (ii)$57,246 for fiscal year 2024 and $58,963 for each succeeding fiscal year for school districts or K-12 district elementary programs with an ANB of more than 250, plus $2,863 for fiscal year 2024 and $2,949 for each succeeding fiscal year for each additional 25 ANB over 250;

    (c)for each elementary school district or K-12 district elementary program with an approved and accredited junior high school, 7th and 8th grade program, or middle school:

    (i)for the district's kindergarten through grade 6 elementary program:

    (A)$57,246 for fiscal year 2024 and $58,963 for each succeeding fiscal year for school districts or K-12 district elementary programs with an ANB of 250 or fewer; and

    (B)$57,246 for fiscal year 2024 and $58,963 for each succeeding fiscal year for school districts or K-12 district elementary programs with an ANB of more than 250, plus $2,863 for fiscal year 2024 and $2,949 for each succeeding fiscal year for each additional 25 ANB over 250; and

    (ii)for the district's approved and accredited junior high school, 7th and 8th grade programs, or middle school:

    (A)$114,493 for fiscal year 2024 and $117,928 for each succeeding fiscal year for school districts or K-12 district elementary programs with combined grades 7 and 8 with an ANB of 450 or fewer; and

    (B)$114,493 for fiscal year 2024 and $117,928 for each succeeding fiscal year for school districts or K-12 district elementary programs with combined grades 7 and 8 with an ANB of more than 450, plus $5,724 for fiscal year 2024 and $5,896 for each succeeding fiscal year for each additional 45 ANB over 450. See Montana Code 20-9-306

  • district: means the territory, regardless of county boundaries, organized under the provisions of this title to provide public educational services under the jurisdiction of the trustees prescribed by this title. See Montana Code 20-6-101
  • Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • fund: means a separate detailed account of receipts and expenditures for a specific purpose as authorized by law or by the superintendent of public instruction under the provisions of subsection (2). See Montana Code 20-9-201
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Pupil: means 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. See Montana Code 20-1-101
  • school: means an institution for the teaching of children that is established and maintained under the laws of the state of Montana at public expense. See Montana Code 20-6-501
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
  • Superintendent of public instruction: means that state government official designated as a member of the executive branch by the Montana constitution. See Montana Code 20-1-101
  • Transportation: means :

    (a)a district's conveyance of a pupil by a school bus between the pupil's legal residence or an officially designated bus stop and the school designated by the trustees for the pupil's attendance; or

    (b)individual transportation. See Montana Code 20-10-101

  • Trustees: means the governing board of a district. See Montana Code 20-1-101

(a)the name and district of residence of each child who attended a school of the district under a mandatory out-of-district attendance agreement approved under the provisions of 20-5-321(1)(d) or (1)(e);

(b)the number of days of enrollment for each child reported under the provisions of subsection (1)(a);

(c)the annual tuition rate for each child’s tuition payment, as determined under the provisions of 20-5-323, and the tuition cost for each child reported under the provisions of subsection (1)(a);

(d)the names, districts of attendance, and amount of tuition paid by the district for resident students attending public schools out of state; and

(e)the names, schools of attendance, and amount of tuition to be paid by the district for resident students attending day-treatment programs under approved individualized education programs at private, nonsectarian schools.

(2)(a) Subject to the limitations of 20-5-323, the superintendent of public instruction shall:

(i)except as provided in subsection (2)(b) of this section, pay the district of attendance the amount of the tuition obligation reported under subsection (1)(c), prorated for the actual days of enrollment;

(ii)determine the total per-ANB entitlement for which the district of residence would have been eligible if the students reported in subsections (1)(d) and (1)(e) had been enrolled in the resident district in the prior year; and

(iii)reimburse the district of residence for the state portion of the per-ANB entitlement for each student reported in subsections (1)(d) and (1)(e), not to exceed the district’s actual payment of tuition or fees for service for the student in the previous year.

(b)The district of residence for each child reported under the provisions of subsection (1)(a) of this section shall pay the district of attendance twice the maximum tuition rate under 20-5-323(1) prorated for the actual days of enrollment. The superintendent of public instruction is only responsible for any additional tuition amount pursuant to 20-5-323(2) and (3).

(3)By August 15 following the year of attendance, the district of attendance shall notify the district of residence of an obligation under subsection (2)(b). By December 31 following the year of attendance, the district of residence shall pay at least one-half of any tuition obligation established under subsection (2)(b) out of the money realized to date from the district tuition fund levy or from the district’s general fund or any other legally available fund in the discretion of the trustees. The remaining tuition obligation must be paid by June 15 of the school fiscal year following the year of attendance.

(4)Notwithstanding the requirements of subsection (5)(a), tuition payment provisions for out-of-district placement of students with disabilities must be determined pursuant to Title 20, chapter 7, part 4.

(5)(a) (i) When a child has approval to attend a school outside the child’s district of residence at the resident district’s expense under the provisions of 20-5-320 or 20-5-321(1)(a) or (1)(b) or when a child has approval to attend a day-treatment program under an approved individualized education program at a private, nonsectarian school located in or outside of the child’s district of residence, the district of residence shall finance the tuition amount from the levy authorized to support the district tuition fund or from the district’s general fund or any other legally available fund in the discretion of the trustees and any transportation amount from the levy authorized to support the transportation fund or from the district’s general fund or any other legally available fund in the discretion of the trustees.

(ii)By December 31 of the school fiscal year following the year of attendance, the district of residence shall pay at least one-half of any tuition and transportation obligation established under subsection (5)(a)(i). The remaining tuition and transportation obligation must be paid by June 15 of the school fiscal year following the year of attendance.

(iii)In addition to use of a tuition levy to pay tuition for out-of-district attendance of a resident pupil, a school district may also include in its tuition levy an amount necessary to pay for the full costs of providing a free appropriate public education, as defined in 20-7-401, in the district to any child with a disability who lives in the district. The amount of the levy imposed for the costs associated with educating each child with a disability under this subsection (5)(a)(iii) is limited to the actual cost of service under the child’s individualized education program minus:

(A)the student’s state special education payment;

(B)the student’s federal special education payment;

(C)the student’s per-ANB amount;

(D)the prorated portion of the district’s basic entitlement for each qualifying student; and

(E)the prorated portion of the district’s general fund payments in 20-9-327 through 20-9-330 for each qualifying student.

(b)When a child has approval to attend a school outside the child’s district of residence because of a parent’s or guardian‘s request under the provisions of 20-5-320 or 20-5-321(1)(c), the parent or guardian of the child shall finance the tuition and transportation amount.

(6)(a) Except as provided in subsections (6)(b) through (6)(d), the district shall credit tuition receipts to the district general fund and transportation receipts to the transportation fund.

(b)Any tuition receipts received under the provisions of 20-5-323(3) for the current school fiscal year that exceed the tuition receipts of the prior year may be deposited in the district miscellaneous programs fund and must be used for that year in the manner provided for in 20-9-507 to support the costs of the program for which the tuition was received.

(c)Any tuition receipts received for the current school fiscal year for a pupil who is a child with a disability that exceed the tuition amount received for a pupil without disabilities may be deposited in the district miscellaneous programs fund and must be used for that year in the manner provided for in 20-9-507 to support the costs of the program for which the tuition was received.

(d)Any other tuition receipts received for the current school fiscal year that exceed the tuition receipts of the prior year may be deposited in the district miscellaneous programs fund and may be used for that year in the manner provided for in that fund. For the ensuing school fiscal year, the receipts must be credited to the district general fund budget.

(7)The reimbursements paid under subsection (2)(a)(iii) must be deposited into the district tuition fund and must be used by the district to pay obligations for resident students attending public schools out of state or for resident students attending day-treatment programs under approved individualized education programs at private, nonsectarian schools at district expense.

(8)The provisions of this section do not apply to out-of-state placements made by a state agency pursuant to 20-7-422.

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