Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 20 > Chapter 6 - School Districts

• Aggregate hours: means the hours of pupil instruction for which a school course or program is offered or for which a pupil is enrolled. See Montana Code 20-1-101
• ANB: means the average number of regularly enrolled, full-time pupils physically attending a school of the district or an offsite instructional setting or receiving remote instruction from the public schools of a district. See Montana Code 20-1-101
• Applicant: means a group of residents of the located school district or county of the located school district or the local school board of the located school district that submits a proposal for a public charter school to the board of public education. See Montana Code 20-6-803
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• 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. See Montana Code 20-1-101
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• BASE: means base amount for school equity. See Montana Code 20-9-306
• BASE aid: means :

  (a)direct state aid for 44. See Montana Code 20-9-306

• BASE budget: means the minimum general fund budget of a district, which includes 80% of the basic entitlement, 80% of the total per-ANB entitlement, 100% of the total quality educator payment, 100% of the total at-risk student payment, 100% of the total Indian education for all payment, 100% of the total American Indian achievement gap payment, 100% of the total data-for-achievement payment, and 140% of the special education allowable cost payment. See Montana Code 20-9-306
• BASE funding program: means the state program for the equitable distribution of the state's share of the cost of Montana's basic system of public elementary schools and high schools, through county equalization aid as provided in 20-9-331 and 20-9-333 and state equalization aid as provided in 20-9-343, in support of the BASE budgets of districts and special education allowable cost payments as provided in 20-9-321. See Montana Code 20-9-306
• Baseline: Projection of the receipts, outlays, and other budget amounts that would ensue in the future without any change in existing policy. Baseline projections are used to gauge the extent to which proposed legislation, if enacted into law, would alter current spending and revenue levels.
• 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

• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• Board of public education: means the board created by Article X, section 9(3), of the Montana constitution and 2-15-1507. See Montana Code 20-6-803
• Budget unit: means the unit for which the ANB of a district is calculated separately pursuant to 20-9-311. See Montana Code 20-9-306
• Charter contract: means a fixed-term, renewable contract between a governing board of a public charter school and the board of public education that outlines the roles, powers, responsibilities, and performance expectations for each party to the contract. See Montana Code 20-6-803
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• County superintendent: means the county government official who is the school officer of the county. See Montana Code 20-1-101
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Department: means a principal functional and administrative entity that:

  (a)is created by this chapter within the executive branch of state government;

  (b)is one of the 20 principal departments permitted under the constitution; and

  (c)includes its units. See Montana Code 2-15-102

• Department head: means a director, commission, board, commissioner, or constitutional officer in charge of a department created by this chapter. See Montana Code 2-15-102
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• 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
• 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. See Montana Code 20-1-101
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• Educational program: means a set of educational offerings designed to meet the program area standards contained in the accreditation standards. See Montana Code 20-1-101
• 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.
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• 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
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Governing board: means the elected board of trustees of a public charter school district exercising supervision and control over a charter school or the local school board that is a party to the charter contract with the board of public education and that exercises supervision and control over a charter school pursuant to the charter contract. See Montana Code 20-6-803
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Local school board: means a preexisting board of trustees exercising supervision and control of the schools and programs of a local school district pursuant to Article X, section 8, of the Montana constitution and the laws of the state of Montana. See Montana Code 20-6-803
• Located school district: means the school district in which a proposed, preoperational, or operational public charter school is located and from which the separate boundaries of the charter school district are proposed to be formed. See Montana Code 20-6-803
• 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 and includes time spent logging on and off when receiving remote instruction. See Montana Code 20-1-101
• 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.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Parent: means a parent, guardian, or other person or entity having legal custody of a child. See Montana Code 20-6-803
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Personal property: means money, goods, chattels, things in action, and evidences of debt. See Montana Code 1-1-205
• Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
• 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. See Montana Code 20-1-101
• Proficiency: means a measure of competence that is demonstrated through application in a performance assessment. See Montana Code 20-7-1601
• Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
• Public charter school: means a public school that:

  (a)has autonomy over decisions including but not limited to matters concerning finance, personnel, scheduling, curriculum, and instruction as defined in a charter contract;

  (b)is governed by a local school board or, in the case of a governing board other than a local school board, by the governing board of the charter school district of which the charter school is a part;

  (c)is established and operated under the terms of a charter contract;

  (d)allows parents choose to enroll their children;

  (e)admits students on the basis of a lottery if more students apply for admission than can be accommodated;

  (f)provides a program of education that may include any or all grades from kindergarten through grade 12 and vocational education programs;

  (g)operates in pursuit of a specific set of educational objectives as defined in its charter contract;

  (h)operates under the general supervision of the board of public education in accordance with its charter contract; and

  (i)if the school is a high school, establishes graduation requirements and has authority to award degrees and issue diplomas. See Montana Code 20-6-803

• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Real property: means lands, tenements, hereditaments, and possessory title to public lands. See Montana Code 1-1-205
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• 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
• 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. See Montana Code 20-1-101
• school in the district: means an accredited school operated by the district that is located within the boundaries of the district operating the school. See Montana Code 20-1-101
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Student: means a child who is eligible for attendance in a public school in the state. See Montana Code 20-6-803
• 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
• System: means the Montana university system. See Montana Code 20-1-101
• Teacher: means a person, except a district superintendent, who holds a valid Montana teacher 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. See Montana Code 20-1-101
• Total data-for-achievement payment: means the payment provided in 20-9-325 resulting from multiplying $22. See Montana Code 20-9-306
• Total quality educator payment: means the payment resulting from multiplying $3,566 for fiscal year 2024 and $3,673 for each succeeding fiscal year by the sum of:

  (a)the number of full-time equivalent educators as provided in 20-9-327; and

  (b)as provided in 20-9-324, for a school district meeting the legislative goal for competitive base pay of teachers, the number of full-time equivalent teachers that were in the first 3 years of the teacher's teaching career in the previous year. See Montana Code 20-9-306

• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• 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

• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• trustee election: means the election for school board members held on the day established in 20-20-105(1). See Montana Code 20-1-101
• Trustees: means the governing board of a district. See Montana Code 20-1-101
• University: means the university of Montana-Missoula. See Montana Code 20-1-101