Title 20, Title 20

In administering the affairs of the office, the superintendent of public instruction has the power and it is the superintendent's duty to: (1) keep a record of official acts and all documents applicable to the administration of the office, preserve all official reports submitted …

The superintendent of public instruction has the general supervision of the public schools and districts of the state and shall perform the following duties or acts in implementing and enforcing the provisions of this title: (1) resolve any controversy resulting from the proratio…

(1) The superintendent of public instruction shall decide matters of controversy when they are appealed from: (a) a decision of a county superintendent rendered under the provisions of 20-3-210, except for a decision of a county superintendent or an arbitrator in a teacher termin…

Funds derived from the sale of educational materials or services provided by the division of resources and assessment must be deposited in the state general fund.

(1) The superintendent of public instruction may award an honorary high school diploma to a current or former Montana resident who: (a) did not receive a high school diploma; and (b) actively served in the United States armed services during World War II from 1939 through 1947, d…

(1) The superintendent of public instruction shall develop a process through which a resident of the state who has exhausted, in the determination of the superintendent, the possibility of earning a diploma from a high school accredited by the board of public education can pursue…

(1) A county superintendent must be elected in each county of the state unless a county manager form of government has been organized in the county. The county superintendent must be elected at the general election preceding the expiration of the term of office of the incumbent. …

(1) The county superintendent shall hold office for a term of 4 years. The county superintendent shall: (a) take the oath of office on or before the last business day of December following the superintendent's election; (b) assume office at 12:01 a.m. on January 1 following the s…

(1) The board of county commissioners shall supply the county superintendent with suitable office space and office supplies. The county superintendent must be paid from the county general fund all necessary traveling expenses actually incurred in discharging duties, after the exp…

(1) Except for a part-time county superintendent provided for under 20-3-201(4), the county superintendent of schools shall, during the office hours determined by the governing body, keep the office of the county superintendent open each day when the county superintendent is not …

(1) The county superintendent has general supervision of the schools of the county within the limitations prescribed by this title and shall perform the following duties or acts: (a) determine, establish, and reestablish trustee nominating districts in accordance with the provisi…

In the capacity as county superintendent, the county superintendent shall also serve as: (1) the presiding officer of the county transportation committee, as prescribed by 20-10-131; (2) an attendance officer for a district under the conditions prescribed by 20-5-104; and (3) the…

The county superintendent shall assist the trustees of any district that does not employ a district superintendent or principal with the supervision of their schools by: (1) visiting each school of the district at least once a school year while pupil instruction is being conducte…

(1) A county superintendent may, with the advice and consent of the appropriate school boards, request and accept money made available from federal, state, or private sources for purposes of public education. (2) Subject to applicable federal and state guidelines and, in the case…

The county superintendent of each county shall submit an annual report to the superintendent of public instruction on or before September 15. The report must be completed on the forms supplied by the superintendent of public instruction and must include: (1) the final budget info…

(1) Except for disputes arising under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement or as provided under 20-3-211 or 20-4-208, the county superintendent shall hear and decide all matters of controversy arising in the county as a result of decisions of the trustees of a district …

A county superintendent may not hear or decide matters of controversy pursuant to 20-3-210 when: (1) the county superintendent is a party to or has an interest in the controversy; (2) the county superintendent is related to either party in the controversy by consanguinity or affi…

(1) When a county superintendent is disqualified pursuant to 20-3-211, that county superintendent must appoint another county superintendent to hear and decide the matter of controversy arising pursuant to 20-3-210. (2) The county in which the controversy was initiated shall reim…

(1) A board of county commissioners that intends to establish the office of county superintendent of schools as a part-time office shall: (a) pass a resolution stating the intent of the board to consider the action; (b) set a date for a hearing on the issue and provide proper not…

(1) Every trustee position prescribed by this title is subject to election. Except as provided in 20-3-313, a school trustee election must be held annually on the regular school election day established in 20-20-105(1). (2) The term of office for each position must be 3 years unl…

(1) It is the intention of the legislature that the terms of a majority of the trustee positions of any district with elected trustees may not regularly expire and be subject to election on the same regular school election day. In elementary districts, there may not be more than …

Whenever a trustee position is subject to election because a vacancy of such position has occurred since the last regular school election day, the term of the trustee position shall not change and the member elected to fill such position shall serve the remainder of the unexpired…

(1) Except as provided in 20-3-338, any person who is qualified to vote in a district under the provisions of 20-20-301 is eligible for the office of trustee. (2) (a) Except as provided in subsection (2)(b), a declaration of intent to be a candidate must be submitted to the clerk…

(1) The trustees of each district shall call a trustee election on the regular school election day of each school fiscal year under the provisions of 20-20-201, except as provided in 20-3-313. The trustees shall call and conduct the trustee election in the manner prescribed in th…

(1) A person who receives a certificate of election as a trustee under the provisions of 20-3-313 or 20-20-416 may not assume the trustee position until the person has qualified. The person shall qualify by taking an oath of office administered by the county superintendent, the s…

(1) An elected trustee position is vacant whenever the incumbent: (a) dies; (b) resigns; (c) moves the trustee's residence from the applicable district or from the nominating district in the case of an additional trustee in a high school district; (d) is no longer a registered el…

(1) Whenever a trustee position becomes vacant in any district, the remaining members of the trustees shall declare the position vacant and they shall appoint, in writing within 60 days, a competent person as a successor. The trustees shall notify the appointee and the county sup…

Any trustee may be removed from the trustee position by a court of competent jurisdiction under the law providing for the removal of elected civil officials. When charges are brought against a trustee and good cause is shown, the board of county commissioners may suspend the trus…

The members of the trustees of any district may not receive compensation for their services as trustees, except that the secretary of the trustees of a high school district operating a county high school or the secretary of a joint board of trustees may be compensated for service…

The trustees of any district to which the territory of another district is attached as a result of annexation, abandonment, territory transfer, or any other method of changing district boundaries, except by the reorganization of districts under 20-6-423, continue to be the truste…

(1) If the number of candidates filing for vacant positions or filing a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate under 20-3-305(2)(b) is equal to or less than the number of positions to be elected, the trustees may cancel the election. (2) If the election is canceled, the…

(1) The office of public instruction shall create a repository, accessible through its website, that makes the following information readily available for each school district of the state, which is updated within 14 days following the qualification and oathtaking under 20-3-307 …

(1) The trustees of each district shall annually organize as a governing board of the district after the regular school election day and after the issuance of the election certificates to the newly elected trustees, but not later than 25 days after the election. In order to organ…

(1) The trustees of a district shall hold at least the following number of regular meetings: (a) an organization meeting, as prescribed by 20-3-321; (b) a final budget meeting, as prescribed by 20-9-131; and (c) (i) in first-class elementary districts, not less than one regular m…

(1) The trustees of each district shall prescribe and enforce policies for the government of the district. In order to provide a comprehensive system of governing the district, the trustees shall: (a) adopt the policies required by this title; (b) adopt policies to implement or a…

As prescribed elsewhere in this title, the trustees of a district shall exercise supervision and control of the schools of the district in providing its educational program pursuant to Article X, section 8, of the Montana constitution, and shall: (1) employ or dismiss a teacher, …

(1) As provided in 20-3-321, the trustees shall employ and appoint a clerk of the district. The clerk of the district shall attend all meetings of the trustees to keep an accurate and permanent record of all the proceedings of each meeting. If the clerk is not present at a meetin…

(1) The board of trustees of a school district shall develop, update, and annually provide to students and families of the district information on the educational opportunities available through the schools of the district. The information must align to the legislative intent of …

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), the trustees of a school district with a self-insured health benefit plan holding reserve funds shall use these funds to pay claims and other liabilities of the district's health benefit plan. (2) Upon dissolution of a district's self-ins…

(1) To provide the district, trustees, and employees with liability insurance pursuant to 2-9-211 and group health and life insurance pursuant to 2-18-702, the trustees of a district may: (a) purchase insurance coverage; (b) participate in a district health insurance trust as def…

(1) When acting in their official capacity at a regular or special meeting of the board or a committee of the board, the trustees of each district are individually immune from suit for damages, as provided in 2-9-305. (2) The trustees of each district are responsible for the prop…

(1) It is the intent of the legislature to provide a board of trustees of a school district with the option to: (a) review the voting and population patterns of minorities of the school district, as determined by the most recent federal decennial census, voting records, and other…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (8), the board of trustees of a school district may establish a procedure for studying the appropriateness of creating single-member trustee districts within the school district. (2) If the board considers a single-member district plan, the pl…

(1) At each regular school election, each trustee candidate in a single-member trustee district must be a qualified elector of the trustee district and have resided in the trustee district to be represented for at least 1 year prior to becoming a candidate for the trustee positio…

The number of trustee positions in each elementary district shall vary according to the district's classification, as established by 20-6-201: (1) There must be seven trustee positions in a first-class elementary district. (2) There must be five trustee positions in a second-clas…

Whenever the trustees are elected at one regular school election under the circumstances described in 20-3-302(2)(a), the members who are elected shall draw by lot to determine their terms of office. The terms of office by trustee position must be: (1) three for 3 years, two for …