Title 20, Title 20

(1) Except as provided in 20-6-214, 20-6-215, 20-6-308, and 20-6-322, a petition to transfer territory from one school district to another may be presented to the county superintendent if: (a) the petition is signed by 60% of the registered electors qualified to vote at general e…

For the purposes of 20-6-105 through 20-6-109, the following definitions apply: (1) "Advisory capacity" has the same meaning as provided in 2-15-102. (2) (a) "District operational levies" means property tax levies imposed on the property of a school district in support of a schoo…

(1) A school district that has enrolled and admitted an isolated pupil is qualified for a reconciliation payment as provided in this section when the isolated pupil is a resident of a contiguous school district that has a taxable value of at least $100 million and a taxable value…

(1) The resident school district shall impose a levy and make a reconciliation payment to the school district of attendance as calculated in this section when a petition under 20-6-107 has been granted to a school district of attendance by the applicable county superintendent. (2…

(1) A school district with an enrollment of isolated pupils comprising 5% or more of its budgeted ANB shall establish an advisory council dedicated to fostering open dialogue and collaboration on matters that impact isolated pupils and other nonresident pupils from the areas in w…

(1) The entity that transfers title to a construction project constructed as part of a public education program shall disclose the fact that the construction project was constructed as part of a public education program on at least one document, form, or application executed prio…

(1) Each elementary district shall have a classification of: (a) first class, if it has a population of 6,500 or more; (b) second class, if it has a population of 1,000 or more but less than 6,500; or (c) third class, if it has a population of less than 1,000. (2) The population …

An elementary district may not be created and elementary district boundaries may not be changed between the first day of January and the fourth Monday of August of any calendar year except when: (1) the entire territory of a district is annexed or attached to another district; (2…

(1) The county superintendent shall declare an elementary district to be abandoned and order the attachment of the territory of the district to a contiguous district or districts of the county or, with the consent of the county superintendent of an adjacent county, to a contiguou…

The trustees of an elementary school district may, by resolution, request a change in the boundaries between their district and an adjacent district. If the trustees request a transfer by resolution, the territory proposed for transfer must conform to the provisions of 20-6-105(1…

A county superintendent of schools shall, at least once every 3 years, review the existing elementary school district boundaries in the county. The review and any recommended boundary changes must include information that the territory proposed for transfer complies with the prov…

The trustees of an elementary district may relocate an elementary school that is currently operating within the district if the relocation will be more convenient for the majority of the pupils attending. The provisions of 20-6-502 relating to opening or reopening a school do not…

The classification of a high school district must be the same as the classification of the elementary district (20-6-201) where the high school building is located. If there is more than one elementary district in which operating high school buildings are located, the classificat…

Within 6 months after a high school district fails to operate an accredited high school within its boundaries for a period of 1 year, the county superintendent shall order the high school district abandoned. At least 20 days before issuing an abandonment order, the county superin…

The boundaries of a high school district that encompass a county's portion of a joint elementary district where an elementary school is operated may be changed to establish a joint high school district. The high school district boundary change must be a transfer of all the territ…

(1) Any county high school may be unified with the elementary district where the county high school building is located to establish a unified school system under a unified board of trustees. The territory of an existing joint high school district must remain a part of the joint …

(1) Whenever a county high school is unified with the elementary district where the county high school building is located, the following transactions must be completed on or before the July 1 when the unification becomes effective: (a) The county high school trustees, who do not…

A high school district may not be created and a high school district boundary may not be changed between the first day of January and the fourth Monday of August of any calendar year except when: (1) the entire territory of a high school district is annexed or attached to another…

The trustees of a high school district may, by resolution, request a change in the boundaries between their district and an adjacent district. If the trustees request a transfer by resolution, the territory proposed for transfer must conform to the provisions of 20-6-105(1) and (…

(1) An existing elementary district that is not part of a unified school system or governed by a joint board with a high school district may expand into a K-12 district under the procedures outlined in this section only if the elementary district's ANB, as calculated under the pr…

(1) Whenever two or more school districts reorganize or join through annexation to form a single district in the manner provided for in Title 20, chapter 6, a principal, teacher, or other certified employee of the school districts who has a right of tenure under Montana law must …

Whenever district boundaries are changed in any manner prescribed in this title, the existing bonded indebtedness against any district or territory affected by a change of boundaries remains the indebtedness of the original territory against which the bonds were issued and must b…

The property tax valuation used under the provisions of 20-9-142 for the purposes of fixing the tax levies, except the debt service fund tax levy, for a district that has had a boundary change at any time before the fourth Monday in August shall include the property tax valuation…

Whenever a district ceases to exist in any manner prescribed in this title, except when districts are reorganized under 20-6-423, the cash on hand to the credit of the funds of the district and the debts of the former district must be allocated in the following manner: (1) Any ca…

Whenever two or more districts are reorganized without the mutual assumption of bonded indebtedness, all cash and debts, other than cash credited to the debt service fund and debts for bonded indebtedness, must be credited or debited to the same types of funds of the newly formed…

Whenever only a portion of the territory of one district is transferred to another district, all cash and debts, other than bonded indebtedness, shall be retained by the district originally realizing the cash or debt.

Whenever district boundaries are changed, title to the real and personal property of the districts involved in such boundary change shall vest in the district which encompasses the territory where such real or personal property was located at the time the legal procedure to autho…

Within 10 days after any district ceases to exist, the trustees shall surrender all minutes, documents, and other records of the district to the trustees of the district assuming its territory or, if more than one district assumes its territory, to the county superintendent.

(1) An elementary district may be annexed to a contiguous elementary district under the provisions of 20-6-422 when: (a) a third-class district where a high school is not located is annexed to a third-class district where a high school is located, to a first-class district, or to…

(1) As used in this section, the following definitions apply: (a) "Annexing district" means the district to which another district is being attached through an annexation procedure. (b) "District to be annexed" means the district that is being attached to another district through…

(1) (a) Any two or more contiguous elementary school districts may reorganize to form a single elementary district. (b) Any two or more contiguous high school districts may reorganize to form a single high school district. (c) Any two or more contiguous K-12 school districts may …

(1) Upon passage of a reorganization proposition under the provisions of 20-6-423, an interim board of trustees made up of all of the members of the boards of trustees of the districts that reorganized shall serve as the trustees for the newly formed district from the date of the…

As used in this title, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the term "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. The trustees of a district shall designate the g…

The trustees of any elementary district may open or reopen an elementary school of the district when the opening or reopening has been approved in accordance with the following procedure: (1) The parents of at least two pupils who would attend the opened or reopened school petiti…

(1) The trustees of any high school district may open or reopen a high school of the district or a branch of a high school of the district when such opening or reopening has been approved by the superintendent of public instruction; except when a county high school is discontinue…

(1) The trustees of any elementary district and the trustees of the high school district in which such elementary district is located may open a junior high school when such opening has been approved by the superintendent of public instruction; except that when the high school di…

(1) Whenever the trustees of an elementary district and a high school district operating a county high school have formed a joint board of trustees under the provisions of 20-3-361, such joint board of trustees may open a junior high school under the provisions of this section. (…

(1) Whenever the opening of a junior high school is approved for the ensuing school fiscal year under 20-6-505, the county superintendent shall estimate the average number belonging (ANB) after investigating the probable enrollment for the junior high school. The ANB determined b…

The trustees of any elementary district may open a middle school when such opening has been approved by the superintendent of public instruction. The state superintendent shall investigate an application for the opening of a middle school and shall approve or disapprove the openi…

Unless otherwise required by law, the trustees of an elementary district in which a high school is located and the trustees of the high school district operating such high school may organize the schools of their districts to form a kindergarten through grade 12 school system, pr…

Whenever it is in the best interest of the pupils affected, the trustees of any district may close any school of the district, except that a junior high school may be closed only by joint action of the trustees of the elementary district and the high school district in which the …

All school districts are hereby granted the power and authority to accept, receive, take, hold, and possess any gift, donation, grant, devise, or bequest of property, real or personal, and the right to own, hold, work, and improve the same.

The trustees of any district other than a high school district operating a county high school shall have the power and the responsibility to hold in trust all real and personal property of the district for the benefit of the schools and children of the district. In the name of th…

(1) The trustees of a district may purchase, build, exchange, or otherwise acquire, sell, or dispose of sites and buildings of the district. Except as provided in 20-6-604 and 20-6-621, action may not be taken by the trustees without the approval of the qualified electors of the …

(1) Whenever the trustees of a district determine that a site, building, or any other real or personal property of the district is or is about to become abandoned, obsolete, undesirable, or unsuitable for the school purposes of the district, the trustees may sell or otherwise dis…

Whenever the trustees acquire land by deed conditioned upon the use of the land for the conduct of school or related activities or whenever land has been used by the trustees at the will or sufferance of the land's owner or claimant and the district has constructed buildings or m…