Title 20, Title 20

(1) A teacher or principal has the authority to hold a pupil to a strict accountability for disorderly conduct in school, on the way to or from school, or during intermission or recess. (2) For the purposes of this section, "corporal punishment" means knowingly and purposely infl…

Any parent, guardian, or other person who shall insult or abuse a teacher anywhere on the school grounds or school premises shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction of such misdemeanor by a court of competent jurisdiction, shall be fined no less than $25 or mo…

The trustees of a school district shall close the schools of the district for the annual instructional and professional development meetings of teachers' organizations. A teacher may attend instructional and professional development meetings without loss of salary or attend other…

(1) The trustees of any high school district, except a county high school or other high school district that operates under a separate board of trustees due to alternative methods of electing the members of the high school board of trustees as provided in 20-3-352(3), and the tru…

The district superintendent or county high school principal is the executive officer of the trustees and, subject to the direction and control of the trustees, the executive officer shall: (1) have general supervision of all schools of the district and the personnel employed by t…

(1) Whenever the trustees of a district employ and appoint a school principal but do not employ and appoint a district superintendent, such principal shall perform the duties of a district superintendent as prescribed in subsections (4), (5), (6), (7), and (8) of 20-4-402 and sha…

(1) There is a quality educator loan assistance program administered by the superintendent of public instruction. The program must provide for the direct repayment of educational loans of eligible quality educators in accordance with policies and procedures adopted by the superin…

For the purposes of this part, unless the context requires otherwise, the following definitions apply: (1) "Education cooperative" means a cooperative of Montana public schools as described in 20-7-451. (2) "Educational loans" means all loans made pursuant to a federal loan progr…

(1) The board of public education, in consultation with the office of public instruction, shall maintain and make publicly available a current list of impacted schools. (2) A quality educator is eligible for repayment of all or part of the quality educator's outstanding education…

(1) Loan repayment assistance may be provided on behalf of a quality educator who: (a) is newly hired, with priority given to a quality educator newly hired in an impacted school pursuant to 20-4-503; and (b) has an educational loan that is not in default and that has a minimum u…

(1) A quality educator shall submit an application for loan repayment assistance to the superintendent of public instruction in accordance with policies and procedures adopted by the superintendent of public instruction. The application must include official verification or proof…

(Temporary) Grow your own grant program -- administration. (1) There is a grow your own grant program administered by the commissioner of higher education. The purpose of the grant program is to develop teacher pipelines aimed at serving rural and reservation school districts. (2…

(1) The legislature finds and affirms that, pursuant to 20-9-309, the definition of "a basic system of free quality public elementary and secondary schools" requires the recruitment and retention of qualified and effective teachers. (2) The legislature finds and declares that the…

(1) The superintendent of public instruction shall administer a teacher residency program in collaboration with school districts and professional educator preparation programs. (2) The teacher residency program must involve: (a) a shared vision and partnership between: (i) a resi…

(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 quali…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), any parent, guardian, or other person who is responsible for the care of any child who is 7 years of age or older prior to the first day of school in any school fiscal year shall cause the child to be instructed in the program prescribed …

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), a parent, guardian, or other person who is responsible for the care of any child who is 7 years of age or older prior to the first day of school in any school fiscal year shall ensure the child attends the school in which the child is enr…

In order to enforce the compulsory attendance provisions of this title, each district shall have at least one person serving as an attendance officer according to the following requirements: (1) districts of the first class and districts of the second class with a dropout rate hi…

The attendance officer of a district: (1) must, subject to district policy, be vested with police powers, the authority to serve warrants, and the authority to enter places of employment of children in order to enforce the compulsory attendance provisions of this title; (2) may, …

(1) For the purposes of this part "truant" or "truancy" means the persistent nonattendance without excuse, as defined by district policy, for all or any part of a school day equivalent to the length of one class period of a child required to attend a school under 20-5-103. (2) If…

In lieu of the provisions of 20-5-106 and when an attendance officer is satisfied that a pupil or a child subject to compulsory attendance is not able to attend school because the child does not have the physical capacity or the child is absolutely required to work at home or els…

It shall be the duty of the trustees of any district where an Indian child resides to require the child to attend school in the same manner as any other child residing in the district, unless it is prohibited by the laws or treaties affecting the Indian tribe of which such child …

(1) To qualify its students for exemption from compulsory enrollment under 20-5-102, a nonpublic school: (a) shall maintain records on pupil attendance and disease immunization and make the records available to the county superintendent of schools on request; (b) shall provide at…

The trustees of a school district shall: (1) adopt a district policy on assessment for placement of any child who enrolls in a school of the district and whose previous place of instruction was a nonpublic school that is not accredited; (2) include in the adopted policy the follo…

Subject to the provisions of 20-5-109, a parent has the authority to instruct the parent's child, stepchild, or ward in a home school and is solely responsible for: (1) the educational philosophy of the home school; (2) the selection of instructional materials, curriculum, and te…

(1) (a) Except as provided in subsection (1)(b), a school district or an athletic association, conference, or organization with authority over interscholastic sports may not prohibit or restrict the ability of a student attending a nonpublic or home school meeting the requirement…

(1) A pupil: (a) shall comply with the policies of the trustees and the rules of the school that the pupil attends; (b) shall pursue the required course of instruction; (c) shall submit to the authority of the teachers, principal, and district superintendent of the district; and …

(1) As provided in 20-4-302, 20-4-402, and 20-4-403, a pupil may be suspended by a teacher, superintendent, or principal. The trustees of the district shall adopt a policy defining the authority and procedure to be used by a teacher, superintendent, or principal in the suspension…

(1) It shall be unlawful for any pupil to participate in or be a member of any secret fraternity or other secret organization that is in any degree a school organization. It also shall be unlawful for any pupil or other person to solicit any pupil to join any such prohibited secr…

Sections 20-5-207 through 20-5-210 may be cited as the "Bully-Free Montana Act".

(1) "Bullying" means any harassment, intimidation, hazing, or threatening, insulting, or demeaning gesture or physical contact, including any intentional written, verbal, or electronic communication or threat directed against a student that is persistent, severe, or repeated and …

(1) Bullying of a student enrolled in a public K-12 school by another student or an employee is prohibited. (2) A student who is physically attacked is entitled to use physical force that is reasonable and necessary for self-protection. (3) A student who witnesses another person …

(1) A person alleging a violation of 20-5-207 through 20-5-210 may seek redress under any available law after exhausting all administrative remedies. (2) Nothing in this section precludes a person from contacting law enforcement in relation to incidents of bullying at any point i…

(1) The superintendent of public instruction may execute a reciprocal attendance agreement with the superintendent of public instruction or a department of education of any state or province adjoining Montana to allow a child who is a Montana resident to attend school in the adjo…

(1) A child may be enrolled in and attend a school in a Montana school district that is outside of the child's district of residence at the request of the child's parent or guardian as described in this section. (2) (a) Whenever a parent or guardian of a child wishes to have the …

(1) An out-of-district attendance agreement that allows a child to enroll in and attend a school in a Montana school district that is outside of the child's district of residence or in a public school district of a state or province that is adjacent to the county of the child's r…

(1) For the purposes of 20-5-320 through 20-5-324, except as provided in 20-9-707, a child's district of residence must be determined on the basis of the provisions of 1-1-215. (2) Within 10 days of the initial application for an agreement, the trustees of the district of attenda…

(1) (a) Except as provided in subsections (1)(b), (1)(c), and (2) through (5), whenever a child enrolls in and attends a school outside of the child's district of residence under the provisions of 20-5-320 or 20-5-321, the district of residence shall pay the district of attendanc…

(1) In order to be eligible to receive state reimbursement or payment under subsection (2)(a), 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: (a) the name and district…

As used in this part, the following definitions apply: (1) "Department" means the department of public health and human services provided for in 2-15-2201. (2) "Governing authority" means the board of trustees of a school district or the administrator of a private school, prescho…

(1) The governing authority of any school other than a postsecondary school may not allow a person to attend as a pupil unless the person: (a) has been immunized against varicella, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, poliomyelitis, rubella, mumps, and measles (rubeola) in the manner …

The governing authority of a school other than a postsecondary school may allow the commencement of attendance in school by a person who has not been immunized against each disease listed in 20-5-403 if that person has received one or more doses of the vaccine for each disease li…

(1) (a) There is a religious exemption to the immunizations required under 20-5-403. A person enrolled or seeking to enroll in school may attend the school without obtaining the immunizations required under 20-5-403 if the person files with the governing authority an affidavit on…

The governing authority of each school shall require written evidence of each pupil's immunization against the diseases listed in 20-5-403 and shall record the immunization status, including any exemptions, of each pupil as part of the pupil's permanent school record.

The department may adopt rules necessary to implement the provisions of this part.

(1) The governing authority of any school other than a postsecondary school shall prohibit from further attendance any pupil allowed to attend conditionally who has failed to obtain the immunizations required by 20-5-403(1) within time periods established by the department until …