Title 20

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…

Any letting of contracts related to the construction or furnishing of a new, enlarged, remodeled, or repaired building must be conducted under the provisions of 20-9-204 or Title 18, chapter 2, part 5.

The trustees of a district may rent or lease any buildings, land, facilities, or personal property of the district under the terms specified by the trustees. Any money collected for the rental or lease may, in the discretion of the trustees, be used for any proper school purpose …

(1) The trustees of a district shall insure all real and personal property of the district. The trustees shall include the cost of insurance in the general fund budget of the district. (2) Proceeds received from an insurance settlement on real or personal property insured by the …

The trustees of a district may acquire real and personal property by an agreement to lease for up to 7 years for personal property and for up to 15 years for real property with an option to purchase. The terms of the lease must comply with 20-6-625. If real property is acquired, …

(1) (a) Except as provided in subsection (1)(b), the trustees of a district may select the sites for school buildings or for other school purposes, but the selection must first be approved by the qualified electors of the district before a contract for the purchase of a site is e…

(1) A school building, either publicly or privately owned or operated, in which students are housed or instructed may not be built, enlarged, or remodeled until the plans and specifications for construction have been submitted to and approved by the department of labor and indust…

(1) The trustees of a district may not make any payment under a contract for the construction of school facilities until the plans and specifications for the construction have been approved under the provisions of 20-6-622. (2) A contractor, architect, trustee, or any other perso…

The trustees of any district may lease buildings or land suitable for school purposes when it is within the best interests of the district to lease the buildings or land from the county, municipality, another district, or any person. The term of the lease may not exceed 15 years …

Whenever the trustees of a school district determine that the building, furnishing, repairing, or other work for the benefit of a school district exceeds $150,000 and requires architectural services under Title 37, chapter 65, the trustees of the school district shall contract fo…

If the trustees determine pursuant to 20-6-631 that architectural services are necessary, the trustees shall hire a licensed architect for the architectural services as described by the school district's scope of the work. In the event that the trustees and the architect are unab…

Following the awarding of the contract, the trustees shall meet as often as necessary with the architectural firm to review the firm's plans and proposals. At least two of these meetings, one to review the firm's preliminary plans and one to review the firm's final proposals, sha…

The trustees are encouraged but not required to award architectural contracts to firms based or operating in Montana.

(1) Each contract entered into by a school district for architectural services shall contain a prohibition against contingent fees as follows: "The architectural firm warrants that it has not employed or retained any company or person, other than a bona fide full-time employee, t…

School districts that experience a disaster that destroys school property to the extent of rendering the property unfit for its present school use may apply for long-term loans for use in replacing school property under the provisions of Title 17, chapter 5, part 16.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (4), each elementary district with the same district boundaries as a high school district shall attach to the high school district for the purpose of establishing a K-12 school district. (2) For the purposes of this title, unless the context c…

(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (2) through (6), a K-12 school district formed under the provisions of 20-6-701 is subject to the provisions of law for high school districts. (2) The number of elected trustees of the K-12 school district must be based on the cla…

(1) When an attachment order for a K-12 school district becomes effective on July 1 under the provisions of 20-6-701: (a) the county superintendent shall order the trustees to execute all necessary and appropriate deeds, bills of sale, or other instruments for the conveyance of t…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), in order to dissolve a K-12 district under the provisions of this section, the trustees of a district shall submit for approval to the electors of the K-12 district a proposition dissolving the K-12 district for the purpose of annexing or…

(1) Whenever an elementary district is attached to a high school district to form a K-12 school district under the provisions of 20-6-701, a district superintendent, principal, teacher, or other certified employee of the elementary district who has a right of tenure under Montana…

This part may be cited as the "Public Charter Schools Act".

(1) The legislature finds that: (a) parents desire education options for their children; (b) expanding educational opportunities for K-12 education within the state is a necessary and valid public purpose; and (c) creating options that assist parents and encourage students to dev…

As used in this part, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following definitions apply: (1) "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 …

(1) In accordance with this part, the board of public education is responsible for executing the following essential powers and duties: (a) soliciting and evaluating charter proposals; (b) approving charter proposals that meet identified educational needs and promote a diversity …

(1) To solicit, encourage, and guide the development of public charter schools, the board of public education shall issue and broadly publicize a request for proposal by June 1 annually. The content and dissemination of the request for proposal must be consistent with the purpose…

(1) An initial charter must be granted for a term of 5 operating years, commencing on July 1 of the first school year the public charter school will operate. An approved public charter school may delay its opening for 1 school year to plan and prepare for the school's opening. If…

(1) Subsections (2) through (5) apply to a public charter school not governed by the local school board. (2) The governing board of a public charter school district must be composed of 7 members. The boundaries of the charter school district consist of the legal description of th…

(1) (a) A public charter school must be open to any student residing in the state. (b) A school district may not require a student enrolled in the school district to attend a public charter school. (c) A public charter school may limit admission to students within a given age gro…

(1) The performance provisions within the charter contract must be based on a performance framework that clearly sets forth the academic and operational performance indicators, measures, and metrics that will guide the board of public education's evaluations of each public charte…

(1) A charter contract may be subject to nonrenewal or revocation if the board of public education determines that the public charter school: (a) committed a material and substantial violation of any of the terms, conditions, standards, or procedures required under this part or t…

(1) (a) A public charter school must be a public education organization. (b) A public charter school is subject to all federal laws and authorities as provided in this part or arranged by charter contract with the board of public education consistent with applicable laws, rules, …

(1) It is the intent of the legislature that a public charter school receive operational funding on a per-pupil basis that is equitable with the per-pupil funding of the located school district. (2) (a) This subsection (2) applies to the budgeting and funding of a public charter …

(1) A public charter school district has a right of first refusal to purchase or lease at or below fair market value a closed public school facility or property or an unused portion of a public school facility or property within the located school district. (2) A public charter s…

(1) There is a public charter school account in the state special revenue fund provided for in 17-2-102 and administered by the board of public education. The purpose of the account is for the receipt and expenditure of gifts, grants, legacies, devises, and donations given specif…

(1) (a) Accreditation standards, as defined in 20-1-101, for all schools must be adopted by the board of public education upon the recommendations of the superintendent of public instruction. The superintendent shall develop recommendations in accordance with subsection (2). For …

(1) The conditions under which each elementary school, each middle school, each junior high school, 7th and 8th grades funded at high school rates, and each high school operates must be reviewed by the superintendent of public instruction to determine compliance with the standard…

(1) Sections 20-7-103 and 20-7-104 may be known as the pathway to excellence program. (2) The purpose of the pathway to excellence program is to promote educational excellence in Montana's public schools through data-driven decisionmaking. (3) It is the intent of the program that…

(1) The office of public instruction shall establish, maintain, and continually improve a statewide K-12 data system that, at a minimum: (a) includes data entry and intuitive reporting options that school districts can use to make timely decisions that improve instruction and imp…

(1) There is a K-12 data task force established by the office of public instruction. (2) The K-12 data task force is composed of: (a) The presiding officer and vice presiding officer of the senate and house standing committees on education and the presiding officer and vice presi…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), the board of public education shall define and specify the basic instructional program for pupils in public schools, and this program must be set forth in the standards of accreditation. Other instruction may be given when approved by the…