This bill updates Montana education laws to improve teacher recruitment and retention while expanding support for the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind. It makes educational sign language interpreters eligible for quality educator payments and loan assistance, and broadens the types of schools that can receive incentives for meeting teacher pay benchmarks and participate in the teacher residency program. The bill also allows the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind to transport resident students between home and school using school buses. Additionally, it defines "impacted schools" to include special education cooperatives, the school for the deaf and blind, correctional facilities, reservation schools, and rural schools located more than 20 minutes from larger cities.
This bill clarifies the relationship between Montana's Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Board of Public Education by explicitly requiring the Superintendent to execute directives issued by the Board under its constitutional authority. The legislation amends state law to define the Superintendent's specific duties, which include managing teacher certification, overseeing school budgets, approving school openings and closures, distributing state funding, and coordinating special education services. Directly affected parties are state education officials, school districts, and the Board of Public Education, with the changes intended to reduce ambiguity about the Superintendent's role in implementing Board decisions.
This bill amends Montana's school funding law to allow state financial support for preschool children with disabilities by including them in the Average Number Belonging (ANB) calculations used to determine school district funding. Previously, only preschool programs created at the discretion of school trustees were excluded from these calculations, which meant children with disabilities receiving mandatory special education services had no mechanism for state funding. The key provision adds a new clause to the existing statute that permits counting preschool children with disabilities in ANB based on their aggregate hours of pupil instruction, aligning their eligibility with other special education students. This change directly affects school districts by creating a funding pathway for the special education programs they are already required to provide for three- and four-year-old children with disabilities.
HB 168 revises state school funding laws to include 3- and 4-year-old children with disabilities in a school district's annual number belonging (ANB) calculations. This change enables school districts to receive state financial support for providing special education services to these preschool-aged children. Previously, these children were not included in ANB counts, meaning there was no state funding mechanism for their education, despite districts being obligated to provide these services. The bill amends Section 20-9-311, MCA, to allow their inclusion based on aggregate hours of pupil instruction.
This bill changes Montana's special education terminology by allowing "emotional disability" to replace "emotional disturbance" in state law and regulations, aligning with the federal definition (34 CFR 300.8(c)(4)). It provides $100 from the general fund to the Office of Public Instruction to update publications about special education services by July 1, 2025. The change affects how schools document and provide services for students with emotional needs under Montana's special education framework.
Based on the provided information, LC 697, titled "Provide for disability education in schools," aimed to introduce or enhance education related to disabilities within the school system. However, the available context does not provide sufficient details about the specific mechanisms, provisions, or who it directly affects beyond a general intent to impact schools. The draft ultimately died in the legislative process.
SB 215 revises Montana's public school funding system by redefining the "basic system of free quality public schools" to explicitly include open enrollment, student achievement tracking, and transparency in spending. It requires the legislature to consider specific factors when setting funding - such as student needs (including special education, English learners, and American Indian students), school density, and teacher retention - while mandating that funding follows students across district lines during open enrollment. The bill also directs the funding formula to use current-year enrollment data, include annual cost-of-living adjustments, and clearly show how funds impact student outcomes. These changes apply to all public school districts in Montana, aiming to make funding more equitable and accountable.
