Mont. Code Ann. § 20-5-324

(ii) By December 31 of the school fiscal year following the year of attendance, the district of residence shall pay at least one-half of any tuition and transportation obligation established under this part. The remaining tuition and transportation obligation must be paid by June 15 of the school fiscal year following the year of attendance.

(1) At the close of the school term of each school fiscal year and before July In order 15, the trustees of a district shall report to the county superintendent: 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 of residence of each child who is attending attended a school of the district under a mandatory out-of-district attendance agreement approved under the provisions of 20-5-321(1)(b), (1)(d), 20-5-321(1)(d) or (1)(e);

(b) the number of days of enrollment for each child reported under the provisions of subsection (1)(a);

(c) the annual tuition rate for each child's tuition payment, as determined under the provisions of 20-5-323, and the tuition cost for each child reported child; and under the provisions of subsection (1)(a);

(d) the names, districts of attendance, and amount of tuition to be paid by the district for resident students attending public schools out of state. state; and

(e) the names, schools of attendance, and amount of tuition to be paid by the district for resident students attending day-treatment programs under approved individualized education programs at private, nonsectarian schools.

(10) The provisions of this section do not apply to out-of-state placements made by a state agency pursuant to 20-7-422.

(2) The county superintendent shall send, as soon as practicable, the reported information to the county superintendent of the county in which a reported child resides.

(2) (a) Subject to the limitations of 20-5-323, the superintendent of public instruction shall:

(i) except as provided in subsection (2)(b) of this section, pay the district of attendance the amount of the tuition obligation reported under subsection (1)(c) of this section, prorated for the actual days of enrollment;

(ii) determine the total per-ANB entitlement for which the district of residence would have been eligible if the students reported in subsections (1)(d) and (1)(e) of this section had been enrolled in the resident district in the prior year; and

(iii) reimburse the district of residence for the state portion of the per-ANB entitlement for each student reported in subsections (1)(d) and (1)(e) of this section, not to exceed the district's actual payment of tuition or fees for service for the student in the previous year.

(b) The district of residence for each child reported under the provisions of subsection (1)(a) of this section shall pay the district of attendance the tuition rate under 20-5-323(1) prorated for the actual days of enrollment. The superintendent of public instruction is only responsible for any additional tuition amount pursuant to 20-5-323(2) and (3).

(3) Before July 30, the county superintendent shall report the information Whenever a child enrolls in subsection (1)(d) to and attends a school outside the of superintendent of the public instruction, who shall determine child's the district total per-ANB entitlement for which of residence under the district would be eligible if provisions of 20-5-320 or 20-5-321, by July 15 following the student were enrolled in year of attendance, the resident district. The reimbursement amount is district of attendance shall notify the difference between the actual amount paid and the amount calculated in this subsection.

(4) Notwithstanding the requirements of subsection (5)(a), tuition payment provisions for out-of-district placement of students with disabilities must be determined pursuant to Title 20, chapter 7, part 4.

(4) (a) (i) When a child attends a school outside the child's district of residence at the resident district's expense under the provisions of 20-5-320 or 20-5-321 or when a child has approval to attend a day-treatment program under an approved individualized education program at a private, nonsectarian school located in or outside of the child's district of residence, the district of residence shall finance any tuition amount required under 20-5-323 from the levy authorized to support the district tuition fund or from the district's general fund or any other legally available fund in the discretion of the trustees and any transportation amount from the levy authorized to support the transportation fund or from the district's general fund or any other legally available fund in the discretion of the trustees. If the district of residence is a nonoperating school district, the district shall use the nonoperating fund and impose applicable levies required to satisfy any tuition and transportation obligations.

(b) In addition to use of a tuition levy to pay tuition for out-of-district attendance of a resident pupil, a school district may also include in its tuition levy an amount necessary to pay for the full costs of providing a free appropriate public education, as defined in 20-7-401, in the district to any child with a disability who lives in the district. The amount of the levy imposed for the costs associated with educating each child with a disability under this subsection (4)(b) is limited to the actual cost of service under the child's individualized education program minus:

(i) the student's state special education payment;

(ii) the student's federal special education payment;

(iii) the student's per-ANB amount;

(iv) the prorated portion of the district's basic entitlement for each qualifying student; and

(v) the prorated portion of the district's general fund payments in 20-9-327 through 20-9-330 for each qualifying student.

(5) (a) When a child has approval to attend a school outside Except as provided in subsection (5)(b), the child's district of residence under attendance shall anticipate and credit tuition receipts to the provisions of 20-5-320 or 20-5-321(1)(a) or (1)(b), the district of residence shall finance the tuition amount from the district tuition general fund over-BASE budget pursuant to 20-9-141 and any transportation amount from receipts to the transportation fund.

(b) When Any tuition receipts received for a pupil who is child a has approval to attend child with a school outside the child's district of residence disability under the provisions of 20-5-321(1)(c), the parent 20-5-323(2) or guardian of the child shall finance the tuition and transportation amount. for a student without disabilities who requires a program with costs that exceed the average district costs under 20-5-323(3) that exceed the tuition amount received for a pupil without disabilities must be deposited in the district miscellaneous programs fund and must be used in the manner provided for in 20-9-507 to support the costs of the program for which the tuition was received.

(6) When a child has mandatory approval The reimbursements paid under subsection (2)(a)(iii) must be deposited into the provisions of 20-5-321(1)(d) or (1)(e), district the tuition tuition fund and transportation obligation must be used by the district to pay obligations for an elementary school child resident students attending a school outside public schools out of the child's district of residence must be financed by the basic county tax state or for elementary equalization, as provided in 20-9-331, for the child's county of residence or for a resident students high school child attending a school outside the district of residence by the basic county tax for high school day-treatment programs under approved individualized education programs at private, nonsectarian schools at district expense. equalization, as provided in 20-9-333, for the child's county of residence.

(7) By December 31 The provisions of the school fiscal year, the county superintendent or the trustees shall pay at least one-half of any tuition and transportation obligation established under this section out of the money realized do not apply to date from the appropriate elementary or high school county equalization fund provided for in 20-9-335 out-of-state placements made by a state agency pursuant to 20-7-422. or from the district tuition or transportation fund. The remaining tuition and transportation obligation must be paid by June 15 of the school fiscal year. The payments must be made to the county treasurer in each county with a school district that is entitled to tuition and transportation. Except as provided in subsection (9), the county treasurer shall credit tuition receipts to the general fund of a school district entitled to a tuition payment. The tuition receipts must be used in accordance with the provisions of 20-9-141. The county treasurer shall credit transportation receipts to the transportation fund of a school district entitled to a transportation payment.

(8) The superintendent of public instruction shall reimburse the district of residence for the per-ANB entitlement determined in subsection (3).

(8) (a) In accordance with 5-11-210, the superintendent of public instruction shall report annually to the education interim committee on out-of-district attendance under 20-5-320 through 20-5-324 in the prior school fiscal year. The report must include the following for each school district:

(i) the total enrollment of the district;

(ii) the number of nonresident students served by the district under out-of-district attendance agreements, broken down by district of residence; and

(iii) the number of resident students served by other school districts under out-of-district attendance agreements, broken down by district of attendance.

(b) School districts shall provide the superintendent of public instruction with the information necessary to comply with this subsection (8) in a manner prescribed by the superintendent that must minimize the reporting burden on school districts.

(9) (a) Any tuition receipts received under the provisions of 20-5-323(3) for the current school fiscal year that exceed the tuition receipts of the prior year may be deposited in the district miscellaneous programs fund and must be used for that year in the manner provided for in 20-9-507 to support the costs of the program for which the tuition was received.

(b) Any tuition receipts received for the current school fiscal year for a pupil who is a child with a disability that exceed the tuition amount received for a pupil without disabilities may be deposited in the district miscellaneous programs fund and must be used for that year in the manner provided for in 20-9-507 to support the costs of the program for which the tuition was received.

(c) Any other tuition receipts received for the current school fiscal year that exceed the tuition receipts of the prior year may be deposited in the district miscellaneous programs fund and may be used for that year in the manner provided for in that fund. For the ensuing school fiscal year, the receipts must be credited to the district general fund budget.

Tuition report and payment provisions -- exemption – state obligations – district obligations – financing – reporting

Temporary

Tuition payment provisions – state obligations – district obligations – financing – reporting

Effective July 1, 2026