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Bill to refine charter school district rules targets financial clarity and special‑needs funding
Summary
House Bill 251 would define 'public charter school district,' allow supplemental funding for students with disabilities, make charter school districts eligible for donations under the innovative education program, and link the number of approvals to legislative funding levels; proponents said the bill fixes statutory gaps and clarifies tuition rules for special‑needs students.
Representative David Beatty introduced House Bill 251 to clarify statutory gaps in Montana’s charter school law and to protect the financial viability of the charter school district model.
The bill creates a definition of "public charter school district," allows such districts to receive supplemental funding for educating children with disabilities, and makes charter school districts eligible to receive donations through the existing innovative education program. It also ties the cumulative number of charter school approvals by the Board of Public Education to funds appropriated by the legislature.
Lance Melton of the Montana School Boards Association testified the measure corrects oversights from prior legislation, notably ensuring charter school districts can assess tuition for out‑of‑district students with disabilities (rather than categorically forbidding any tuition) where necessary to provide a free appropriate public education. "We wanted to put those children on the level playing field with everyone else," Melton said. He also said the bill clarifies that the Board of Public Education is not intended to waive statutory obligations.
Fiscal staff and informational witnesses explained why the bill carried a zero fiscal note: the draft performs technical statutory cleanup and does not change the underlying funding formula or create an automatic appropriation. Paul Taylor (fiscal staff) told senators the bill's provisions are largely technical and the limitation on future growth of charter schools ties approvals to legislative appropriations rather than creating an automatic increase in state cost.
Committee members asked for clarification on sunset dates and how tuition for students with disabilities would operate. Sponsor Beatty explained the existing grant program portion terminates at the end of the current biennium, while the statutory definition of transformational learning remains permanent in law; the phase 2 funding and selected program timeline were discussed in related bills.
What’s next: The committee closed the hearing on HB251; further action will depend on the committee’s eventual motion to concur and floor scheduling. If enacted, the law would provide clearer statutory footing for charter school districts and a mechanism to limit program expansion to appropriated resources.
