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Sponsor seeks to separate tuition rules from mental‑health funding after OPI reports hundreds of thousands in reallocations
Summary
Rep. David Beatty said HB669 would clarify how tuition is calculated when local districts educate children in qualifying psychiatric facilities and would remove language allowing the superintendent to divert funds; OPI warned the change could disrupt an established emergency funding mechanism that has distributed up to $383,000 in recent years.
Representative David Beatty opened the hearing on House Bill 669, describing it as a cleanup to Montana Code Annotated 27‑4‑35 that would clarify tuition calculations when education for children in psychiatric hospitals or treatment facilities is provided by the school district where the facility is located.
Beatty said the bill aligns the tuition method used in those cases with existing out‑of‑district calculations so the same process applies rather than creating a separate statutory formula. He also asked the committee to…
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