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Panel hears bill clarifying how kindergarten hours count for funding
Summary
House Bill 24 would clarify that kindergarten students are counted for A and B funding based on aggregate hours (quarter/half/three‑quarter/full) and remove an outdated incentive related to districts transitioning to full‑time kindergarten; OPI staff said the bill is language cleanup with no fiscal impact.
Representative Melissa Romano presented House Bill 24, a committee bill from the House Education Interim Committee, which would amend several MCA sections to clarify how kindergarten enrollment counts for A and B funding and to clean up legacy language tied to an incentivization for districts that transitioned from half‑time to full‑time kindergarten decades ago.
Paul Taylor of the Office of Public Instruction told the committee the bill separates parents’ rights to enroll children half‑ or full‑time from the funding mechanism, which will be based on aggregate hours (quarter, half, three‑quarter or full). He said the change is intended to reduce statutory clutter and that the LFD/OPI review indicates the bill has no fiscal impact. Taylor also said HB 24 does not affect early‑literacy targeting or existing special‑education funding processes, which are handled through separate statutory mechanisms and bills.
No opponents appeared and the hearing closed with no executive action taken at today’s meeting.
