Current through Register Vol. 18, September 20, 2024
(1) A school must
receive accreditation from the Board of Public Education before the pupils
attending the school are eligible for ANB calculation purposes and for
determining the BASE funding program for the district.
(2) The Superintendent of Public Instruction
shall determine the appropriate budget units for the ANB calculation and the
BASE funding program for the district. The enrollment generated by a budget
unit that is subsequently closed shall be added to the enrollment of another
budget unit of the district for the first year after the closing of a budget
unit if students are enrolled in the other budget unit.
(3) If the school district has not received
accreditation by the Board of Public Education for students in grades 7 and 8
funded at the high school per-ANB entitlement rate, the Superintendent of
Public Instruction shall certify the regularly enrolled 7th and 8th grade
students as elementary pupils for ANB purposes. The school district must budget
accordingly..
(4) The official
count of enrolled students, as defined in ARM
10.15.101, is taken on the first
Monday in October and the first Monday in February, or the next school day if
those dates do not fall on a school day.
(a)
A school district may not count as enrolled for purposes of ANB calculations a
student who has been absent for the 11th consecutive pupil instruction day
immediately prior to and including the official count date.
(b) A school district may not count as
enrolled on the count date a student who:
(i)
has enrolled in another public school district;
(ii) will not resume attendance according to
notification received by the district;
(iii) has had records transferred to another
school; or
(iv) is otherwise unable
to continue in attendance.
(5) After a student is dropped from the rolls
in accordance with (4)(b), student absences will not be included for absence
and attendance calculations, and student enrollment may not be considered in
ANB calculations unless attendance is resumed on or before the date of the
official count.
(6) For
calculation of average daily attendance (ADA), a school district will report
the number of enrolled students who are present and the number of enrolled
students who are absent on the official fall and spring disaggregated
enrollment and attendance data collection days.
(7) For purposes of the enrollment count
described in (4):
(a) a student who has
reached the age of five on or before September 10 and is enrolled in a
kindergarten program but is receiving services in a preschool environment
pursuant to an individualized education program (IEP), is included in
eligibility for purposes of ANB.
(b) a kindergarten student enrolled in a
program designed to provide less than 180 hours of pupil instruction time per
school year is reported as enrolled but is excluded from eligibility for
purposes of ANB. A kindergarten student enrolled in a program designed to
provide 180 hours or more of pupil instruction time per school year is reported
as enrolled and is included in eligibility for purposes of ANB.
(c) a student in grades FTK through 12
enrolled in a program designed to provide:
(i) less than 180 hours of pupil instruction
time per school year is reported as enrolled but is excluded from eligibility
for purposes of ANB;
(ii) 180 to
359 hours of pupil instruction time per school year is reported as one-quarter
time enrolled;
(iii) 360 to 539
hours of pupil instruction time per school year is reported as half-time
enrolled;
(iv) 540 to 719 hours of
pupil instruction time per school year is reported as three-quarter time
enrolled; and
(v) 720 or more
hours of pupil instruction time per school year is reported as full-time
enrolled.
(8) Homebound students, as defined in ARM
10.15.101, and students who are confined to a treatment, medical, or custodial
facility may be counted as enrolled on the count dates for ANB purposes if the
student:
(a) is enrolled as defined in ARM
10.15.101 and is currently
receiving organized and supervised pupil instruction as defined in
20-1-101,
MCA;
(b) is in a home or facility
which does not offer a regular educational program; and
(c) has instructional costs during the
absences which are financed by the school district general fund.
(9) A student enrolled in a course
providing less than the required aggregate hours of pupil instruction who has
demonstrated proficiency in the course content may be counted as enrolled and
included in the calculation for ANB. The ANB for the student must be converted
to an hourly equivalent based on the hours of instruction ordinarily provided
for the course content.
(10)
Trustees may apply for increased ANB for a student placed by the trustees, a
state agency, or court in an accredited private education program if the
trustees enter into a contract as provided in ARM
10.20.106.
(11) Extenuating circumstances for students
who do not meet the criteria in (8)(a) through (c) but which would support a
variance should be submitted to the Superintendent of Public Instruction by a
responsible school official prior to the official enrollment count date for
consideration of inclusion of the student in the enrollment count for ANB
purposes beyond the 10th day of absence.
(12) Trustees may apply for increased ANB for
early graduates who are enrolled as of the first Monday of October as a senior
in high school in the seventh semester of secondary school, and who complete
the graduation requirements prior to the February enrollment count date in
accordance with
20-9-313,
MCA, by stating in the enrollment reports submitted to the Superintendent of
Public Instruction the names of pupils which were not included in the February
enrollment count because they graduated early and the date of the pupils'
graduation. The information must be submitted by the deadline in ARM
10.20.103 preceding the year for
which ANB is being calculated.
(13)
The PIR days used for calculating ANB will be the number of PIR days, not to
exceed seven, conducted by the school district in the school fiscal year
immediately preceding the school year for which the BASE funding program
payment will be received. (
(14) If
the school district fails to conduct the three PIR days for professional
development required by
20-1-304,
MCA, or does not conduct the PIR days for the purposes set out in ARM
10.65.101, the Superintendent of
Public Instruction shall:
(a) adjust the
direct state aid to reflect the actual number of PIR days conducted;
(b) adjust the general fund, if needed, to
comply with legal budget limitations and requirements; and
(c) adjust the guaranteed tax base aid
payment to reflect the amount which the district would be eligible for based on
the budget recalculated in (b).
(15) A school district must conduct a minimum
of 360 hours of pupil instruction for a half-time kindergarten program, a
minimum of 720 hours of pupil instruction for grades FTK-3, and a minimum of
1,080 hours of pupil instruction for grades 4-12.
(a) If the school district fails to conduct
the required minimum number of hours for any school or program, the
Superintendent of Public Instruction will reduce the direct state aid payments
for the year in which the requirement was not met by:
(i) calculating the direct state aid per hour
attributable to the school or program in proportion to the budgeted ANB of the
school or program divided by the required minimum number of hours and
multiplying by two;
(ii)
subtracting the number of aggregate hours conducted by the school or program
from the number of minimum aggregate hours required under
20-9-311,
MCA;
(iii) multiplying (a)(i) by
(ii) to determine the amount of the funding penalty; and
(iv) withholding the adjustment from the
ensuing year payments to the district.
(b) However, if a school district fails to
conduct the minimum number of hours by reason of one or more unforeseen
emergencies as defined in
20-9-802,
MCA, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall reduce the direct state aid
payments proportionally for each aggregate hour less than the minimum required
by applying the calculation in (a), divided by two.
(c) The reduction of state funding will be
prorated based on enrollment for the portion of the district, such as one
class, school, or grade level, for which the district fails to conduct the
minimum pupil instruction hours.
(16) School districts will be funded based on
the current ANB or three-year ANB, whichever generates the greatest maximum
general fund budget. For the purpose of determining the BASE funding program of
a district, current ANB and three-year average ANB will be calculated using the
following methods:
(a) To calculate current
ANB:
(i) the enrollment reported by the
school district on the October and February enrollment report forms to the
Superintendent of Public Instruction, pursuant to
20-9-311,
MCA, will be adjusted and averaged by budget unit as follows:
By budget unit: [(enrollment for first Monday in October +
enrollment for first Monday in February) - (kindergarten enrollment for
students receiving less than 180 hours of pupil instruction time per school
year) - (one-half kindergarten enrollment for students enrolled in a half-time
kindergarten program receiving180 hours or more of pupil instruction time per
school year) - (part-time enrollment for students in grades FTK through 12
receiving less than 180 hours of pupil instruction time per school year) -
(0.75 times the part-time enrollment for students in grades FTK through 12
receiving 180 through 359 hours of pupil instruction time per school year) -
(0.50 times the part-time enrollment for students in grades FTK through 12
receiving 360 through 539 hours of pupil instruction time per school year) -
(0.25 times part-time enrollment for students in grades FTK through 12
receiving 540 through 719 hours of pupil instruction time per school year) -
(enrolled students reaching 19 years of age by September 10 of the school year)
- (0.50 times students enrolled in MT youth challenge) + (early graduates)]
divided by 2 to get the average of the two enrollment counts by budget
unit;
(ii) multiply (a)(i)
by the sum of PIR days plus PI days, divided by 180, rounded up to the next
whole number, equals current ANB; and
(iii) add the additional approved enrollment,
as determined in ARM
10.20.104 and
10.20.104A, to the enrollment used
to calculate the current ANB.
(b) To calculate three-year average ANB, the
Superintendent of Public Instruction will do the following:
(i) total the current ANB by budget unit for
the budget year and the two years preceding the year for which three-year
average ANB could be used for funding, divide the sum by three, and round up to
the nearest whole number; and
(ii)
add the additional approved enrollment as determined in ARM
10.20.104A to the enrollment used
to calculate three-year average ANB.
(c) To determine whether the current ANB or
three-year average ANB will be used for budgeting and funding purposes, the
Superintendent of Public Instruction will calculate the district's maximum
general fund budget using the current ANB as determined in (a) for every budget
unit of the district and also using the three-year average ANB as determined in
(b) for every budget unit of the district. The ANB type that generates the
highest maximum general fund budget will be used for budgeting and for
determining the direct state aid funding for the district's general fund budget
for the ensuing year.
(17) When an audit or other review determines
the enrollment used for calculating ANB was incorrectly reported, the
Superintendent of Public Instruction will make an adjustment as follows:.
(a) If the enrollment reporting error is
discovered and reported to the Superintendent of Public Instruction before the
budget for FY 20XX is adopted and before the date by which the trustees must
commence the final budget meeting required by
20-9-131,
MCA, the Superintendent of Public Instruction will recalculate and recertify
the district's current or three-year average ANB for the FY 20XX budget using
the corrected enrollment figures in the ANB calculations.
(b) Except as provided in (c), if an
enrollment reporting error is discovered and reported to the Superintendent of
Public Instruction on or after the date by which the trustees must commence the
FY 20XX final budget meeting required by
20-9-131,
MCA, the Superintendent of Public Instruction will determine the direct state
aid and guaranteed tax base aid payments the district would have received for
FY 20XX if enrollment had been correctly reported and will make a payment
adjustment in the current year. Funding will be adjusted, but ANB figures will
not be changed for the current year or changed for use in future years' ANB
calculations or budgets.
(c) If the
Superintendent of Public Instruction determines the enrollment reporting error
detected as described in (b) would materially affect the ANB of a future year,
resulting either in significant financial hardship or significant overpayment
of state funds to a district's general fund budget for a future year if not
corrected, the superintendent may use the correct enrollment to certify ANB for
the following year's budget. That is, the enrollment error will be corrected
and will be used in ANB calculations affecting future years only if the
financial impacts are significant.
AUTH:
20-9-102,
20-9-346,
20-9-369,
MCA; IMP:
20-1-301,
20-1-302,
20-1-304,
20-7-117,
20-9-311,
20-9-313,
20-9-314,
20-9-805,
MCA
