§ 20-3-324 — Powers And Duties

20-3-324 . (Temporary) Powers and duties. As prescribed elsewhere in this title, the trustees of a district shall exercise supervision and control of the schools of the district in providing its educational program pursuant to Article X, section 8, of the Montana constitution, and shall:
(1) employ or dismiss a teacher, principal, or other assistant upon the recommendation of the district superintendent, the county high school principal, or other principal as the board considers necessary, accepting or rejecting any recommendation as the trustees in their sole discretion determine, in accordance with the provisions of Title 20, chapter 4;
(2) employ and dismiss administrative personnel, clerks, secretaries, teacher's aides, custodians, maintenance personnel, school bus drivers, food service personnel, nurses, and any other personnel considered necessary to carry out the various services of the district;
(3) administer the attendance and tuition provisions and govern the pupils of the district in accordance with the provisions of the pupils chapter of this title;
(4) call, conduct, and certify the elections of the district in accordance with the provisions of the school elections chapter of this title;
(5) participate in the teachers' retirement system of the state of Montana in accordance with the provisions of the teachers' retirement system chapter of Title 19;
(6) participate in district boundary change actions in accordance with the provisions of the school districts chapter of this title;
(7) organize, open, close, or acquire isolation status for the schools of the district in accordance with the provisions of the school organization part of this title;
(8) adopt and administer the annual budget or a budget amendment of the district in accordance with the provisions of the school budget system part of this title;
(9) conduct the fiscal business of the district in accordance with the provisions of the school financial administration part of this title;
(10) establish the ANB, BASE budget levy, over-BASE budget levy, and operating reserve amounts for the general fund of the district in accordance with the provisions of the general fund part of this title;
(11) establish, maintain, budget, and finance the transportation program of the district in accordance with the provisions of the transportation parts of this title;
(12) issue, refund, sell, budget, and redeem the bonds of the district in accordance with the provisions of the bonds parts of this title;
(13) when applicable, establish, financially administer, and budget for the tuition fund, retirement fund, building reserve fund, adult education fund, nonoperating fund, school food services fund, miscellaneous programs fund, building fund, lease or rental agreement fund, traffic education fund, impact aid fund, interlocal cooperative fund, and other funds as authorized by the state superintendent of public instruction in accordance with the provisions of the other school funds parts of this title;
(14) when applicable, administer any interlocal cooperative agreement, gifts, legacies, or devises in accordance with the provisions of the miscellaneous financial parts of this title;
(15) hold in trust, acquire, and dispose of the real and personal property of the district in accordance with the provisions of the school sites and facilities part of this title;
(16) operate the schools of the district in accordance with the provisions of the school calendar part of this title;
(17) set the length of the school term, school day, and school week in accordance with 20-1-302 ;
(18) establish and maintain the educational program of the schools of the district in accordance with the provisions of the instructional services, textbooks, K-12 career and vocational/technical education, and special education parts of this title. In undertaking its duties related to the district's educational program, the board of trustees may:
(a) waive any specific course requirement otherwise required for graduation based on individual student needs and performance levels, age, maturity, interest, and aspirations of the pupil, in consultation with the pupil's parents or guardians; and
(b) provide credit for a course satisfactorily completed in a period of time shorter or longer than normally required as set forth in 20-9-311 (4)(d) or through content proficiency gained through alternative means. Examples of alternative means by which content proficiency may be achieved include but are not limited to correspondence, extension, and distance learning courses, adult education, summer school, work study, work-based learning partnerships, and other experiential learning opportunities, custom-designed courses, and challenges to current courses. Montana schools shall accept units of credit taken with the approval of the accredited Montana school in which the student was then enrolled and which appear on the student's official school transcript.
(19) establish and maintain the school food services of the district in accordance with the provisions of the school food services parts of this title;
(20) make reports from time to time as the county superintendent, superintendent of public instruction, and board of public education may require;
(21) retain, when considered advisable, a physician or registered nurse to inspect the sanitary conditions of the school or the general health conditions of each pupil and, upon request, make available to any parent or guardian any medical reports or health records maintained by the district pertaining to the child;
(22) for each member of the trustees, visit each school of the district not less than once each school fiscal year to examine its management, conditions, and needs, except that trustees from a first-class school district may share the responsibility for visiting each school in the district;
(23) procure and display outside daily in suitable weather on school days at each school of the district an American flag representing the United States and manufactured in the United States that measures not less than 3 feet by 5 feet;
(24) provide that an American flag representing the United States and manufactured in the United States that measures at least 16 inches by 24 inches be prominently displayed in each classroom in each school of the district no later than the beginning of the school year, except in a classroom in which the flag may get soiled. Districts are encouraged to work with military organizations and civic groups to acquire flags through donation, and this requirement is waived if the flags are not provided by a military organization or civic group.
(25) for grades 7 through 12, provide that legible copies of the United States constitution, the United States bill of rights, and the Montana constitution printed in the United States or in electronic form are readily available in every classroom no later than the beginning of the school year. Districts are encouraged to work with civic groups to acquire the documents through donation, and this requirement is waived if the documents are not provided by a civic group.
(26) adopt and administer a district policy on assessment for placement of any child who enrolls in a school of the district from a nonpublic school that is not accredited, as required in 20-5-110 ;
(27) upon request and in compliance with confidentiality requirements of state and federal law, disclose to interested parties school district student assessment data for any test required by the board of public education;
(28) consider and may enter into an interlocal agreement with a postsecondary institution, as defined in 20-9-706 , that authorizes 11th and 12th grade students to obtain credits through classes available only at a postsecondary institution;
(29) approve or disapprove the conduct of school on a Saturday in accordance with the provisions of 20-1-303 ;
(30) submit a plan to correct the noncompliance and prevent future instances of noncompliance to the superintendent of public instruction for failure to implement the district's student protection policy required in 20-3-323 (1)(d); and
(31) perform any other duty and enforce any other requirements for the governance of the schools pursuant to the constitutional power of supervision and control of schools vested in elected school boards pursuant to Article X, section 8, of the Montana constitution as prescribed by this title, the policies of the board of public education, or the rules of the superintendent of public instruction.

Legislative History

(1), (3) thru (18), (23)En. Sec. 62, Ch. 5, L. 1971; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 69, L. 1973; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 280, L. 1973; Sec. 75-5933, R.C.M. 1947; (2), (19) thru (22)En. Sec. 63, Ch. 5, L. 1971; Sec. 75-5934, R.C.M. 1947; R.C.M. 1947, 75-5933(1) thru (18), 75-5934; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 682, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 72, Ch. 575, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 135, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 145, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 498, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 9, Ch. 11, Sp. L. June 1989; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 767, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 402, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 633, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 22, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 311, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 102, Ch. 584, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 133, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 377, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 21, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 340, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 8, Ch. 138, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 21, Ch. 44, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 266, L. 2013; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 75, L. 2019; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 247, L. 2021; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 253, L. 2021; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 640, L. 2023; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 424, L. 2025; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 716, L. 2025.