Montana § 20-6-804 - Board Of Public Education Responsibilities

§ 20-6-804. Board Of Public Education Responsibilities

Board of public education responsibilities. (1) In accordance with this part, the board of public education is responsible for executing the following essential powers and duties: (a) soliciting and evaluating charter proposals; (b) approving charter proposals that meet identified educational needs and promote a diversity of educational choices, including but not limited to: (i) increasing standards for student achievement; (ii) closing achievement gaps between high-performing and low-performing groups of public school students; (iii) increasing educational opportunities within the public education system; (iv) providing alternative learning environments for students who are not thriving in traditional school settings; (v) lowering the dropout rate; (vi) creating new professional opportunities for teachers and other school personnel; (vii) encouraging the use of different models of teaching and learning; and (viii) providing students, parents, community members, and local entities with expanded opportunities for involvement in the public education system; (c) denying approval of charter proposals that fail to provide clear and convincing proof of their likelihood of success; (d) negotiating and executing sound charter contracts with each approved public charter school; (e) monitoring approved public charter schools' performance and legal compliance with charter contract terms; (f) determining whether each charter contract merits renewal, nonrenewal, or revocation; and (g) informing the office of public instruction and the relevant county superintendent of schools regarding the status of public charter schools in a timely manner. (2) On or before December 1 of each year, beginning in the first year that a public charter school has been in operation for a full school year, the board of public education shall publish to the board's website and submit to the legislature in accordance with 5-11-210 an annual report on the state's public charter schools for the school year ending in the preceding calendar year. The annual report must include: (a) a comparison of the performance of public charter school students with the performance of academically, ethnically, and economically comparable groups of students in noncharter public schools; and (b) the board's assessment of the successes, challenges, and areas for improvement in meeting the purposes of this part, including the board's assessment of the sufficiency of funding for public charter schools and any suggested changes in state law or policy necessary to strengthen the state's public charter schools.