10.30.102    APPROVAL CRITERIA

(1) Trustees must submit the application for isolation status as required by 20-9-302 , MCA, to the county superintendent by May 1 of the second consecutive year in which the average adjusted enrollment as calculated in ARM 10.20.102(15) results in ANB of less than 10 elementary or 25 high school students for the ensuing fiscal year.

(2) In considering a request for approval of an application to have a school classified as an isolated school, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction shall utilize the following criteria:

(a) an application form has been completed by the trustees, received by the county superintendent, approved by the Board of County Commissioners, and received by the Superintendent of Public Instruction pursuant to the provisions of 20-6-502 (4) and 20-9-302 , MCA;

(b) the applicant school is an operating elementary school district of less than 10 ANB or a high school of less than 25 ANB for the second consecutive year;

(c) another operating school(s) with room to accommodate applicant's students is further than a distance of 20 passable road miles from applicant school; and

(d) less than 50% or more of the students from the applicant school can, under normal conditions, be transported to the closest operating school(s) in a period of one hour or less.

(i) in determining transportation time to the closest operating school with room to accommodate students, available bus transportation, either elementary or high school, will be taken into consideration.

(ii) if a family member rides a bus to another school, that bus will be considered as available transportation for an elementary child in the same family if the bus provides transportation to an available operating school with room to accommodate the student.

(e) extenuating circumstances which support a variance from the requirements of (2) (a) through (d) , must be documented for consideration by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

History: 20-3-106, MCA; IMP, 20-6-502, 20-9-302, MCA; TRANS & AMD, 1990 MAR p. 505, Eff. 3/16/90; AMD, 1994 MAR p. 1824, Eff. 7/8/94; AMD, 2002 MAR p. 1740, Eff. 6/28/02; AMD, 2004 MAR p. 1613, Eff. 7/23/04.