Montana Code 20-32-102. Agency cooperation — responsibilities
20-32-102. Agency cooperation — responsibilities. (1) To meet the objectives of the network, the following entities shall cooperate with one another:
Terms Used In Montana Code 20-32-102
- Commissioner: means the commissioner of higher education created by Article X, section 9, subsection (2), of the Montana constitution and 2-15-1506. See Montana Code 20-1-101
- district: means the territory, regardless of county boundaries, organized under the provisions of this title to provide public educational services under the jurisdiction of the trustees prescribed by this title. See Montana Code 20-6-101
- school: means an institution for the teaching of children that is established and maintained under the laws of the state of Montana at public expense. See Montana Code 20-6-501
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Superintendent of public instruction: means that state government official designated as a member of the executive branch by the Montana constitution. See Montana Code 20-1-101
- System: means the Montana university system. See Montana Code 20-1-101
- Teacher: means a person, except a district superintendent, who holds a valid Montana teacher certificate that has been issued by the superintendent of public instruction under the provisions of this title and the policies adopted by the board of public education and who is employed by a district as a member of its instructional, supervisory, or administrative staff. See Montana Code 20-1-101
- University: means the university of Montana-Missoula. See Montana Code 20-1-101
- Usage: means a reasonable and lawful public custom concerning transactions of the same nature as those which are to be affected thereby, existing at the place where the obligation is to be performed, and either known to the parties or so well established, general, and uniform that the parties must be presumed to have acted with reference thereto. See Montana Code 1-1-206
(a)the department of administration, with its responsibilities for telecommunications for agencies of state government;
(b)the superintendent of public instruction, with a supervisory role over the public system of elementary and high schools; and
(c)the commissioner of higher education, with responsibilities to the Montana university system and the community colleges.
(2)The responsibilities of the superintendent of public instruction to the network include but are not limited to:
(a)general supervision of delivery of educational materials through telecommunications to elementary and high school districts in the state;
(b)compilation, maintenance, and dissemination to participating school districts of information that identifies the educational programming available from within and from outside the state;
(c)training of teachers and other school personnel in the use of telecommunications technologies for instructional purposes;
(d)assistance to school districts in identifying and procuring the telecommunications technologies needed to interface with the network;
(e)identification of production capability for telecommunication of educational materials;
(f)assistance to participating school districts with group purchases of instructional and educational materials;
(g)coordination with the commissioner of higher education and the units of the Montana university system to offer advanced placement courses, teacher inservice training, and other instruction through the network;
(h)payment of the superintendent’s share of the network costs to the department of administration, as provided in 20-32-104;
(i)coordination with the department of administration to ensure compatibility of network components, to minimize duplication of efforts on behalf of the network, and to maximize use of the network by school districts; and
(j)determination of kinds of equipment, inservice, and district accounting necessary to implement the provisions of this part for school districts.
(3)The responsibilities of the department of administration to the network include but are not limited to:
(a)provision of technical support to the coordinating agencies referred to in subsection (1);
(b)development of standards of compatibility for the network;
(c)procurement and management of network equipment and facilities that have shared use by multiple users or agencies;
(d)assistance with procurement, installation, maintenance, and operation of end-terminal equipment and facilities of the network;
(e)minimizing any duplication of equipment and facilities within the network and in conjunction with the department of administration’s other networking capabilities;
(f)coordination of use of the network by state agencies, subdivisions of the state, and public libraries in a manner that does not interfere with the delivery of the primary network function of providing educational services to school districts and state units of higher education;
(g)studying the use of the network by Native American tribal colleges and other nonpublic education institutions in the state, with the long-range goal of coordinating the use of the network with those entities; and
(h)maintenance of cost and usage records and a billing system for user agencies for services rendered that incur marginal costs for the network.
(4)The responsibilities of the commissioner of higher education to the network include but are not limited to:
(a)coordination of the use of the network among the units of higher education and with the superintendent of public instruction and the department of administration;
(b)assistance to the units of the Montana university system to provide college credit courses through the network to students throughout the state;
(c)coordination with the superintendent of public instruction to develop advance placement courses for high school students in Montana, teacher inservice training, and other services and instruction through the network;
(d)assistance to the units of the Montana university system and the community colleges in defining their specific needs for interfacing with the network;
(e)assistance to participating units, centers, and colleges with group purchases of instructional and educational materials; and
(f)determination of the kinds of equipment, inservice, and accounting necessary to implement the provisions of this part for the university system and community colleges.