20-25-428. Tribal college payment for services provided to resident nonbeneficiary students. (1) Subject to a line item appropriation for purposes of this section, the regents shall provide a payment to tribal colleges for enrolled resident nonbeneficiary students who are taking courses for which credit is transferable to another Montana college or university.

(2) (a) Each tribal college shall apply to the regents for this payment. Except as provided in subsection (7), the money must be distributed on a prorated basis according to the eligible resident nonbeneficiary student enrollment in each tribal college during the previous year.

(b) To qualify, a resident nonbeneficiary student must meet the residency requirements as prescribed for the system by the regents and must be enrolled in courses for which credit is transferable to another Montana college or university.

(c) The distribution for any resident nonbeneficiary student payment must be limited to a maximum annual amount of $3,280 for each full-time equivalent student.

(3) A payment is contingent on the tribal college:

(a) being accredited or being a candidate for accreditation by the northwest commission on colleges and universities;

(b) entering into a contract or a state-tribal cooperative agreement, pursuant to Title 18, chapter 11, with the regents to provide the regents with documentation on:

(i) the number of resident nonbeneficiary students for whom the tribal college is entitled to a payment under this section; and

(ii)  the curriculum to ensure that the content and quality of courses offered by the tribal college are consistent with the standards adopted by the system;

(c) providing the regents with documentation that credits for the courses in which the resident nonbeneficiary students are enrolled will be accepted at another Montana college or university; and

(d) filing with the regents evidence that the college's enrollment of Indian students is at least 51%, as required by the Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act of 1978, 25 U.S.C. 1804.

(4) (a) By June 15 of each year, a tribal college shall report to the regents the number of eligible resident nonbeneficiary students who attended the tribal college in that academic year.

(b) By August 15 of each year, the regents shall calculate the payment for each tribal college based on the number of eligible students submitted pursuant to subsection (4)(a) and distribute the funds to each tribal college.

(5) If funding is available pursuant to subsection (1), the legislature intends that the money be an amount in addition to the system budget approved in the general appropriations act.

(6) All funds appropriated under subsection (1) that are unspent revert to the state general fund.

(7) Prior to receiving money pursuant to subsection (1), each tribal college shall grant to eligible resident nonbeneficiary students who meet the residency requirements, as prescribed for the system by the regents, fee waivers in the same percentage as the number of Indian students who are receiving fee waivers to attend a unit of the system bears to the total enrollment in the system.

(8) The calculation in subsection (7) is not intended to allow the university system to retain the calculated amount of funds. Waivers must be given to eligible students.

(9) As used in this section, "resident nonbeneficiary student" means a resident of the state of Montana who is not:

(a) a member of an Indian tribe; or

(b) a biological child of a member of an Indian tribe, living or deceased.

History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 362, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 147, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 255, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 286, L. 2015; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 105, L. 2017; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 161, L. 2019.