Under a new state law that allows students to attend any school in the state for free, 88 out-of-district students have applied to enroll in Bozeman Public Schools next year.

Out of the total applications, 34 students are new to Bozeman schools, Superintendent Casey Bertram said.

The other 54 students have already attended school in Bozeman previously by paying tuition, he said. Those students had to have special circumstances, like having a parent who is a staff member in the district or being a high school senior who moved away but wanted to finish their final year of school in Bozeman, according to district policy.

Those families will no longer be charged tuition next year, Bertram said. HB 203 shifts some of the financial responsibility away from the host school by requiring the student’s resident district to pay tuition — funded by property taxes — to the other district.

Bozeman Chronicle: Bozeman schools receive 88 student applications through open enrollment