An Act To Amend and Improve the Education Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1577
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: DOUGLASS, CUMMINGS, MITCHELL, LEDWIN
Amends: Title 42, Section 8, 20-A MRSA §5205, 20-A MRSA §8102, 20-A MRSA §8103, 20-A MRSA §15603

Legislative Document 
No.1S77 
S.P.538 
In Senate, April 16, 2003 
An Act To Amend and Improve the Education Laws 
Submitted by the Department of Education pursuant to Joint Rule 204. 
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed. 
Presented by Senator DOUGLASS of Androscoggin. 
Cosponsored by Representative CUMMINGS of Portland and 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Senator: MITCHELL of Penobscot, Representative: LEDWIN of Holden. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. I. 20-A MRSA §I, sub-§13-A, 1[8, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 
608, §1, is repealed. 
Sec. 2. 20-A MRSA §I, sub-§13-A, 1[8-1 is enacted to read: 
B-1. 
Is a child or a youth: 
(1) 
Who is sharing the housing of other persons due to 
loss of housing or economic hardship or 
a 
similar 
reason: is liying in a motel. hotel. trailer park or 
camping ground due to the lack of alternative adequate 
accommodation: 
is 
living 
in 
an 
emergency 
or 
transitional shelter: is abandoned in a hospital; or is 
awaiting foster care placement: 
(2) 
Who is living .in a car, park or public space or in 
an 
abandoned building, 
substandard housing, 
bus 
or 
train station or similar setting: 
(3) 
Who has a primary nighttime residence that is a 
public or priyate place not designed for or ordinarily 
used as 
a 
regular sleeping accommodation 
for 
human 
beings: and 
(4) 
Who is a migratory child, as defined in Section 
1309 of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965, who qualifies as homeless for the purpose 
of 
this 
chapter 
because 
the 
child 
is 
living 
in 
circumstances described in this section. 
Sec. 3. 20-A MRSA §I, sub-§13-A, ,-C, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 
608, §1, is repealed. 
Sec. 4. 20-A MRSA §5205, sub-§7, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 
608, §3, is amended to read: 
7. 
Homeless 
students. 
Pursuant 
to 
section 
261, 
the 
commissioner may adopt rules to ensure that each homeless student 
has unrestricted access to the free public education afforded by 
section 
2, 
subsection 
1. 
The 
rules 
must 
implement 
the 
requirements and policies of the 
S~ewaF~--B-.... -ME:-K.,i~--H9R1eless 
Assis~aBee-~r-~~~~-baw--~~~r-~~~~~-VIIT-~~~~~-~--as 
ameBaea-9y-~he-~~~-~-~~~k&&&-Assis~aBee-ARleBQmeB~s 
Ae~--~--~~--~~~--baw--~gg-~e87--~~~~~-~r-~~~B--+Q6 
McKinney-Vento Homeless Educatiqn Assistance Improvement Act of 
2001. 42 United States Code, Section 11431 et seq., and may be 
adopted as part of or in conjunction with the required state 
plan. 
The rules must include, but are not limited to, provisions 
Page l-LRI853(1) 
for 
the 
resolution 
of 
disputes 
regarding 
the 
educational 
placement of homeless students according to the best interest of 
homeless 
students, 
prov~s~ons that homeless 
students 
receive 
services comparable to services offered to other students in the 
schools they attend, provisions to address transportation and 
health 
records 
as 
a 
barrier ·to 
school 
admission 
and 
other 
prov~s~ons required by United States Code, Title 42, 
Section 
11466T-SQesee~~an-e 11431. 
Sec. 5. 20·A MRSA §5809, as amended by PL 1999, c. 75, §4, is 
further amended to read: 
§5809. 
Students enrolled in applied technology educational 
programs 
Schools 
rece~v~ng tuition students 
who 
are enrolled in 
regular school day applied technology educational programs at 
applied 
technology centers, 
satellites or applied technology 
regions, under chapter 313, may charge a tuition rate na~ yp to 
eHeeea 2/3 of the maximum tuition rate as computed under sections 
5805 or 5806. 
The applied technology center. satellite or region 
may charge a tuition rate of up to 1/3 of the maximum tuition 
rate as computed under section 5805 or 5806 for the student. 
Sec. 6. 20·A MRS A §7001, sub·§2, ,C, as amended by PL 1999, c. 
721, §1 and affected by §4, is further amended to read: 
C. 
Requires special education because of one or more of the 
following: 
(1) 
Visual impairments, including blindness; 
(2) 
Hearing impairments, including deafness; 
(3) 
Speech and lahguage impairments; 
(4) 
Specific learning disabilities; 
(5) 
Orthopedic impairments; 
(6) 
Emotional disability; 
(7) 
Mental retardation; 
(8) 
Autism; 
(9) 
Traumatic brain i~jury; 
(10) 
Other health impairment; 
(11) 
Deafness and blindness; or 
(12) 
Multiple disabilities. 
Sec. 7. 20-A MRSA §8102, first" as enacted by PL 1981, c. 
693, §§5 and 8, is amended to read: 
The department may, from funds available to it, grant funds 
to a school administrative unit to undertake gifted education 
programs. 
A grant sha** ~ 
be made on the basis of $a-ef-state 
maeehiB~-~~-~~-ea€h-~~-ef-~~-app~p~~a~-hy-~~-sehee* 
aQmiBist~ative-~Bit the requirements of the department. 
Sec. 8. 20-A MRSA §8102, sub-§3, as enac ted by PL 1981, c. 
693, §§5 and 8, is amended to read: 
3. 
Time limits. 
The following limits sha** apply. 
A. 
On 
or 
before 
administrative unit 
proposed program. 
~ea~~a~y--lst 
shall 
submit 
June 
30th, 
the 
school 
to 
the 
department its 
B. 
By May-lath September 1st, the commissioner shall notify 
the school administrative unit whether the proposal has been 
funded for the following fiscal year. 
Sec. 9. 20-A MRSA §8103, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 693, §§5 
and 8, is amended to read: 
SaI03. Available funds 
Funds 
made 
available to 
the 
department 
for 
gifted 
and 
talented education programs from state, federal or other sources 
shall QQ not lapse at the end of a fiscal year, but sha**-ae are 
carried forward to the next fiscal year for a period of 90 days 
to be used for the purposes set forth in this chapter or for the 
purposes stipulated by the granting agency. 
Sec. 10. 20-A MRS A §8104, sub-§ I, as amended by PL 1999, c. 
790, Pt. N, §3, is further amended to read: 
1. 
Establishment. 
Each school administrative unit must, 
commencing with the 1981-88 2003-2004 school year, estoaa.1-i-sb--a 
fully implement its plan for phasing in gifted and talented 
educational programs. 
A-~€~-~~~~-~Bito-e~-~~~~-a 
sehee1-~~~~~~-~Bi~--~-B~--~a~~-~~-eemp1y-~~~-the 
p~evisieBs-~--~-p1aB-Q~~iB~-~-&G~1--yea~s-~~~-~-the 
fal1-ef-aQQQ-aBs-aQQ1T 
c. 
Sec. 11. 20-A MRSA §15603, sub-§8,~, as amended by PL 1997, 
787, §6, is further amended to read: 
B. 
Lease 
costs 
for 
school 
buildings 
when 
the 
leases, 
including leases under which the school administrative unit 
may apply the lease payments to the purchase of portable, 
temporary classroom space beginning January 1, 1988, have 
been approved by the commissioner for the year prior to the 
year of allocation. 
Beginning July 1, 
1998 
lease cost 
includes: 
(1) 
Administrative 
space. 
A school 
administrative 
unit may lease administrative space with state support 
until July 1, 
2003. 
A school 
administrative unit 
engaged 
in 
a 
lease-purchase 
agreement 
for 
administrative 
space is eligible for 
state support 
until July 1, 2008; 
(2) 
Temporary interim nonadministrative space. 
(a) 
A 
school 
administrative 
unit 
with 
state-approved need 
for 
nonadministrative 
space 
may 
lease 
temporary 
interim space, 
with state 
support, 
for 
a 
maximum 
of 
years. 
A school 
administrative unit may appeal to the ~ 
board 
if this aivisieR limitation presents 
an 
undue 
burden. 
The--aeaFa~s--aeeisieR--is--fiRalT 
When 
making a determination on a school administrative 
unit's request for relief based on undue burden, 
the state board may consider, but not be limited 
to, the following: 
(i) 
Fiscal capacity; 
(ii) 
Enrollment demographics; and 
(iii) 
Unforeseen 
circumstances 
not within 
the 
control 
of 
the 
appealing 
school 
administrative unit. 
The state board's decision is final. 
(b) 
A school administrative unit engaged in a 
lease-purchase 
agreement 
for 
temporary 
interim 
nonadministrative 
space 
is 
eligible 
for 
state 
support for a maximum of 10 years; and 
(3) 
Permanent 
small 
nonadministrative 
space 
that 
replaces or is converted from existing approved leased 
portable space. 
The existing leased portable space 
will be eligible for state support until July 1, 
Once 
an 
existing 
leased 
portable 
space 
has 
converted 
into 
a 
permanent 
nonadministrative 
through 
an 
approved 
lease-purchase 
agreement, 
space is eligible for state support for a maximum 
years. 
2003. 
been 
space 
such 
of 10 
The Department of Education shall adopt rules necessary to 
implement this paragraph. 
Rules adopted by the Department 
of 
Education 
to 
implement 
this 
paragraph 
are 
major 
substantive 
rules 
pursuant 
to 
Title 
5, 
chapter 
375, 
subchapter ~~-A 2-A; 
SUMMARY 
This bill does the following: 
1. 
It adds "emotional disability" to the definition of 
"exceptional student" in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, 
section 7001; 
2. 
It adds 
"undue burden" 
requests for extension of leased 
local school administrative units; 
as 
a 
requirement concerning 
space agreements relating to 
3. 
It amends 
the definition of 
"homeless 
student" 
in 
compliance with the provisions of federal law; 
4. 
It 
amends 
the 
homeless 
student 
provisions 
to 
be 
addressed by Department of Education rules to implement federal 
law; 
5. 
It amends 
and clarifies the section of the statute 
defining 
the 
tuition 
rate 
that 
may 
be 
charged 
by 
schools 
rece~v~ng tuition students who are enrolled in regular school day 
applied technology educational programs at applied technology 
centers. 
It adds language establishing the tuition rate that may 
be charged by the applied technology center, satellite or region; 
and 
6. 
It 
amends 
the 
statutes 
regarding 
local 
funding 
requirements for gifted and talented programs and the reporting 
dates and implementation dates for those programs.