Resolve, Regarding Legislative Review of Portions of Chapter 101: Maine Unified Special Education Regulation Birth to Age Twenty, a Major Substantive Rule of the Department of Education
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 1900
Committee Amendment CA_A_H562 (House)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,/t" to H.P. 1333, L.D. 1900, "Resolve, Regarding 
Legislative Review of Portions of Chapter 101: 
Maine Unified Special Education 
Regulation Birth to Age Twenty, a Major Substantive Rule of the Department of 
Education" 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 1 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. Adoption. Resolved: That final adoption of portions of Chapter 101: 
Maine Unified Special Education Regulation Birth to Age Twenty, a provisionally 
adopted major substantive rule of the Department of Education that has been submitted to 
the Legislature for review pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 2-A, is authorized only if the provisionally adopted rule is amended as 
follows: 
1. The rule must be amended in Section VII in the part designated "3. Determination 
of Adverse Effect for Children Three to Twenty" to establish a definition for "educational 
performance" that includes a list of academic basic skills and the 5 domains of functional 
performance recognized in federal regulations. 
After summarizing the federal 
c1assifications of disability, this part of the rule must interpret and define the phrases from 
federal law "adversely affects educational performance" and "needs special educational 
and related services" in a way that will guide the Individualized Family Service Plan 
Team or the Individualized Education Plan Team to greater uniformity in determining 
eligibility throughout the State. The rule must Jist various forms of assessment that the 
team may consider as evidence of a "distinctly measurable and persistent gap" between 
the demands of the educational setting and the child's adverse performance caused by the 
disability. The objective criteria must be promulgated as permissibly sufficient but not 
essential to establish a gap in performance. 
The rule must further identify what is 
necessary for documenting intervention strategies for eligible children ages 5 to 20; 
2. The rule must be amended in Section V in the part designated "1. Evaluations, 
Parental Consent, and Revaluations" and Section V in the part designated "6. Time 
Limits for Evaluation Three to Twenty" to establish provisions that require that an initial 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 'l1 " 
to H.P. 1333, L.n. 1900 
evaluation or a reevaluation of a child be conducted within 60 calendar days of receiving 
parental consent for the evaluation; 
3. The rule must be amended in Section V in the part designated "2. Evaluation 
Procedures" by deleting the note inserted at the end of paragraph G, subparagraph (1) that 
states that a school administrative unit is pennitted to use a discrepancy model to 
determine if a child has a "specific learning disability;" 
4. The rule must be amended in Section VI in the part designated "1. Individualized 
Family Service Plan (IFSP) Team or Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team for 
Children Three To Twenty" and in Section IX in the part designated "3. Individualized 
Education Programs (IEPs) for Children Three to Twenty" to establish provisions that 
permit the Individualized Education Program Team to begin transition planning at age 14 
for the student's postsecondary participation in advanced placement courses, a vocational 
education program or an adult education programs; 
5. The rule must be amended in Section XVI in the part designated "5. Filing a Due 
Process Hearing Request" and in "Appendix 1" in the part designated "Due Process 
Hearing Procedures" to clarify that the timeline for filing a due process hearing request is 
years for either a state or federal cause of action under the federal Individuals with 
Disabilities Education Act, 20 United States Code, Section 1400 et seq., as amended; 
6. The rule must be amended in "Appendix 1" in the part designated "Prior Written 
Notice" to incorporate provisions that are equivalent to those contained in the former 
Chapter 101 rules pertaining to the minutes of Pupil Evaluation Team meetings to ensure 
that content of the written notice must include a summary of the comments made by the 
parent, including the parent's description oftheir child's progress, and the names and titles 
of each member of the team. The word "prior" must also be deleted from the tenn "prior 
written notice" in the header to'this part in order to comport with provisions of this part of 
the rule; 
7. The rule must be amended in "Appendix 1" in the part designated "The Child's 
Placement While the Due Process Hearing Request and Hearing are Pending ("Stay 
Put")" to restore the so-called "stay put" provisions contained in the former Chapter 101 
rules that permit a child with a disability to remain in their educational placement while 
the child's parent was seeking mediation or a complaint investigation and awaiting a 
pending decision from a due process hearing or court proceeding; and 
8. The rule must be amended in Section IV in the part designated "2. Qualifications 
of Evaluators" and in "Section XI in the table designated "Related Services for Children 3 
to 20" to provide that neurocognitive testing assistants who are registered with the Maine 
Psychological Association continue to administer and score psychological and 
neurological tests as long as they meet the minimum qualifications established for 
registration and when they are supervised by a psychologist who is the evaluator and who 
is licensed by the State Board of Examiners of Psychologists. The rule must also be 
amended to establish that this provision must remain in effect until the State Board of 
Examiners of Psychologists completes rulemaking on the licensure of neurocognitive 
testing assistants. ' 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to H.P. 1333, L.D. 1900 
SUMMARY 
This amendment is the majority report of the Joint Standing Committee on Education 
and Cultural Affairs. The amendment provides that final adoption of the provisionally 
adopted major substantive rule is authorized contingent upon the Department of 
Education amending the provisionally adopted rule to accomplish the following: 
1. Amend the proposed definition of "adverse effect" to establish a definition for 
"educational performance" that includes a list of academic basic skills and the 5 domains 
of functional performance recognized in federal regulations. 
This part of the rule 
interprets and defines the phrases from federal law "adversely affects educational 
performance" and "needs special educational and related services" in a way that will 
guide the Individualized Family Service Plan Team or the Individualized Education Plan 
Team to greater uniformity in determining eligibility throughout the State; 
2. Amend the proposed rule to require that an initial evaluation or a reevaluation of a 
child be conducted within 60 calendar days of receiving parental consent for the 
evaluation; 
3. Amend the proposed rule to delete the note that states that a school administrative 
unit is permitted to use a discrepancy model to determine if a child has a "specific 
learning disability"; 
4. Amend the proposed rule to permit the Individualized Education Program Team to 
begin transition planning at age 14 for the student's postsecondary participation in 
advanced placement courses, a vocational education program or an adult education 
program; 
5. 
Amend the proposed rule to clarify that the timeline for filing a due process 
hearing request is 2 years for either a state or federal cause of action under the federal 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as amended; 
6. Amend the proposed rule to incorporate provisions that are equivalent to those 
contained in the former Chapter 101 rules pertaining to the minutes of Pupil Evaluation 
Team meetings to ensure that content of the written notice must include a summary of the 
comments made by the parent, including the parent's description of their child's progress, 
and the names and titles of each member of the team; 
7. Amend the proposed rule to restore the so-called "stay put" provisions contained 
in the former Chapter 101 rules that permit a child with a disability to remain in their 
educational placement while the child's parent was seeking mediation or a complaint 
investigation and awaiting a pending decision from a due process hearing or court 
proceeding; and 
8. Amend the proposed rule to provide that Neurocognitive Testing Assistants who 
are registered with the Maine Psychological Association shall continue to be able to 
administer and score psychological and neurological tests as long as they meet the 
minimum qualifications established for registration and when they are supervised by a 
psychologist who is the evaluator and who is licensed by the Department of Professional 
and Financial Regulation Board of Examiners of Psychologists. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" If" to H.P. 1333, L.D. 1900 
I 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 06/04/07 frac. 
LD 1900 
LR 2670(02) 
Resolve, Regarding Legislative Review of Portions of Chapter 101: Maine Unified Special Education 
Regulation Birth to Age Twenty, a Major Substantive Rule of the Department of Education 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment "(f-,, 
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Additional costs to the Department of Education associated with rulemaking can be absorbed within existing budgeted 
resources. 
LR2670(02) • Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1