An Act To Improve Efficiency and Effectiveness of Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education for Children from Birth to Eight Years of Age through Improved Oversight, Accountability and Interagency Coordination
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 1850
Committee Amendment CA_A-HA_A_H624 (House)

HOUSE AMENDMENT "fJ" to COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 666, 
L.D. 1850, Bill, f'An Act To Improve Efficiency and Effectiveness of Early Intervention 
and Early Childhood Special Education for Children from Birth to Eight Years of Age 
through Improved Oversight, Accountability and Interagency Coordination" 
Amend the amendment in Part B by striking out all of section 3 and inserting the 
following: 
'Sec. B-3. Data linkage. The steering committee of the Maine Education Policy 
Research Institute in the University of Maine System may include a targeted research 
project to the fiscal year 2007-08 work plan to permit the principal investigators of the 
Maine Education Policy Research Institute to provide such technical assistance as may be 
required to complete the investigation outlined in this section. Upon the approval of the 
steering committee of the Maine Education Policy Research Institute, the principal 
investigators of the Maine Education Policy Research Institute may conduct a review of 
the necessary technical and legal advances that would enable data linkage to facilitate 
research projects that would involve linkage of personally identifiable health and 
MaineCare data and personally identifiable education data in a way that would be in 
compliance with federal privacy law and regulation, including the federal Family 
Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, 20 United States Code, Section 1232g 
(2006) and the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, 42 
United States Code, Sections 1320d to 1320d-8 (2006). The Maine Education Policy 
Research Institute may consult with the Office of the Attorney General and with the 
Office of Policy and Legal Analysis for advice on identifying which, if any, state laws, 
rules or policies would have to be changed to enable or facilitate such studies within the 
bounds of federal law and regulation. This report may include a design of a pilot study to 
test the technical advances outlined in this section and may also investigate the possibility 
of data linkage for assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of delivery of early 
intervention, education and health and human services to individuals with disabilities. 
The report may describe data linkage with a broad range of research questions. The report 
may address how to use data linkage studies to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of 
delivery of early intervention, education and health and human services to individuals 
with disabilities, including the number of case managers per child. A goal of such work is 
that the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
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HOUSE AMENDMENT • .fI, to COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 666, L.D. 1850 
work together to determine how data systems can be designed to facilitate analysis of data 
across departments. 
If the steering committee of the Maine Education Policy Research Institute approves 
the inclusion of a targeted research project as outlined in this section to the fiscal year 
2007-08 work plan, the principal investigators of the Maine Education Policy Research 
Institute shall deliver a report on or before January 31, 2008 to the Joint Standing 
Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment requires the steering committee of the Maine Education Policy 
Research Institute to consider the recommendation of the Subcommittee To Study Early 
Childhood Special Education to explore and report to the Joint Standing Committee on 
Education and Cultural Affairs on necessary technical and legal advances that would 
enable data linkage of individually identifiable health and education data in a way that 
would be consistent with federal laws and regulations on privacy while facilitating 
research projects on such matters as effectiveness, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of 
service delivery. 
It differs from Committee Amendment "A" in that this amendment allows the 
steering committee of the Maine Education Policy Research Institute to include a targeted 
research project to the fiscal year 2007-08 work plan to permit the principal investigators 
of the Maine Education Policy Research Institute to provide technical assistance as may 
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(Repr 
ative ~ORT) 
TOWN: Bangor 
HOUSE AMENDMENT