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_B_H563 (House)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,3 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 resolve by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'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 and To Establish a 
Stakeholder Group To Examine the Determination of Adverse Effect' 
Amend the resolve by striking out all of section 1 and inserting the following: 
'PART A 
Sec. A-I. 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 by deleting the part of the rule 
designated "3. Determination of Adverse Effect for Children Three to Twenty"; 
2. The rule must be amended in Section V in the part designated "1. Evaluations, 
Parental Consent, and Reevaluations" and in the part designated "6. Time Limits for 
Evaluation Three to Twenty" to establish provisions that require that an initial evaluation 
or a reevaluation of a child be conducted within 60 calendar days of receiving parental 
consent for the evaluation; 
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3. The rule must be amended in Section V in the part designated "2. Evaluation 
Procedures" in (G)(1) by deleting the note at the end of the statement that permits a 
school administrative unit 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 "2. 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 14 
years of age for the student's postsecondary participation in advanced placement courses, 
a vocational education program or an adult education program; 
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 time line 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 I" in the part designated "Prior Written 
Notice" to incorporate provisions that are equivalent to those contained in the former 
Chapter 1 0 1 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 the child's progress, and the names and titles 
of each member of the team. The word "prior" must also be deleted from the term "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 the child's educational placement 
while the child's parent is 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. Child Find For 
Children Three to Twenty" in "G. Qualifications of Evaluators" and in Section XI in the 
table designated "Related Services 3 to 20" to provide that neurocognitive testing 
assistants who are registered with the Maine Psychological Association may 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. 
PARTB 
Sec. B-1. Stakeholder group review of adverse effect. Resolved: That the 
Commissioner of Education shall convene a stakeholder group to examine the federal and 
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state rules and laws pertaining to the determination of adverse effect for children from 
three to twenty years of age; and be it further 
Sec. B-2. Stakeholder group membership. Resolved: That the stakeholder 
group consists of 19 members appointed as set out in this section: 
1. Two members who are parents of children with disabilities between 3 years of age 
and 6 years of age and who have knowledge of or experience with programs for children 
with disabilities, appointed by the Maine Parent Federation, Inc.; 
2. Two members who are parents of children with disabilities between 6 years of age 
and 20 years of age and who have knowledge of or experience with programs for children 
with disabilities, appointed by the Maine Parent Federation, Inc.; 
3. One member who is a director of a Child Development Services System regional 
site, appointed by the Child Development Services System Site Directors Council; 
4. One member who is a special education director, appointed by the Executive 
Director of the Maine Administrators of Services for Children with Disabilities; 
5. One member who is a certified special education teacher in a public elementary or 
secondary school, appointed by the Executive Director of the Maine Education 
Association; 
6. One member who is a principal of a public elementary or secondary school and 
who has knowledge of or experience with programs for children with disabilities, 
appointed by the Executive Director ofthe Maine Principals' Association; 
7. One member who serves as a superintendent of a school administrative unit and 
who has knowledge of or experience with programs for children with disabilities, 
appointed by the Executive Director of the Maine School Superintendents Association; 
8. 
One member who is a provider of related services, appointed jointly by the 
professional associations that represent speech therapists, occupational therapists and 
physical therapists; 
9. One member who is an individual with a disability, appointed by the Executive 
Director of the Disability Rights Center; 
10. One member who is a representative on the Maine Advisory Council for the 
Education of Children with Disabilities, appointed by the chair of the Maine Advisory 
Council for the Education of Children with Disabilities; 
11. 
One member representing the Disability Rights Center, appointed by the 
Executive Director of the Disability Rights Center; 
12. One member representing Pine Tree Legal Assistance, appointed by the Board of 
Directors of Pine Tree Legal Assistance; 
13. 
One member representing the Maine Developmental Disabilities Council, 
appointed by the Executive Committee of the Maine Developmental Disabilities Council; 
14. 
One member representing the Learning Disabilities Association of Maine, 
appointed by the Executive Director of the Learning Disabilities Association of Maine; 
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15. 
One member representing the Autism Society of Maine, appointed by the 
Executive Director of the Autism Society of Maine; 
16. 
One member representing the. Maine Children's Alliance, appointed by the 
Executive Director of the Maine Children's Alliance; and 
17. 
One member representing the Department of Education, appointed by the 
Commissioner of Education; and be it further 
Sec. B-3. Chair. Resolved: That the stakeholder group shall appoint a chair 
from among its members; and be it further 
Sec. B-4. Appointments; convening of stakeholder group. Resolved: That 
all appointments must be made no later than 30 days following the effective date of this 
resolve. The appointing authorities shall notify the Commissioner of Education of the 
names of and contact infonnation for the stakeholder group members once all 
appointments have been completed. Within 15 days after appointment of all members, 
the Commissioner of Education shall call and convene the first meeting of the stakeholder 
group and shall notify the stakeholder group members of the appointments to the 
stakeholder group and the agenda for the organizational meeting of the stakeholder group; 
Sec. B-S. Duties. Resolved: 
That the stakeholder group shall examine the 
portions of "Chapter 101: Maine Unified Special Education Regulation Birth to Age 
Twenty," the provisionally adopted rule submitted for legislative review during the First 
Regular Session of the 123rd Legislature by the Department of Education, that pertain to 
the detennination of adverse effect and shall develop recommendations to the 
Commissioner of Education regarding any necessary changes to the Chapter 101 rules 
regarding the detennination of adverse effect. In completing this task, the stakeholder 
group shall make every effort to avoid duplicating work already completed by the Task 
Force on Eligibility convened by the State Board of Education. The stakeholder group 
may examine other issues pertaining to eligibility for special education and related 
services that the stakeholder group membership detennines to be useful or necessary in 
examining this policy matter; and be it further 
Sec. B-6. Technical assistance; facilitator. Resolved: That the Department 
of Education shall provide necessary staffing services to the stakeholder group including 
funding for an independent facilitator. 
Meetings of the stakeholder group must be 
moderated by the independent facilitator. 
The facilitator selected may not have a 
pecuniary or other vested interest in the outcome of the matters being reviewed and must 
certify to the Commissioner of Education and the members of the stakeholder group that 
the facilitator has no pecuniary or other vested interest in the outcome of the review. 
Such certification must be made in the manner prescribed jointly by the Commissioner of 
Education and the members of the stakeholder group; and be it further 
Sec. B-7. Meetings. Resolved: That the stakeholder group shall hold up to 5 
meetings, including the organizational meeting convened by the Commissioner of 
Education. The agenda for the organizational meeting of the stakeholder group must 
include the following items: 
I. Selection of a chair; 
2. Selection of an independent facilitator; 
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3. Development of a work plan; and 
4. Scheduling of not more than 4 additional meetings; and be it further 
Sec. B-8. Report. Resolved: That the stakeholder group shall submit a report 
that includes its findings and recommendations, including suggested revisions for those 
portions of "Chapter 101: Maine Unified Special Education Regulation Birth to Age 
Twenty" that pertain to the determination of adverse effect, to the Commissioner of 
Education no later than November 30,2007; and be it further 
Sec. B-9. Adoption of rules. Resolved. That, after consideration of the report 
submitted in section 8, the Commissioner of Education shall submit provisionally 
adopted, major substantive rules for those portions of "Chapter 101: Maine Unified 
Special Education Regulation Birth to Age Twenty" that pertain to the determination of 
adverse effect for legislative review in the Second 
Regular Session of the 123rd 
Legislature. 
The rules proposed by the commissioner must be based on the 
recommendations submitted by the stakeholder group. The commissioner shall report to 
the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs by January 31, 2008 on 
the status of rulemaking for Chapter 101.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment is the minority 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: 
1. Amending the proposed rule by deleting the part of the rule pertaining to the 
determination of adverse effect for children 3 to 20 years of age; 
2. Amending 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. 
Amending the proposed rule to delete the language permitting a school 
administrative unit to use a discrepancy model to determine if a child has a "specific 
learning disability"; 
4. Amending the proposed rule to permit the Individualized Education Program 
Team to begin transition planning at 14 years of age for the student's postsecondary 
participation in advanced placement courses, a vocational education program or an adult 
education program; 
5. Amending the proposed rule to clarifY that the timeline for filing a due process 
hearing request is 4 years for either a state or federal cause of action under the federal 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as amended; 
6. Amending 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 the child's progress, 
and the names and titles of each member of the team; 
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7. 
Amending the proposed rule to restore the so-called "stay put" provlslons 
contained in the fonner Chapter 101 rules that permit a child with a disability to remain in 
the child's educational placement while the child's parent is seeking mediation or a 
complaint investigation and awaiting a pending decision from a due process hearing or 
court proceeding; and 
8. Amending the proposed rule to provide that neurocognitive testing assistants who 
are registered with the Maine Psychological Association may 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 amendment also directs the Commissioner of Education to establish a 
stakeholder group to examine the portions of "Chapter 101: 
Maine Unified Special 
Education Regulation Birth to Age Twenty," the provisionally adopted rule submitted for 
legislative review during the First Regular Session of the 123rd Legislature by the 
Department of Education, that pertain to the determination of adverse effect and to 
develop recommendations to the Commissioner of Education regarding any necessary 
changes to the Chapter 101 rules. 
The amendment further authorizes the Commissioner of Education to adopt 
provisionally adopted rules for those portions of "Chapter 101: Maine Unified Special 
Education Regulation Birth to Age Twenty" that pertain to the determination of adverse 
effect for legislative review in the Second Regular Session of the 123rd Legislature. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 06104/07 hac 
LD 1900 
LR 2670(03) 
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-:t" 
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(03) - Fiscal Note - Page I of I