An Act To Amend the Laws Regarding Adult Education
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 1619
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: ROTUNDO, BOWMAN, EDGECOMB, NORTON
Amends: 20-A MRSA §8601, 20-A MRSA §8603-A, 20-A MRSA §8607-A, 20-A MRSA §8611, 20-A MRSA §8612

Legislative Document 
No. 1619 
S.P.563 
March 21, 2007 
An Act To Amend the Laws Regarding Adult Education 
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 ROTUNDO of Androscoggin. 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Cosponsored by Senator BOWMAN of York and Representatives: EDGECOMB of Caribou, 
NORTON of Bangor. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §8601, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 693, §§5 and 8, is amended 
to read: 
§8601. Purpose 
Since education is a lifelong process, it is declared to be the policy of the State to 
provide and encourage the growth of educational opportunities and, where applicable, to 
ensure career, citizenship and college readiness for all adults. 
Sec. 2. 20-A MRS A §8601-A, as amended by PL 2005, c. 519, Pt. I, §3, is further 
amended to read: 
§8601-A. Definitions 
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms 
have the following meanings. 
1. 
Adult education. "Adult education" has the same meaning as in section 1, 
subsection 1 and also means courses of instruction approved in accordance with this 
chapter in the following categories: general adult enrichment courses; adult career and 
technical education courses; handicapped adult workforce training and retraining courses; 
courses for students with disabilities and adult learners with disabilities; high school 
completion courses, which include courses that are aligned with the system of learning 
results established in accordance with section 6209 and general educational development 
preparation courses for the Maine high school equivalency diploma; college transition 
courses; and basic literacy courses instruction, including English as a Second Language. 
2. Adult education program costs. "Adult education program costs" means those 
costs identified in section 8607-A. 
2-A. Career and technical education. "Career and technical education" has the 
same meaning as in section 8301-A, subsection 2-A, applicable to career and technical 
education for secondary students. 
3. Center. "Center" has the same meaning as in section 8301-A, subsection 3~ 
applicable to career and technical education for secondary students. 
4. FouBdatioB year. "Foundation year" means the fiscal year 2 years prior to the 
fiscal year in which funds are allocated. 
5. Maximum allowable expenditures. "Maximum allowable expenditures" means, 
for state subsidy purposes, an amount not to exceed the sum of funds appropriated 
through taxation and expended in accordance with section 8607-A in the foundation base 
year, plus the amount of subsidy paid by the State during the foundation base year. 
6. 
Municipality. 
"Municipality" has the same meaning as in section 15672, 
subsection 21. 
Page I - 123LR0619(Ol)-1 
7. Parent. "Parent" means a parent, as defined in section 1, subsection 20, with legal 
custody of a minor child, except that "parent" of a child with disabilities means a parent 
as defined in the federal Individuals with Disabilities Act, 20 United States Code, Se :tion 
1401(23). 
8. Region. "Region" has the same meaning as in section 830 I-A, subsection 6.1 
applicable to career and technical education for secondary students. 
9. Residence. "Residence" means, with reference to a person's eligibility to receive 
adult education, the school administrative unit in which is located the legal residence of 
the person's parent if the person has not reached 18 years of age, the legal residence of the 
person after the person reaches 18 years of age; or the legal residence of the person after 
the person becomes an emancipated minor. 
A federal reservation or installation is 
considered part of the school administrative unit in which it is located. 
10. Unit. "Unit" means a school administrative unit. 
12. Adult career and technical education. "Adult career and technical education" 
means organized educational activities, eligible for federal or state funding, that: 
A. Offer a sequence of courses that provide individuals with the academic and 
technical knowledge and skills the individuals need to prepare for further education 
and for careers, other than careers requiring a baccalaureate, master's or doctoral 
degree, in current or emerging employment sectors; and 
B. 
Include competency-based applied learning that contributes to the academic 
knowledge, higher-order reasoning and problem-solving skills, work attitudes, 
general employability skills, technical skills and occupation-specific skills of an 
individual. 
"Adult career and technical education" includes career and technical education as defined 
in subsection 2-A, and similar educational activities for postsecondary students. 
13. Adult learners with disabilities. 
"Adult learners with disabilities" means 
adults who cannot benefit from a regularly scheduled adult education course because of a 
disability and are found by the unit, region or center to be capable of benefiting from a 
course for adult learners with disabilities designed to help adults learn basic life skills 
through practical instruction related to their needs and goals. Adult learners with 
disabilities are those students who are riot eligible, due to age, for services under the 
federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 United States Code, Section 1400, 
et seq. 
14. Adult workforce training and retraining. "Adult workforce training and 
retraining" means courses or activities eligible for state funding that serve any of the 
following adult learners: 
A. 
Preparatory learners, who are adults learning new skills III preparation for 
employment in a job or occupation that is new to them; 
B. 
Supplemental learners, who are adults pursuing courses or activities that are 
related, in a clear and applicable manner, 
to current full-time or part-time 
employment or wage-earning activities; or 
C. Certificate learners, who are adults participating in a sequence of courses that 
provide individuals with the academic and technical knowledge and skills that 
individuals need to prepare for further education and careers in current or emerging 
employment sectors. 
15. Base year. "Base year" has the same meaning as in section 15672, subsection 1-
B. 
16. Basic literacy instruction. "Basic literacy instruction" means instruction, based 
on individual needs and goals, for adults whose skills in reading, writing, numeracy, 
speaking or listening are below the grade 12 level. It includes adult basic education and 
English as a Second Language instruction described in the State's plan for the 
implementation of the federal adult education program and adult literacy and English as a 
Second Language instruction provided with state and local funding. 
17. 
College transition course. 
"College transition course" means a course to 
support adults with high school diplomas who are not academically prepared to take 
college courses. 
18. Enrichment course. "Enrichment course" means a noncredit course provided 
under the supervision of an instructor and in accordance with a course outline identifying 
instructional goals for its participants. "Enrichment course" does not include offerings for 
the sole purpose of recreation. 
19. High school completion course. "High school completion course" means a 
course that is aligned with the system of learning results established in accordance with 
section 6209 and includes general educational development preparation courses for the 
Maine high school equivalency diploma. 
20. Instructional supplies. "Instructional supplies" means those supplies that fulfill 
the purpose of a specific instructional program and, during the teaching process, are 
actually consumed or worn out through use, or lose their identity through fabrication or 
incorporation into different or more complete units or substances. Instructional supplies 
do not include those items that result in a product or service for the student for which lab 
or materials fees may be assessed, or those items that result in a product or service for the 
unit, region or center. 
21. Student with disabilities. "Student with disabilities" has the same meaning as 
"child with a disability" as defined in section 7001, and any such students are included 
under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 United States Code, 
Section 1400, et seq. 
Sec. 3. 20-A MRSA §8603-A is enacted to read: 
§8603-A. Warrant to raise, appropriate, receive and expend money 
1. Warrant language. In order to fund adult education and educational activities 
and tuition costs under section 8603, a unit must use the following warrant language at a 
duly called special or regular meeting or city election: 
"Article ....... : 
To see if (the school administrative unit) will appropriate $ ............ for 
adult education and raise $ ............ as the local share; with authorization to expend any 
additional, incidental, or miscellaneous receipts in the interest and for the well-being of 
the adult education program." 
2. Approval. Approval of the warrant must be by majority vote of those voting and, 
if in more than one municipality, by a majority of those voting in each municipality. 
3. Effect on multiple municipalities. If individual municipalities in a unit are 
approving the budget, the appropriation line must still be the total amount of the adult 
education budget, but the amount raised must be the amount of that specific 
municipality's local share. 
Sec. 4. 20-A MRS A §8604, as amended by PL 1991, c. 518, §36, IS further 
amended to read: 
§8604. Authority to operate programs not receiving state subsidy 
A unit, region or center may make available facilities for adults for day and evening 
educational and recreational activities not reimbursable by the State. These courses and 
activities may be financed by tuition fees, by funds made available by the unit, by funds 
from other sources or by a combination of these. 
Sec. 5. 20-A MRS A §8606-A, as amended by PL 2005, c. 12, Pt. D, § 1 and 
affected by Pt. WW, § 18, is further amended to read: 
§8606-A. Reimbursement procedures 
2. 
Budget recommendation. 
Prior to December 15th of each year, the 
commissioner shall certify to the Governor and to the Bureau of the Budget the funding 
levels for the various program categories in adult education for payment in the next fiscal 
year. The commissioner shall include these funding levels in the department's request to 
the Legislature for appropriations from the General Fund to carry out the purposes of this 
chapter. 
A. 
The recommended funding level must be for the authorized include funds in an 
amount that is sufficient to provide for state administration of adult education 
programs including funds for the cost of general educational development tests and 
administration; supporting a statewide volunteer program of literacy outreach; state-
sponsored professional development; state-level data collection, including the 
required software for units, regions or centers providing adult education programs; 
and reimbursement of the costs listed in section 8607-A at the rates established in that 
section 8607 A and. The recommended funding level may not exceed the maximum 
allowable expenditures in the foundation base year, adjusted pursuant to paragraph C. 
B. 
A unit, region or center shall provide the commissioner with information 
requested by the commissioner to carry out the purpose of this chapter. 
The 
commissioner may withhold state subsidy payment or a portion of the state subsidy 
payment from a unit, region or center if the unit, region or center does not provide 
requested information to the commissioner in compliance with the specified format, 
content and time schedule established by the commissioner. 
C. 
The recommendation in the commissioner's funding level certification must 
include local adult education program cost adjustment to the equivalent of the year 
prior to the year of allocation. This adjustment is calculated according to the same 
guidelines established, for purposes of chapter 606-B, by section 15689-C, subsection 
3. 
3. State reimbursement. State reimbursement for e.xpenditures on adult education 
programs must be based on each unit's, region's or center's actual adult education program 
costs in the foundation base year, except that in fiscal years 1991-92 and 1992-93 
available state funding is limited to the fiscal year 1990-91 level, and in fiscal years 1995-
and 1996-97 available state funding is limited to the fiscal year 1994-95 level. 
A. 
The state reimbursement must be based on the unit's, region's or center's 
expenditures for the foundation base year in accordance with the maximum allowable 
expenditures and the local program cost adjustment to the equivalent of the year prior 
to the year of the allocation. 
B. 
State reimbursement must be paid to each eligible unit, region or center during 
the 2nd quarter of the State's fiscal year. 
4. Action by Legislature. The Legislature shall appropriate the necessary funds to 
meet the State's obligation for reimbursement of adult education program costs as 
provided in this section. 
a. 
State admioistrati9B. 
The OOHlHHSSlOner shall add to the funding level 
certification an amount sufficient to pro'lide for the administration of this section. 
Sec. 6. 20-A MRSA §8607-A, as amended by PL 2005, c. 519, Pt. I, §4, is further 
amended to read: 
§8607-A. Reimbursement rates 
Reimbursement for the following costs are made in the year following the incurring 
of those costs, and the rates are as follows. 
1. 
Administrative costs. 
Units are reimbursed 70% of the administrative 
Administrative costs for all adult education courses and educational activities for adults in 
the year following the eKpenditu£e for those listed in section 860 I-A, subsection 1 are 
reimbursed at the rate of 70% of the costs, so long as at least one basic literacy, high 
school completion or college transition course is offered. Administrative costs include 
administrative, supervisory and clerical salaries, and fringe benefits as required for 
salaried positions; the costs of maintaining and operating citi~ens' advisory committees, 
administrative fringe benefits as required for salaried positions and~ administrative travel 
to state meetings related to administering adult education courses and educational 
activities; the costs of operating and maintaining a state-approved data collection system; 
and the costs of administering state-approved assessments other than the general 
educational development tests. 
2. 
Adult career and technical education courses. Adult career and technical 
education courses offered provided in compliance with sectiofl g610 this chapter, if state-
funded, are reimbursed at the rate of 75% of the cost of required instructional salaries and 
fringe benefits for those courses and 50% of the cost of consumable instructional supplies 
and textbooks used in those courses. 
3. Courses for students with disabilities and adult learners with disabilities. 
Handicapped Courses for students with disabilities and adult courses learners with 
disabilities are reimbursed at the rate of 75% of the cost of required instructional salaries 
and fringe benefits for those courses and 50% of the cost of consumable instructional 
supplies and textbooks used in those courses. 
4. High school completion courses that are aligned with the system of learning 
results. High school completion courses that are aligned with the system of learning 
results established in accordance with section 6209 are reimbursed at the rate of 75% of 
the cost of required instructional salaries and fringe benefits for those courses and 50% of 
the cost of consumable instructional supplies and textbooks used in those courses. 
S. Basic literacy instruction. Basic literacy courses are instruction is reimbursed at 
the rate of 75% of the cost of required instructional salaries and fringe benefits for those 
courses and 50% of the cost of cOflsumable instructional supplies and textbooks used in 
those courses. 
7. 
Other administrative costs. 
Other administrative costs, including program 
promotion and related publicity, mailing and postage and telephone expenses for courses 
and programs described in subsections 2 to 6, are reimbursed at the rate of 50% of these 
costs. The cost of interpreters for deaf students and deaf adult learners and the cost of 
translators for students and adult learners with limited English proficiency are reimbursed 
at the rate of 75% of these costs but only as a payment of last resort after the otherwise 
valid obligations of insurers or other 3rd parties to provide or pay for these services have 
been exhausted. 
8. College transition courses. College transition courses are reimbursed at a rate of 
75% of the cost of required instructional salaries and fringe benefits for those courses and 
50% of the cost of consumable instructional supplies and textbooks used in those courses. 
9. Adult workforce training and retraining courses. Adult workforce training and 
retraining courses are reimbursed at the rate of 75% of the costs of required instructional 
salaries and fringe benefits for those courses and 50% of the cost of instructional supplies 
and textbooks used in those courses. 
Sec. 7. 20-A MRS A §860S, as amended by PL 1991, c. 518, §40, is repealed. 
Sec. S. 
20-A MRS A §8609, as amended by PL 1991, c. 518, §41, is further 
amended to read: 
§8609. Fees for adult education 
Fees for adult education are as follows. 
1. 
Registration fee. 
A unit, region or center shall establish a registration fee 
schedule for adult education courses and determine the use of those registration fees. 
2. Laboratory and materials fees. A unit, region or center may charge a person 
attending an adult education course a fee to cover the cost of laboratory supplies and 
materials used in such a course. 
Sec. 9. 20-A MRSA §8611, as amended by PL 1991, c. 518, §43, is further 
amended to read: 
§8611. Transportation 
A unit, region or center may provide transportation for adults to and from adult 
education courses. 
Sec. 10. 20-A MRSA §8612 is enacted to read: 
§8612. Other supports 
A unit, region or center that provides adult education shall ensure that adult education 
students are provided, when applicable, information regarding and referral to other state 
departments and agencies that provide support to adult education students, including, but 
not limited to, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of 
Labor. 
Nothing in this section relieves a school administrative unit of its legal responsibility 
for the education of students with disabilities. 
SUMMARY 
This bill updates the provisions governing adult education to ensure that the 
definitions used, the programs described, the eligibility and funding requirements and the 
reimbursement rates reflect current practice and other changes in both education law and 
related policy objectives that have occurred since the statute was last amended. 
The bill also includes warrant language for raising, appropriating, receiving and 
expending money for adult education and educational activities. The bill provides an 
enhanced description of the funding to be requested annually for the State's 
administration of the adult education program. 
Finally, the bill adds a provision to ensure that adult education students are provided, 
when applicable, information regarding and referral to other state departments and 
agencies.