An Act To Enhance Parental Roles in Education Choice
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 1424
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: VOLK, MASON, NEWENDYKE, O'CONNOR, SANDERSON, SIROCKI

Legislative Document 
No. 1424 
H.P. 1047 
House of Representatives, April 6, 2011 
An Act To Enhance Parental Roles in Education Choice 
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed. 
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative VOLK of Scarborough. 
Cosponsored by Senator MASON of Androscoggin and 
Representatives: NEWENDYKE of Litchfield, O'CONNOR of Berwick, SANDERSON of 
Chelsea, SIROCKI of Scarborough. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA c. 101, sub-c. 3 is enacted to read: 
SUBCHAPTER 3 
PARENTAL EMPOWERMENT IN SCHOOL RESTRUCTURING 
§1071.  Parental empowerment 
1.  Parental petition.  A parent of a student in an elementary or secondary school 
that is not making adequate yearly progress under the federal No Child Left Behind Act 
of 2001, 20 United States Code, Chapter 70, may petition the superintendent of the school 
administrative unit in which the school is located to restructure the provision of services 
provided by the school through one of the strategies described in subsection 3. 
2.  Form of petition; procedure.  A petition for restructuring under subsection 1 
must conform to format and circulation procedures adopted by rule by the commissioner. 
3.  Restructuring strategies.  A petition under this section may request that a school 
be restructured using one of the following strategies: 
A.  Closure of the school and transfer of the students to another existing or new 
school within the school administrative unit; 
B.  Restarting the school by closing it and reopening it as a charter school under an 
independent operator selected by the superintendent through a rigorous review 
process; 
C.  Replacing school leadership and granting the new school leadership greater 
flexibility in personnel and curriculum decisions; or 
D.  Transformation of the school through implementation of a turnaround strategy 
with greater oversight of teacher development, training and evaluation by the 
commissioner. 
4.  Submission of petition.  If petitioners obtain the signatures of at least one parent 
per student for at least 50% of the students enrolled at the school proposed for 
restructuring, the petitioners may submit the petition to the commissioner for verification 
of signatures.  If the verified signatures total at least one parent per student for at least 
50% of the students enrolled at the school proposed for restructuring, the commissioner 
shall require the superintendent to submit to the commissioner within 3 months a plan for 
implementation of the restructuring strategy requested in the petition. 
5.  Implementation of plan.  Upon receipt of a restructuring plan under subsection 4, 
the commissioner shall hold a public meeting on the plan within the area covered by the 
school that is proposed for restructuring.  The commissioner shall determine whether the 
plan will improve educational opportunities for students within the school administrative 
unit and may make changes to the plan if approved by the school administrative unit and 
by the petitioners.  If the commissioner determines that a plan will improve educational 
opportunities for students within the school administrative unit, the commissioner shall 
require the superintendent to implement the plan and establish a target date for 
completion of implementation. 
6.  Rules.  The commissioner shall adopt rules to implement this subchapter.  Rules 
adopted under this subsection are major substantive rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 
375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 2.  Implementation.  When implementing this Act the Commissioner of 
Education shall review the provisions of the laws and regulations of California and other 
states on parent initiation of school restructuring and incorporate through rulemaking 
provisions of those laws and regulations that will facilitate the effective and efficient 
implementation of this Act. 
SUMMARY 
This bill allows parents to petition for the restructuring of a school that is not making 
adequate yearly progress.  Restructuring may include closure of the school, conversion of 
the school to a charter school, replacement of school leadership and teachers and 
oversight by the State of structural improvements.  This bill is based on a process referred 
to as the "Parent Trigger" adopted by the State of California in 2009.