An Act To Enhance Career and Technical Education
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 1865
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: LANGLEY
Amends: 20-A MRSA §4722, 20-A MRSA §4801, 20-A MRSA §8402, 20-A MRSA §8451-A, 20-A MRSA §12709

Legislative Document 
No. 1865 
S.P. 650 
In Senate, March 12, 2012 
An Act To Enhance Career and Technical Education 
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed. 
JOSEPH G. CARLETON, JR. 
Secretary of the Senate 
Presented by Senator LANGLEY of Hancock.  (GOVERNOR'S BILL) 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA §4722, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2009, c. 313, §17, is 
further amended to read: 
3.  Satisfactory completion.  A diploma may be awarded to secondary school 
students who have satisfactorily completed all diploma requirements in accordance with 
the academic standards of the school administrative unit and this chapter.  All secondary 
school students must achieve the content standards of the parameters for essential 
instruction and graduation requirements established pursuant to section 6209.  Children 
with disabilities, as defined in section 7001, subsection 1-B, who successfully meet the 
content standards of the parameters for essential instruction and graduation requirements 
in addition to any other diploma requirements applicable to all secondary school students, 
as specified by the goals and objectives of their individualized education plans, may be 
awarded a high school diploma.  Career and technical students may, with the approval of 
the commissioner, satisfy the 2nd-year math and science, the 2nd-year social studies and 
the fine arts requirements of subsection 2 requirements of subsection 2 through separate 
or integrated study within the career and technical school curriculum, including through 
courses provided pursuant to section 8402 or 8451-A. 
Students who experience education disruption, as defined in section 5001-A, subsection 
4, paragraph F, who successfully demonstrate achievement of the content standards of the 
parameters for essential instruction and graduation requirements in addition to any other 
diploma requirements applicable to secondary school students as set forth in their school 
work recognition plans as defined in section 5161, subsection 6 must, with the approval 
of the commissioner, be awarded a Department of Education diploma as defined in 
section 5161, subsection 2. 
Sec. 2.  20-A MRSA §4801, sub-§2-A, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 617, §1, is 
amended to read: 
2-A.  Regional school calendars; plan; rules.  Each To be eligible for state subsidy, 
each school administrative unit and private school approved for tuition purposes shall 
work with affiliated units, as defined in section 8301-A, subsection 1, in its career and 
technical education center or school administrative units in its career and technical 
education region to develop and approve a regional school calendar that aligns the school 
calendars of sending schools with the school calendars of career and technical education 
programs in the region.  The plan for a regional school calendar must meet the following 
requirements. 
A.  There may not be more than 9 dissimilar instructional days within each regional 5 
instructional days on which one or more of the school calendars of the school 
administrative units affiliated with a career and technical education center or one or 
more of the school calendars of the school administrative units within a career and 
technical education region are not aligned with the regional school calendar. 
B.  When career and technical education centers or regions overlap, there must be 
common calendars for each of the schools in those overlapping areas. 
C.  The authority for approving the regional school calendar must be within the 
school boards of the local school administrative units. 
D.  Regional school calendars may have provisions for waivers of the number of 
dissimilar days for extenuating circumstances. 
E.  Plans for regional school calendars that comply with this subsection must be 
approved and implemented in time for the 2005-2006 2012-2013 school year. 
F.  All career and technical education students must be given access to career and 
technical education programs for the entire instructional time required for those 
programs by department rules. 
The commissioner shall adopt rules to establish requirements for regional school 
calendars.  Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are major substantive rules pursuant 
to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 3.  20-A MRSA §8402, as amended by PL 2007, c. 667, §12, is further 
amended to read: 
§8402.  Programs 
A center shall provide programs of career and technical education.  Programs of 
career and technical education are eligible to receive state subsidy pursuant to chapters 
606-B and 609.  All programs of career and technical education offered by a center must 
be approved by the commissioner pursuant to section 8306-A.  The programs must offer a 
sequence of courses that are directly related to the preparation of individuals for 
employment in current or emerging occupations and may include training and education 
in academic and business skills preparing students to further their education at the 
community college or other college level or allowing students to use trade and 
occupational skills on other than an employee basis.  Programs of career and technical 
education may also include alternative education programs and training and education in 
music, athletics, art and other activities approved by the commissioner pursuant to section 
8306-A.  A center may also provide courses described in section 4722, subsection 2, the 
successful completion of which satisfies the diploma requirements set forth in section 
4722. 
Sec. 4.  20-A MRSA §8451-A, as amended by PL 2007, c. 667, §13, is further 
amended to read: 
§8451-A.  Programs 
A region shall provide programs of career and technical education.  Programs of 
career and technical education are eligible to receive state subsidy pursuant to chapters 
606-B and 609.  All programs of career and technical education offered by a region must 
be approved by the commissioner pursuant to section 8306-A.  The programs must offer a 
sequence of courses that are directly related to the preparation of individuals for 
employment in current or emerging occupations and may include training and education 
in academic and business skills preparing students to further their education at the 
community college or college level or allowing students to use trade and occupational 
skills on other than an employee basis.  Programs of career and technical education may 
also include alternative education programs and training and education in music, 
athletics, art and other activities approved by the commissioner pursuant to section 
8306-A.  A center may also provide courses described in section 4722, subsection 2, the 
successful completion of which satisfies the diploma requirements set forth in section 
4722. 
Sec. 5.  20-A MRSA §12709, sub-§11-A is enacted to read: 
11-A.  Memorandum of understanding with career and technical education 
system.  To enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Department of 
Education that establishes a process by which the Maine Community College System will 
review programs of the career and technical education centers and career and technical 
education regions established in chapter 313 that are using national industry or state 
certification standards to determine the nature and amount of college credit that must be 
awarded upon successful completion of an approved secondary school program. College 
credits must be awarded upon completion of a program directly to the student regardless 
of whether the student has matriculated in the college awarding the credit.  The awarding 
of college credits to a secondary career and technical education student does not entitle 
the student to acceptance into the community college awarding the credits. 
SUMMARY 
This bill increases opportunities for students in career and technical education 
programs by ensuring greater coordination of school calendars, requiring that students 
have access to career and technical education programming for the entire required 
instructional time and ensuring that the students get credit in their high school programs 
for academic competencies gained through separate or integrated courses in the career 
and technical education programs. 
The bill also directs the President of the Maine Community College System to 
establish a process for determining the nature and amount of college credit that may be 
awarded to a student upon completion of a career and technical education program that 
uses national industry or state certification standards.  The process will be set forth in a 
memorandum of understanding with the Department of Education and will not supersede 
any existing agreements between secondary career and technical education programs and 
individual colleges within the system.