An Act To
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 0978
Committee Amendment CA_A_H720 (House)
Amends: 20-A MRSA §5205

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 722, L.D. 978, Bill, "An Act To 
Amend the Probate Code Regarding Powers of Attorney, Education of Children and 
Guardianship" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act To Provide for School Enrollment and an Appeal Process in Specific Cases 
in Which Students Do Not Reside with Parents' 
Amend the bill by inserting after the title and before the enacting clause the 
following: 
'Mandate preamble. This measure requires one or more local units of government 
to expand or modify activities so as to necessitate additional expenditures from local 
revenues but does not provide funding for at least 90% of those expenditures. Pursuant to 
the Constitution of Maine, Article IX, Section 21, 2/3 of all of the members elected to 
each House have determined it necessary to enact this measure.' 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §5205, sub-§2, as amended by PL 1991, c. 365, §1, is 
further amended to read: 
2. Other students not living at home. A student other than a state ward, a state 
agency client or a homeless child, residing with another person who is not the student's 
parent, is considered a resident of the school administrative unit where the student resides 
if the superintendent of the unit determines that it is in the best interest of the student 
because of the follo',ving that person is residing in the school administrative unit for other 
than just education purposes and: 
A. It is undesirable and impractical for that student to reside with the student's 
parent, or that other extenHating eireHfHstanees exist ,.vhieh jHstify residenee in the 
HRit; and 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
~~ 
~O 1 
l3 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,,~ " to H.P. 722, L.D. 978 
B. 
That person is residing in the school administrative unit for other than just 
education purposes. 
C. There is a safety reason for the student not to reside with the student's parent; or 
D. Other extenuating circumstances exist that justify residence in the unit. 
If a person who is not the student's parent or legal guardian requests that a student be 
considered a resident under this subsection, the school administrative unit shall take 
reasonable steps to attempt to notify a parent or legal guardian of the request. 
In determining whether it is in the best interest of the student to enroll in the school 
administrative unit, the superintendent shall consult with knowledgeable employees of 
relevant school administrative units that the superintendent considers appropriate. 
The superintendent shall send written notice of the enrollment determination to the person 
making a request within 10 calendar days of receiving the request to enroll a student 
pursuant to this subsection. If the determination is to deny enrollment because the 
superintendent determines that enrollment in the school administrative unit is not in the 
best interest of the student as provided in this subsection, the superintendent shall send to 
the person who made the request written notice of the denial of enrollment, the reason for 
the denial and the right to appeal to the commissioner. 
The commissioner shall review the superintendent's determination on the request of 
appeal by the student's parent or legal guardian or the person with whom the student is 
residing and shall make a decision within 7 calendar days of receiving the appeal. The 
commissioner's decision is final and binding. Upon request of the superintendent of 
schools in the unit in which a student is placed in accordance with this subsection, the 
state share percentage for subsidized educational costs for that student is equivalent to the 
state share percentage of the unit in which the student's parent or legal guardian resides or 
the average state share percentage, whichever is greater. If the parent or legal guardian 
does not reside in the State or can not be located, the subsidy is the state average subsidy. 
Sec. 2. Model explanation. The Commissioner of Education shall prepare and 
distribute a model for superintendents of schools to use to explain the appeal process 
when a superintendent determines attendance by a student in the superintendent's school 
administrative unit is not in the student's best interest under the Maine Revised Statutes, 
Title 20-A, section 5205, subsection 2.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment adds a mandate preamble to and changes the title of the bill. 
It replaces the bill, which addresses the duration of powers of attorney concerning 
minors, Probate Court orders that provide transition arrangements that are in the best 
interest of minors and the application for enrollment in a school administrative unit for 
students living with kinship families rather than their parents. Public Law 2011, chapter 
addresses the first 2 issues. 
It amends the current law to provide that a student's safety in a parent's home is a 
basis for a superintendent to determine that it is in the best interest of the student to enroll 
in that school administrative unit when the student is residing in that unit with someone 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
" 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" n" to H.P. 722, L.D. 978 
other than a parent or guardian. 
Current law provides that, for a superintendent to 
detennine that a student's enrolling in that school administrative unit is in the student's 
best interest when the student is not living with a parent, 2 requirements must be met: 
first, that it is undesirable and impractical for that student to reside with the student's 
parent or that other extenuating circumstances exist that justify residence in the unit; and, 
second, that the person with whom the child is living is residing in the school 
administrative unit for other than just education purposes. This amendment restructures 
the language to still require that the person with whom the child is living must be residing 
in the unit for other than education purposes, and then provides that one of 3 conditions, 
one of them the new safety requirement, must also be met. The other, existing conditions 
are that it is undesirable and impractical for that student to reside with the student's parent 
and that other extenuating circumstances exist which justify residence in the unit. 
It requires the school administrative unit to take reasonable steps to notify the 
student's parents or legal guardian if a request for enrollment is made by a person other 
than the parent or legal guardian. 
It provides that a superintendent is required to consult with knowledgeable employees 
of relevant school administrative units that the superintendent considers appropriate in 
order to detennine if enrollment is in the student's best interest. The superintendent must 
notify the person requesting enrollment within 10 calendar days of the request whether 
the student may enroll in that unit. If the detennination is to deny enrollment because the 
superintendent detennines that enrollment in the school administrative unit is not in the 
best interest of the student, the superintendent must send written notice to the person with 
whom the student is residing of the denial of enrollment, the reason for the denial and the 
right to appeal to the Commissioner of Education. 
It provides that, if the person appeals the superintendent's denial of enrollment, the 
Commissioner of Education must decide within 7 calendar days whether to overturn the 
superintendent's decision. 
It provides that the Commissioner of Education must develop a model written 
explanation of the appeal process when the superintendent detennines that attendance in 
that school administrative unit is not in the best interest of the student and distribute it to 
superintendents. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Revised: 02/15112 
~aC*-
LD978 
LR 812(03) 
An Act To Amend the Probate Code Regarding Powers of Attorney, Education of Children and 
State Mandates 
Guardianship 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment "R" 
Committee: Judiciary 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
State Mandate - Exempted 
Required Activity 
Unit Affected 
Expands the requirements in determining whether a student may attend a school in a 
School 
school administrative unit other than the one in which the student has permanent 
residence as follows: 
1) requires the superintendent to consult with knowledgeable employees of relevant 
school administrative units; 
2) requires the school administrative unit to take reasonable steps to notify the 
parent or legal guardian of the student if they are not the ones initiating the request; 
and 
3) requires the superintendent to make the determination within 10 calendar days of 
receiving the enrollment request. 
Local Cost 
Moderate 
statewide 
Pursuant to the Mandate Preamble, the two-thirds vote of all members elected to each House exempts the state from 
the constitutional requirement to fund 90% of the additional costs. 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Additional cost to the Department of Education to develop the model for superintendents to use to explain the appeal 
process can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources. 
LR0812(03) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1