Resolve, Requiring the Department of Education To Amend Its Rules Relating to School Administrative Unit Payments for the Costs Associated with Independent Educational Evaluations
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 0689
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: KENT, ALFOND, BERRY, LOVEJOY, NELSON, STRANG BURGESS, VOLK, WAGNER

Legislative Document 
No. 689 
H.P. 518 
House of Representatives, February 23, 2011 
Resolve, Requiring the Department of Education To Amend Its 
Rules Relating to School Administrative Unit Payments for the 
Costs Associated with Independent Educational Evaluations 
Received by the Clerk of the House on February 18, 2011.  Referred to the Committee on 
Education and Cultural Affairs pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to 
Joint Rule 401. 
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative KENT of Woolwich. 
Cosponsored by Senator ALFOND of Cumberland and 
Representatives: BERRY of Bowdoinham, LOVEJOY of Portland, NELSON of Falmouth, 
STRANG BURGESS of Cumberland, VOLK of Scarborough, WAGNER of Lewiston. 
Sec. 1.  Independent educational evaluation at public expense; rules.  
Resolved:  That the Department of Education shall amend its rule Chapter 101:  Maine 
Unified Special Education Regulation Birth to Age Twenty as follows. 
1. The rule must be amended in Section II to revise the definition of "independent 
educational evaluation" to ensure that the definition of "independent educational 
evaluation at public expense" makes clear that the school either pays for the full cost of 
the evaluation, including the cost for the independent evaluator to produce an evaluation 
report and to appear before the individualized education program team to present the 
evaluation report, or ensures that all of these evaluation costs are otherwise provided for 
at no cost to the parent. 
2. The rule must be amended in Section V in the part concerning independent 
educational evaluations to provide that when a parent exercises the parent's right to an 
independent educational evaluation at public expense, the school is required to pay for the 
full cost of the evaluation, including the cost for the independent evaluator to produce an 
evaluation report and to appear before the individualized education program team to 
present the evaluation report, or to ensure that all of these evaluation costs are otherwise 
provided for at no cost to the parent; and be it further 
Sec. 2.  Provisional adoption of rules.  Resolved:  That the Department of 
Education shall provisionally adopt the amendments required under section 1 to rule 
Chapter 101: Maine Unified Special Education Regulation Birth to Age Twenty no later 
than December 1, 2011.  Rules adopted pursuant to this section are major substantive 
rules as defined in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
SUMMARY 
This resolve directs the Department of Education to amend its rule Chapter 101: 
Maine Unified Special Education Regulation Birth to Age Twenty to provide that, when a 
parent exercises the parent's right to an independent educational evaluation at public 
expense, the school is required to pay for the full cost of the evaluation, including the cost 
for the independent evaluator to produce an evaluation report and to appear before the 
individualized education program team to present the evaluation report, or to ensure that 
all of these evaluation costs are otherwise provided for at no cost to the parent.