An Act To Expand Access to Early Postsecondary Education
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 0963
Committee Amendment CA_A_H545 (House)
Amends: 20-A MRSA §4771, 20-A MRSA §4772-B, 20-A MRSA §4776, 20-A MRSA §8406

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 677, L.D. 963, Bill, "An Act To 
Expand Access to Early Postsecondary Education" 
Amend the bill by inserting after section 1 the following: 
'Sec. 2. 20-A MRSA §4771, as amended by PL 2007, c. 240, Pt. VVV, §I, is 
repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
§4771. Definitions 
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms 
have the following meanings. 
1. Eligible institution. "Eligible institution" means institutions of the University of 
Maine System, the Maine Community College System and the Maine Maritime 
Academy. 
2. Secondary school student. "Secondarv school student" means a student who is a 
Maine resident and is: 
A. Enrolled in a public secondary school; 
B. Enrolled in an adult education program as defined in section 8601-A, subsection 
l' 
= 
C. 
Participating in an approved home instruction program pursuant to section 
SOOI-A, subsection 3, paragraph A. subparagraph (4); or 
D. Enrolled in a private school approved for the receipt of public funds pursuant to 
section 2951. 
3. Semester, "Semester" means the fall, spring or summer term of an academic 
yeaL' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 4, 5 and 6 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 4. 20-A MRSA §4772-B is enacted to read: 
COMMrrTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 'A" to H.P. 677, L.D. 963 
§4772-B. Postsecondary courses; student eligibility 
1. Student eligibility. A secondary school student may be eligible to receive state 
subsidy for postsecondary courses as specified in section 4775 if all the requirements of 
subsection 2 are satisfied and the student: 
A. Is enrolled in grade 11 or higher in the student's school; or 
B. Maintains a minimum secondary school grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 
scale of 4.0, or the equivalent of a "B" average, as determined by the school, unless 
the student has been granted a waiver by the eligible institution. 
2. Postsecondary courses. A student that meets the criteria pursuant to subsection 1 
0 
may be eligible to receive state subsidy for postsecondary courses as specified in section 
4775 as long as: 
A. The eligible institution has space available for the secondary school student and 
not more than 1/3 of the students in a course are secondary school students; 
B. 
The eligible institution has determined that the student has satisfactorily 
completed all course prerequisites; 
C. The school administration approves; 
D. The student's parent approves; and 
E. The student has received a recommendation to take a postsecondary course or 
courses at an eligible institution from the student's school administration or one of the 
student's secondary school teachers following an assessment of the student by the 
school administration. 
Sec. 5. 20-A MRSA §§4774 and 4775, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 758, §2, are 
amended to read: 
§4774. Credits 
1. High school credit. A school admiHistrative "mit administration may grant 
academic credit toward a high school diploma to a student who successfully completes a 
course, including an online course, under this chapter. Prior to the student's enrollment in 
the course, the school administration shall inform the student of the extent to which credit 
will be awarded toward the high school diploma upon successful completion of the 
course. 
2. Postsecondary credit. The eligible institution shall grant full credit to any 
student who successfully completes a course, including an online course, at the eligible 
institution under this chapter. The course must apply to graduation requirements at the 
eligible institution in which it was taken or be transferable to another eligible institution 
on an equal basis with a course taken by any other student at the eligible institution. 
§4775. Payment; appropriations 
The department shall pay 50% of the in-state tuition for the first ~ Q credit hours 
taken each semester and up to 12 credit hours per academic year taken by a student 
eligible under section 4772-B at an eligible institution aHa l:t~ to (j ereait ftOl:tfS ~er 
aeaaemie vear. The eligible institution may not make any additional tuition charges for 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ·A" to H.P. 677, L.D. 963 
the e01:H'se those courses but may impose fees and charges, other than tuition, that are 
ordinarily imposed on students not covered by this chapter. The department may pay 
these fees and charges for a high school student eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. 
Funds appropriated to the department to carry out the purposes of this chapter must be in 
addition to the customary and ongoing amounts appropriated for general purpose aid for 
local schools. 
Sec. 6. 20-A MRSA §4776, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 240, Pt. VVV, §2, is 
amended to read: 
§4776. Distribution of available funding 
Not more than +G% 5% -Df the total funding available to the department for 
postsecondary education, eith·er through a direct appropriation for postsecondary 
education under this chapter or as part ofthe ongoing funds included in the appropriation 
for general purpose aid for local schools, may be used for secondary students to take a 
postsecondary course during the summer tenn.' 
Amend the bill in section 7 in §4777 in subsection 1 in the 3rd line (page 2, line 33 in 
L.D.) by striking out the following: "12" and inserting the following: '20' 
Amend the bill in section 7 in §4777 in subsection 1 in paragraph A in the first line 
(page 2, line 35 in L.D.) by striking out the following: 
"Three" and inserting the 
following: 'Four' 
Amend the bill in section 7 in §4777 in subsection 1 in paragraph A in subparagraph 
(2) in the 2nd line (page 2, line 38 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "and" 
Amend the bill in section 7 in §4777 in subsection 1 in paragraph A in subparagraph 
(3) in the 2nd line (page 3, line 2 in L.D.) by inserting after the following: "designee;" 
the following: 'and' 
Amend the bill in section 7 in §4777 in subsection 1 in paragraph A by inserting after 
subparagraph (3) the following: 
'(4) The Chief Executive Officer of the Finance Authority of Maine or the chief 
executive officer's designee;' 
Amend the bill in section 7 in §4777 in subsection 3 by striking out all of paragraphs 
E and F (page 4, lines 5 to 8 in L.D.) and inserting the following: 
'E. Establishing and overseeing an evaluation process of the early postsecondary 
programs; and 
F. 
Making recommendations regarding funding to support the development and 
expansion of early postsecondary education programs.' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 8 (page 4, lines 27 to 30 in L.D.) and 
inserting the following: 
'Sec. 8. 20-A MRSA §8406 is enacted to read: 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 677, L.D. 963 
§8406. Academic skills testing 
Assessment tests to determine college-level academic skills must be administered at 
an approved site. A career and technical education center shall provide an approved site 
for the test.' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SU~ARY 
This amendment makes several changes to the bill: 
1. It adds the definition of "secondary school student" to the definitions in the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, chapter 208-A in order for the definition to apply to the 
entire chapter and clarifies that "secondary school student" includes a student enrolled in 
an adult education program or participating in an approved home instruction program; 
2. It requires that in order to be eligible to receive state subsidy for postsecondary 
courses, a secondary school student must be a Maine resident; 
3. It limits the total number of secondary school students enrolled in a postsecondary 
school course to no more than 1/3 ofthe total number of students enrolled in the course; 
4. It requires the school administrative unit to inform a student enrolled in a 
postsecondary school course of the extent to which high school credit will be granted 
toward graduation requirements as a result of successfully completing the course; 
5. In current law, the department pays 50% of the in-state tuition for the first 3 credit 
hours taken each semister. The amendment doubles the amount to 6 credits; 
6. It reduces the percentage of total funding available that can be used to support 
secondary school students enrolled in summer term courses; and 
7. It increases the membership of the Commission on Expanding Early Postsecondary 
Access for High School Students from 19 to 20. 
FISCAL :\"OTE REQUIRED' 
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(See attache~). 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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Approved: 06117113 ;tvac 
LD963 
LR 906(02) 
An Act To Expand Aecess to Early Postsecondary Education 
Fiscal Note for BiD as Amended by Committee Amendment t1' ( H 
~ 545) 
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Potential future biennium revenue decrease - Higher Educational Institutions 
Legislative Cost/Study 
Legislative Cost/Study 
The additional costs for Legislators to serve on the commission are projected to be $2,000 annually beginning in fiscal 
year 2013-14. The Legislature's proposed budget includes $10,000 in fiscal year 2013-14 and $10,000 in fiscal year 
2014-15 for legislative studies. Whether the amounts are sufficient to fund all studies will depend on the number of 
studies authorized by the Legislative Council and the Legislature. 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Increasing the number of credit hours per academic year that eligible secondary students may take at eligible 
institutions will increase the amount of tuition revenue that must be waived by the University of Maine System, the 
Maine Community College System and the Maine Maritime Academy. The impact will depend on the actual increase 
in the number of credit hours taken by eligible students per academic year. 
LD 1509, the 2014-2015 biennial budget, as amended, provides General Fund support to the General Purpose Aid for 
Local Schools program within the Department of Education of $400,000 per year for fiscal year 2013-14 and fiscal 
year 2014-15 for eligible secondary students to take postsecondary classes. This funding is the same amount of 
funding that has been provided in previous fiscal years and may limit participation in the program. The Department 
estimates that an additional $600,000 per year of General Fund support would need to be provided in order to ensure 
that sufficient funding is available to support the anticipated demand. 
Additional costs to the Department of Education, the University of Maine System, the Finance Authority of Maine and 
the Maine Community College System to serve on the Commission on Expanding Early Postsecondary Access for 
High School Students can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources. 
LR0906(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1