An Act To Ensure Equity in Teacher Retirement Costs for Private Academies
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1657
Committee: Appropriations and Financial Affairs
Sponsors: LANGLEY, NELSON, JOHNSON, HUBBELL, KORNFIELD, RANKIN, WILLETTE
Amends: 20-A MRSA §5806

Legislative Document 
No. 1657 
S.P. 651 
In Senate, December 23, 2013 
An Act To Ensure Equity in Teacher Retirement Costs for Private 
Academies 
(EMERGENCY) 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
203. 
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on December 23, 2013.  Referred to the Committee 
on Appropriations and Financial Affairs pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed. 
DAREK M. GRANT 
Secretary of the Senate 
Presented by Senator LANGLEY of Hancock. 
Cosponsored by Representative NELSON of Falmouth and 
Senator: JOHNSON of Lincoln, Representatives: HUBBELL of Bar Harbor, JOHNSON of 
Greenville, KORNFIELD of Bangor, MacDONALD of Boothbay, McCLELLAN of Raymond, 
RANKIN of Hiram, WILLETTE of Mapleton. 
Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and 
Whereas, this legislation needs to take effect before the expiration of the 90-day 
period in order to be in place in time to apply to the 2013-2014 school year; and 
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within 
the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as 
immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, 
therefore, 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA §5806, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2013, c. 368, Pt. C, §3 
and c. 418, §1, is repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
2.  Maximum allowable tuition.  The maximum allowable tuition charged to a 
school administrative unit by a private school is the rate established under subsection 1 or 
the state average per public secondary student cost as adjusted, whichever is lower, plus 
an insured value factor.  The insured value factor is computed by dividing 5% of the 
insured value of school buildings and equipment by the average number of pupils 
enrolled in the school on October 1st and April 1st of the year immediately before the 
school year for which the tuition charge is computed.  From school year 2009-2010 to 
school year 2013-2014, a school administrative unit is not required to pay an insured 
value factor greater than 5% of the school's tuition rate or $500 per student, whichever is 
less, unless the legislative body of the school administrative unit votes to authorize its 
school board to pay a higher insured value factor that is no greater than 10% of the 
school’s tuition rate per student.  For the 2014-2015 school year, a school administrative 
unit is not required to pay an insured value factor greater than 6% of the school's tuition 
rate per student, unless the legislative body of the school administrative unit votes to 
authorize its school board to pay a higher insured value factor that is no greater than 10% 
of the school's tuition rate per student.  Beginning in the 2015-2016 school year, a school 
administrative unit is not required to pay an insured value factor greater than the amount 
of the prior school year's insured value factor adjusted by a percentage equal to the 
percentage change in the state share percentage of the total cost of funding public 
education in the prior school year as determined by section 15671, subsection 7, 
paragraph C as compared to the applicable percentage for the current school year.  In no 
case may the insured value factor be less than 6% or greater than 10% of the school's 
tuition rate per student, unless the legislative body of the school administrative unit votes 
to authorize its school board to pay an insured value factor that exceeds the amount 
otherwise permitted by this subsection by no more than 5% of the school's tuition rate per 
student.  For the 2013-2014 school year only, the maximum allowable tuition charged to 
a school administrative unit by a private school that participates in the Maine Public 
Employees Retirement System must be increased above the amount otherwise permitted 
under this section by an amount equal to 60% of the calculated normal cost of teacher 
retirement for that school divided by the number of enrolled students as of October 1, 
2012.  The remaining 40% must be paid by the private school. Any overpayments made 
by a school administrative unit in the 2013-2014 school year must be remitted back to 
that school administrative unit within the first quarter of fiscal year 2014-15. 
Emergency clause.  In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this 
legislation takes effect when approved. 
SUMMARY 
This bill provides that, for the 2013-2014 school year only, the maximum allowable 
tuition charged to a school administrative unit by a private school that participates in the 
Maine Public Employees Retirement System must be increased above the amount 
otherwise permitted by an amount equal to 60% of the calculated normal cost of teacher 
retirement for that school divided by the number of enrolled students as of October 1, 
2012. Current law allows this increase in the maximum allowable tuition for the 
2013-2014 and 2014-2015 school years and allows the entire cost of teacher retirement to 
be recovered through the tuition increase. The bill also corrects a conflict that was created 
when 2 public laws amended the same provision of law.