An Act To Develop a Grant Program To Establish a Teacher-led School Model
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1106
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: MOONEN, LANGLEY, DAUGHTRY, NELSON, POULIOT, MILLETT
Amends: 20-A MRSA §2651, 20-A MRSA §6213, 26 MRSA §962

Legislative Document 
No. 1106 
H.P. 775 
House of Representatives, March 19, 2013 
An Act To Develop a Grant Program To Establish a Teacher-led 
School Model 
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed. 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative MOONEN of Portland. 
Cosponsored by Senator LANGLEY of Hancock and 
Representatives: DAUGHTRY of Brunswick, NELSON of Falmouth, POULIOT of Augusta, 
Senator: MILLETT of Cumberland. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA §2651, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 446, §1, is 
amended to read: 
2.  Use of fund.  The department shall award grants from the fund to school 
administrative units, municipalities, counties and groups of 2 or more such entities to 
fund the costs of implementing changes in governance, administrative structures or 
policies that result in the creation of consolidated school administrative units; purchasing 
alliances; innovative, autonomous public schools, teacher-led schools, innovative public 
school districts or innovative public school zones; regional delivery of educational 
services; or collaborations of municipal-school service delivery or support systems, with 
the purpose of improving educational opportunity and student achievement.  Grants must 
be used to implement changes that will be sustained by the school administrative unit, 
municipality or county without the need for additional grants from the fund or other 
sources. 
Sec. 2.  20-A MRSA §6213, sub-§§1 and 2, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 446, §2, 
are amended to read: 
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings. 
A.  "Innovative, autonomous public school" or "school" means an innovative, 
autonomous public school established pursuant to section 6212. 
B.  "Innovation plan" means a plan for the creation and operation of an innovative, 
autonomous public school, a teacher-led school or innovative zone or district as 
described in subsections 2, 3 and 4. 
C.  "Innovative public school district" or "district" means a school administrative unit 
in which all schools operated by the school administrative unit are innovative, 
autonomous public schools or teacher-led schools included in an innovation plan 
approved pursuant to this section and implemented by the school board. 
D.  "Innovative public school zone" or "zone" means 2 or more innovative, 
autonomous public schools or teacher-led schools operated by a school administrative 
unit that share common interests, such as their geographical location or educational 
focus, or that sequentially serve classes of students as they progress through 
elementary and secondary education and in which a school board implements an 
innovation plan approved pursuant to this section. 
E.  "Public school" has the same meaning as in section 1, subsection 24. 
F.  "Teacher-led school" means a public school in which teachers employed at the 
school are responsible for the decision making and governance of the school. 
2.  School-initiated innovation plan.  A public school or a group of 2 or more public 
schools in a school administrative unit may submit to its school board an innovation plan.  
The school board may approve an instruction design, a school calendar, a staff selection 
process and a method for assessing professional development to be used in an innovative, 
autonomous public school or teacher-led school that is not in conflict with applicable 
statutory and regulatory requirements. 
A.  A school board shall receive and review each innovation plan submitted pursuant 
to this subsection.  The school board shall either approve or disapprove the 
innovation plan within 60 days after receiving the plan. 
B.  If the school board rejects the innovation plan, it shall provide to the public school 
or public schools that submitted the plan a written explanation of the basis for its 
decision.  A public school or public schools may submit an amended innovation plan 
at any time. 
C.  If the school board approves the plan, it shall proceed to seek the commissioner's 
approval of the public school or public schools as an innovative, autonomous public 
school, a teacher-led school, an innovative public school zone or an innovative public 
school district pursuant to subsection 9. 
Sec. 3.  20-A MRSA §6213, sub-§9, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 446, §2, is 
amended to read: 
9.  Commissioner's approval.  A school board shall submit school, zone or district 
innovation plans approved pursuant to subsection 4, paragraph J to the commissioner. 
A.  Within 60 days after receiving an innovation plan for a school, zone or district, 
the commissioner shall approve the innovation plan unless the commissioner 
concludes that the plan: 
(1)  Is likely to result in a decrease in academic achievement in the innovative 
school, zone or district; or 
(2)  Is not fiscally feasible. 
B.  If the commissioner does not approve the innovation plan, the commissioner shall 
provide to the school board a written explanation of the basis for the decision.  The 
school board may submit an amended innovation plan for the commissioner's 
approval at any time. 
Nothing in this subsection may prevent or may be construed to prevent the commissioner 
from approving an innovation plan to create an innovative public school district when the 
innovation plan is created by a school board for a school administrative unit that operates 
only one innovative, autonomous public school or teacher-led school. 
Sec. 4.  20-A MRSA §6213, sub-§14, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 446, §2, is 
amended to read: 
A.  Following review of a school's performance, if the school board finds that the 
academic performance of students enrolled in the school is not improving at a 
sufficient rate, the school board may revoke the designation of the school as an 
innovative, autonomous public school or teacher-led school. 
Sec. 5.  20-A MRSA §6213, sub-§15, ¶B, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 446, §2, is 
amended to read: 
B.  The number of innovative, autonomous public schools, the number of teacher-led 
schools and the number of innovative public school zones and innovative public 
school districts, including the number of schools in each zone and district and the 
number of students served in the schools and zones, expressed as a total number and 
as a percentage of the students enrolled in the district; 
Sec. 6.  26 MRSA §962, sub-§7, ¶A, as amended by PL 2011, c. 446, §3, is 
further amended to read: 
A.  Any officer, board, commission, council, committee or other persons or body 
acting on behalf of: 
(1)  Any municipality or any subdivision of a municipality; 
(2)  Any school, water, sewer, fire or other district; 
(3)  The Maine Turnpike Authority; 
(5)  Any county or subdivision of a county; 
(6)  The Maine Public Employees Retirement System;  
(7)  The Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the 
Governor Baxter School for the Deaf; or 
(8)  Any innovative, autonomous public school, innovative public school district 
or, innovative public school zone or teacher-led school created and operated 
under Title 20-A, section 6212 or 6213; 
SUMMARY 
This bill provides for the creation, submission, review and approval of innovation 
plans to establish teacher-led schools.  The bill allows one or more public schools within 
a school administrative unit to initiate the creation of an innovation plan for the creation 
and operation of a teacher-led school for submission to its school board. The bill also 
permits a school board to initiate and collaborate with one or more of the public schools it 
operates to create an innovation plan. The bill provides that a school board may obtain 
waivers of laws, rules and local policy requirements from the Commissioner of Education 
that are considered necessary for a teacher-led school to implement an innovation plan.  
The bill also allows for grants from the Fund for the Efficient Delivery of Educational 
Services for the costs associated with establishing a teacher-led school.