An Act To Improve the Evaluation of Public Schools II
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 1253
Committee Amendment CA_A_H467 (House)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 853, L.D. 1253, Bill, "An Act To 
Improve the Evaluation of Public Schools" 
II 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act To Improve the Evaluation of Elementary and Secondary Schools' 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting the 
following: 
'Sec. 1. 20-A MRS A §6214 is enacted to read: 
§6214. School assessment system; annual reports 
Beginning with the 2017 -20 18 school year, for public schools, public charter schools 
and private schools approved for tuition purposes that enroll at least 60% publicly funded 
students, the commissioner shall implement a school assessment system to measure 
school performance and student proficiency in achieving the knowledge and skills 
described in the parameters for essential instruction and graduation requirements 
established under section 6209, subsection 2 and department rules established pursuant to 
this chapter. 
. 
1. Performance and proficiency measures. The measures of school performance 
and student proficiency for the school assessment system implemented under this section 
must include multiple measures of student achievement and may include, but are not 
limited to, the use of: 
A. 
Summative assessments aligned with the grade-level expectations of the 
parameters for essential instruction and graduation requirements established under 
section 6209, subsection 2; 
B. Formative assessments that measure student growth over time; and 
C. Information from the state assessment program under section 6204 on student 
achievement reported by the department in compliance with applicable federal 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "~,, to H.P. 853, L.D. 1253 
statutes and regulations regarding student assessment as required by the federal No 
Child Left Behind Act of2001, 20 United States Code, Chapter 70. 
2. 
Annual reports. The commissioner shall annually report the statewide and 
school-level results of the school assessment system implemented under this section with 
regard to the performance of schools and the proficiency of students in each of the State's 
elemental)' and secondal)' schools. 
A. The commissioner shall provide each school with a profile of school performance 
and student proficiency based upon data from the school assessment system. 
B. When a report is made under this subsection for purposes of comparative analysis 
of elemental)' and secondal)' schools, the reporting mechanisms and the categories 
reported must be uniform for each school compared at the elemental)' level or the 
secondary level. 
C. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the commissioner may not 
provide a report of the statewide or school-level results of the school assessment 
system until the final adoption of rules in accordance with subsection 3. 
3. Rules. The department shall adopt rules to implement the school assessment 
system established pursuant to this section. The rules adopted by the department must 
specify the methods to be used as part of the annual assessment of the performance of 
elemental)' and secondal)' schools and the proficiency of elementary and secondary 
school students. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are major substantive rules as 
defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Nothing in this section may be construed to prevent or inhibit the department from 
providing annual reports of the results of the state assessment program required by 
section 6204 to meet the federal statutes and regulations pertaining to student assessment 
as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, 20 United States Code, 
Chapter 70. 
Sec. 2. Task force to design a school assessment system. The Commissioner 
of Education shall convene a task force to develop a school assessment system pursuant 
to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 6214 to evaluate and rate the 
performance of schools in the State. 
1. The task force must include, but is not limited to, representatives of the following 
entities and stakeholder groups: 
A. Department of Education; 
B. State Board of Education; 
C. Teachers; 
D. Principals; 
E. Parents; 
F. Education Research Institute, established under Title 20-A, section 10; 
G. Students; 
H. School boards; 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "Pt, to H,P, 853, L.p, 1253 
1. Superintendents; and 
J. Special education administrators. 
2. The school assessment system developed by the task force must include, but is not 
limited to, the following elements: 
A. Accurate measures of student progress over at least 3 years; 
B. Rates of postsecondary school attendance and enlistment in the United States 
Armed Forces over at least 3 years; 
C. A peer group comparison that takes into account, but is not limited to, utilization 
of special education services, the number of students eligible for free or reduced-price 
meals, local and county unemployment data and median household income; 
II 
D. Attendance rates; 
E. Graduation rates; and 
F. 
Interviews with parents of students, members of governing boards of school 
administrative units, teachers and other education leaders about the overall school 
environment. 
3. The school assessment system may not use a bell curve, and a school may not be 
penalized because of the failure of students to take certain standardized tests. 
4. The task force shall provide opportunities for the public and interested parties to 
provide input regarding the development of the school assessment system and shall give 
notice to the public and interested parties of the task force's meetings during which the 
public may provide testimony or feedback on the proposed models under consideration 
by the task force. 
5. The task force shall review the requirements of the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 
20-A, chapter 222 and the school assessment systems that have been implemented in 
other states and jurisdictions and shall develop a school assessment system that will best 
serve the academic and developmental needs of students in this State. 
6. The Commissioner of Education shall submit a report on the review required by 
subsection 5 to the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs no later 
than January 15, 2016. The report must include the task force's findings and 
recommendations and any necessary legislation regarding the implementation of a school 
assessment system. The committee is authorized to report out a bill to the Second Regular 
Session of the I 27th Legislature related to the recommendations included in this repOli. 
Sec. 3. Rules. In adopting the rules required under the Maine Revised Statutes, 
Title 20-A, section 6214 related to implementing a school assessment system consistent 
with the requirements of Title 20-A, chapter 222, the Department of Education shall 
adopt rules that are consistent with the recommendations of the task force convened 
under section 2 submitted as part of the report required under section 2, subsection 6. 
The department shall file provisionally adopted major substantive rules with the 
Legislature by the January 6, 2017 statutory deadline for the submission of major 
substantive rules to be reviewed by the Legislature. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "It" to H.P. 853, L.D. 1253 
Sec. 4. Appropriations and allocations. 
The following appropriations and 
allocations are made. 
EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF 
PK-20, Adult Education and Federal Programs Team Z081 
Initiative: Provides one-time funds for 2 limited-period Education Specialist III positions 
and related All Other costs to support the task force created to develop a school 
assessment system to evaluate the performance of public schools, public charter schools 
and private schools approved for tuition purposes that enroll at least 60% publicly funded 
students in the State. 
GENERAL FUND 
Personal Services 
All Other 
GENERAL FUND TOTAL 
SUMMARY 
2015-16 
$70,402 
$38,176 
$108,578 
This amendment replaces the concept draft with a bill that does the following: 
2016-17 
$0 
$0 
$0 
1. It provides that, beginning with the 2017-2018 school year and only after the 
adoption of major substantive rules by the Department of Education, for public schools, 
public charter schools and private schools approved for tuition purposes that enroll at 
least 60% publicly funded students, the Commissioner of Education shall implement a 
school assessment system to measure school performance and student proficiency in 
achieving the knowledge and skills described in the parameters for essential instruction 
and graduation requirements established under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, 
section 6209, subsection 2 and the Department of Education's rule Chapter 132: Learning 
Results: Parameters for Essential Instruction; 
2. It provides that, notwithstanding any other provisions of Title 20-A, chapter 222, 
the commissioner may not provide a report of the statewide or school-level results of the 
school assessment system until the final adoption of department rules adopted in 
accordance with Title 20-A, section 6214, subsection 3. It provides that the rules must be 
consistent with the recommendations reported by the task force established in this 
amendment. It also provides that this law may not be construed to prevent or inhibit the 
department from providing reports to comply with the federal statutes and regulations 
pertaining to student assessment as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 
2001; 
3. It directs the commissioner to convene a task force to review school assessm~nt 
systems that have been implemented in other states and to develop a system to evaluate 
and rate the performance of schools in this State; 
4. 
It provides that the commissioner must report the task force's findings, 
recommendations and any necessary legislation with respect to the implementation of a 
school assessment system to the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMIlTEE AMENDMENT "A .. '0 I!.P. 853. L.D. 1253 
Affairs no later than January 15, 2016 and authorizes the joint standing committee to 
report out a bill to the Second Regular Session of the 127th Legislature related to the 
recommendations included in this report; and 
5. It provides that the department must file provisionally adopted major substantive 
rules by January 6, 2017 to implement the school assessment system and that the mles 
must specify the methods to be used as part of the annual assessment of the performance 
of elementary and secondary schools and the proficiency of elementary and secondary 
school students beginning with the 2017 -2018 school year. 
This amendment also adds an appropriations and allocations section. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Revised: 06/15/15 
::WaC!-
LD 1253 
LR 1798(02) 
An Act To Improve the Evaluation of Public Schools 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment ~, C H -1/p -j) 
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs 
Net Cost (Savings) 
General Fund 
Appropriations/Allocations 
General Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
FY2015-16 
FY2016-17 
$108,578 
$0 
$108,578 
$0 
Projections 
FY 2017-18 
$0 
$0 
Projections 
FY 2018-19 
$0 
$0 
This bill includes a one-time General Fund appropriation of $108,578 in fiscal year 2015-16 to the PK-20, Adult 
Education and Federal Programs Team within the Department of Education for 2 limited-period Education Specialist 
III positions and related all other costs to support the task force created to design a school assessment system to 
evaluate the performance of public schools, public charter schools and private schools approved for tuition purposes 
that enroll at least 60% publicly funded students in the State. The appropriation is to support the costs of the positions 
and the task force from October 1,2015 through January 31, 2016. 
The Department of Education indicates that it may require additional positions to support the increased workload 
associated with implementing a school assessment system to measure school performance and student proficiency that 
includes multiple measures of student achievement for the 2017-2018 school year. The department also indicates that 
the costs of implementing additional assessments beyond the summative assessments currently implemented by the 
State could be approximately $7.0 million per year. This estimate is based on the assumption that, for any additional 
assessment required from the State for use in school evaluations, an alternate assessment for severely cognitively 
delayed students must also be developed. This fiscal note does not include General Fund appropriations to fund the 
positions or the additional assessments. However, depending on the recommendations of the task force and legislation 
reported out of the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee during the second regular session of the 127th 
Legislature to implement the recommendations, additional General Fund appropriations may be required. 
LR1798(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1