An Act To Amend Certain Education Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 1576
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: HUBBELL, LANGLEY, MAKER
Amends: 20-A MRSA §254, 20-A MRSA §1001, 20-A MRSA §2404, 20-A MRSA §2405, 20-A MRSA §2406, 20-A MRSA §2411, 20-A MRSA §2412, 20-A MRSA §5001-A, 20-A MRSA §5205, 20-A MRSA §7204, 20-A MRSA §15689-G

Legislative Document 
No. 1576 
H.P. 1069 
House of Representatives, January 26, 2016 
An Act To Amend Certain Education Laws 
(AFTER DEADLINE) 
(EMERGENCY) 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
205. 
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed. 
ROBERT B. HUNT 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative HUBBELL of Bar Harbor. 
Cosponsored by Senator LANGLEY of Hancock and 
Representative: MAKER of Calais. 
Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and 
Whereas, the changes made by this legislation could affect budget meetings of 
school administrative units and town budgets; and 
Whereas, it is necessary that this legislation take effect prior to the expiration of the 
90-day period to allow towns to benefit from the legislation during the next annual budget 
process; 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 §254, sub-§19 is enacted to read: 
19.  Designation of school to enroll certain students.  The commissioner may 
designate a school administrative unit as the receiving school administrative unit for a 
student who resides in a school administrative unit that neither maintains a school nor 
contracts for school privileges pursuant to chapter 115 and is unable to find a school 
administrative unit willing to enroll the student in one of its schools, upon a written 
request from the superintendent of the school administrative unit where the student 
resides setting forth the student's circumstances giving rise to the request. 
A.  If the commissioner makes a designation under this subsection, the school 
administrative unit where the student resides shall pay tuition for that student to the 
receiving school administrative unit as calculated in accordance with this subsection 
and chapter 219. 
B.  If a student subject to a designation under this subsection is receiving special 
education services, the receiving school administrative unit designated by the 
commissioner under this subsection is responsible for providing a free, appropriate 
public education to the student, subject to the provisions of this subsection.  The 
receiving school administrative unit shall invite the school administrative unit where 
the student resides to participate in individualized education program team meetings 
for the student, but the authorized representative of the receiving school 
administrative unit shall make the decision on any issue on which consensus is not 
reached.  The school administrative unit where the student resides shall, in addition to 
tuition payable pursuant to chapter 219, pay to the receiving school administrative 
unit: 
(1)  Special education tuition; 
(2)  Any costs not included in the computation of special education tuition 
directly related to the student's special education program; and 
(3)  Any costs associated with due process proceedings in connection with the 
student's special education program. 
Sec. 2.  20-A MRSA §1001, sub-§8, as amended by PL 2013, c. 581, §2, is 
further amended to read: 
8.  Operate public preschool programs, kindergarten and grades one to 12.  They 
shall either operate programs in kindergarten and grades one to 12 or otherwise provide 
for students to participate in those grades as authorized elsewhere in this Title.  To the 
extent the State provides adequate start-up funding, they may operate public preschool 
programs or provide for students to participate in such programs in accordance with the 
requirements of this Title.  They shall determine which students attend each school, 
classify them and transfer them from school to school where more than one school is 
maintained at the same time.  If a school administrative unit neither maintains a school 
nor contracts for school privileges pursuant to chapter 115 and a student who resides in 
the school administrative unit is unable to enroll in another school administrative unit, the 
school board shall direct the superintendent of the school administrative unit where the 
student resides to make a written request to the commissioner to designate a place of 
enrollment for the student, pursuant to section 254, subsection 19. 
Sec. 3.  20-A MRSA §2404, sub-§2, ¶¶C and D, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 414, 
§5, are amended to read: 
C.  Except as provided in paragraphs H and, I and K, if capacity is insufficient to 
enroll all students who wish to attend the school, the public charter school shall select 
students through a random selection process.  A list maintained to fill potential 
vacancies may be carried over to the succeeding year. 
D.  For a school administrative unit with an enrollment of 500 or fewer students, a 
public charter school, unless authorized by a school administrative unit, may not 
enroll more than 5% of a school administrative unit's noncharter public school 
students per grade level in each of the first 3 years of the public charter school's 
operation, except that if 5% of a school administrative unit's noncharter public school 
students per grade level is less than one, a public charter school may enroll one 
student of the school administrative unit per grade level in each of the first 3 years. 
Sec. 4.  20-A MRSA §2404, sub-§2, ¶K is enacted to read: 
K.  A public charter school authorized by a local school board or by a collaborative 
among local school boards may give enrollment preference to children who reside 
within the school administrative unit or units governed by the local school board or 
collaborative among local school boards. 
Sec. 5.  20-A MRSA §2405, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2015, c. 54, §1, is further 
amended to read: 
4.  Reporting and evaluation.  An authorizer shall submit to the commissioner and 
the Legislature an annual report within 60 90 days of the end of each school fiscal year 
summarizing: 
A.  The authorizer's strategic vision for chartering and progress toward achieving that 
vision; 
B.  The performance of all operating public charter schools overseen by the 
authorizer, according to the performance measures and expectations specified in the 
charter contracts; 
C.  The status of the authorizer's public charter school portfolio of approved charter 
applications, identifying all public charter schools within that portfolio as: 
(1)  Approved, but not yet open; 
(2)  Operating; 
(3)  Renewed; 
(4)  Transferred; 
(5)  Terminated; 
(6)  Closed; or 
(7)  Never opened;  
D.  The oversight and services provided by the authorizer to the public charter 
schools under the authorizer's purview; and 
E.  The total amount of funds collected from each public charter school the authorizer 
authorized pursuant to subsection 5, paragraph B and the costs incurred by the 
authorizer to oversee each public charter school. 
Sec. 6.  20-A MRSA §2406, sub-§2, ¶F, as amended by PL 2011, c. 570, §9, is 
further amended to read: 
F.  A request for proposals must require applications to provide or describe 
thoroughly, at a minimum, all of the following essential elements of the proposed 
public charter school plan: 
(1) The proposed public charter school's vision, including: 
(a)  An executive summary; 
(b)  The mission and vision of the proposed public charter school, including 
identification of the targeted student population and the community the 
school hopes to serve; and 
(c)  Evidence of need and community support for the proposed public charter 
school, including information on discussions with the school administrative 
unit where the public charter school will be located concerning recruitment 
and operations of the public charter school and possible collaboration with 
nearby school administrative units; 
(2)  The proposed public charter school's governance plan, including: 
(a)  Background information on proposed board members and any assurances 
or certifications required by the authorizer; 
(b)  Proposed governing bylaws; 
(c)  An organization chart that clearly presents the school's organizational 
structure, including lines of authority and reporting between the governing 
board, staff and any related bodies such as advisory bodies or parent and 
teacher councils, and any external organizations that will play a role in 
managing the school; 
(d)  A clear description of the roles and responsibilities for the governing 
board, the school's leadership and management team and any other entities 
shown on the organization chart; 
(e)  Identification of the proposed founding governing board members and, if 
identified, the proposed school leader or leaders; and 
(f)  Background information on the school's leadership and management 
team, if identified; 
(3)  The proposed public charter school's plan of organization, including: 
(a)  The location or geographic area of the school and the proposed 
catchment area of the school, which may not be designed to exclude areas 
with high rates of poverty, English language learners, at-risk students or 
students with disabilities; 
(b)  The grades to be served each year for the full term of the charter; 
(c)  Minimum, planned and maximum enrollment per grade per year for the 
term of the charter; 
(d)  The school's proposed calendar and sample daily schedule; 
(e)  Plans and timelines for student recruitment and enrollment, including 
lottery procedures; 
(f)  Explanations of any partnerships or contractual relationships central to 
the school's operations or mission; 
(g)  The school's proposals for providing transportation, food service and 
other significant operational or ancillary services; 
(h)  A facilities plan, including backup or contingency plans if appropriate; 
(i)  A detailed school start-up plan, identifying tasks, timelines and 
responsible individuals; and 
(j)  A closure protocol, outlining orderly plans and timelines for transitioning 
students and student records to new schools as described in section 2411, 
subsection 8, paragraph C and for appropriately disposing of school funds, 
property and assets in the event of school closure; 
(4)  The proposed public charter school's finances, including: 
(a)  A description of the school's financial plan and policies, including 
financial controls and audit requirements; 
(b)  Start-up and 3-year budgets with clearly stated assumptions; 
(c)  Start-up and first-year cash-flow projections with clearly stated 
assumptions; 
(d)  Evidence of anticipated fund-raising contributions, if claimed in the 
application; and 
(e)  A description of the insurance coverage the school proposes to obtain; 
(5)  The proposed public charter school's student policy, including: 
(a)  The school's plans for identifying and successfully serving students with 
the wide range of learning needs and styles typically found in noncharter 
public schools of the sending area; 
(b)  The school's plans for compliance with applicable laws, rules and 
regulations; and 
(c)  The school's student discipline plans and policies, including those for 
special education students; 
(6)  The proposed public charter school's academic program, including: 
(a)  A description of the academic program aligned with the statewide system 
of learning results under section 6209; 
(b)  A description of the school's instructional design, including the type of 
learning environment, such as classroom-based or independent study, class 
size and structure, curriculum overview, teaching methods and research 
basis; 
(c)  The school's plan for using internal and external assessments to measure 
and report student progress on the measures and metrics of the performance 
framework developed by the authorizer in accordance with section 2409; and 
(d)  A description of cocurricular or extracurricular programs and how they 
will be funded and delivered; and  
(7)  The proposed public charter school's staff policy, including: 
(a)  A staffing chart for the school's first year and a staffing plan for the term 
of the charter; 
(b)  Plans for recruiting and developing school leadership and staff; 
(c)  The school's leadership and teacher employment policies, including 
performance evaluation plans; and 
(d)  Opportunities and expectations for parent involvement. 
Sec. 7.  20-A MRSA §2411, sub-§8, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 414, §5, is 
amended to read: 
8.  School closure and dissolution.  If a public charter school closes for any reason: 
A.  The authorizer shall oversee and work with the closing public charter school to 
ensure timely notification to parents, orderly transition of students and student 
records to new schools and proper disposition of school funds, property and assets in 
accordance with the requirements of this chapter; and 
B.  The assets of the public charter school must be distributed first to satisfy 
outstanding payroll obligations for employees of the public charter school and then to 
creditors of the public charter school.  Any remaining funds must be paid to the 
Treasurer of State to the credit of the General Fund.  If the assets of the public charter 
school are insufficient to pay all parties to whom the public charter school owes 
compensation, the prioritization of the distribution of assets may be determined by 
decree of a court of law.; and 
C.  Education records for students transitioning to new schools must be transferred as 
required in section 6001-B.  Education records for a person who for any reason, 
including graduation, will not be attending a public school in the State after closure of 
the public charter school must be transferred to the last school administrative unit of 
residence on record at the public charter school for that student and must be 
maintained by that school administrative unit in the same manner as education 
records of other resident students. 
Sec. 8.  20-A MRSA §2412, sub-§5, ¶L is enacted to read: 
L.  Public charter schools are subject to the educator effectiveness requirements in 
chapter 508 applicable to noncharter public schools in the State. 
Sec. 9.  20-A MRSA §5001-A, sub-§2, ¶E, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 330, §3, is 
amended to read: 
E.  A person enrolled in an online learning program or course, unless the person is 
enrolled in a virtual public charter school as defined in section 2401, subsection 11. 
Sec. 10.  20-A MRSA §5205, sub-§6, ¶G is enacted to read: 
G.  Notwithstanding paragraph D, if the commissioner or state board approves a 
transfer under this subsection and the student subject to the transfer is receiving 
special education services, the state subsidy of special education costs for the 
transferred student may not be reduced as a result of the transfer. 
Sec. 11.  20-A MRSA §7204, sub-§§5 and 6, as amended by PL 2005, c. 662, 
Pt. A, §25, are further amended to read: 
5.  Due process.  Shall: 
A.  Adopt or amend rules to assure and protect the rights of due process for children 
with disabilities; and 
B.  Inform and train each school administrative unit on the rights of children with 
disabilities to due process under state laws and rules and federal law and regulations; 
and 
6.  Technical assistance.  May, on the request of a school administrative unit, 
provide technical assistance in the formulation of a plan or subsequent report required of 
all administrative units.  Assistance may not be designed to transfer the responsibility for 
or actual development of the plan or report.; and 
Sec. 12.  20-A MRSA §7204, sub-§7 is enacted to read: 
7.  Out-of-state placement of a state ward.  May, when a child with a disability 
who is a state ward is placed in an out-of-state residential treatment center by the 
Department of Health and Human Services, designate the school administrative unit that 
has responsibility for oversight of the child's individualized education program to ensure 
that the child receives a free, appropriate public education. 
Sec. 13.  20-A MRSA §15689-G is enacted to read: 
§15689-G.  Special education budgetary hardship adjustment 
1.  Budgetary hardship adjustment.  The following provisions apply to adjustments 
for special education budgetary hardships. 
A.  If a school administrative unit determined eligible pursuant to paragraph B 
petitions the commissioner and demonstrates that the unexpected education costs of 
placement of a student in a special education program will cause a budgetary 
hardship, the commissioner may provide to the unit an amount not to exceed the 
allowable costs of the placement less 3 times the statewide special education EPS 
per-pupil rate for in-district placements or less 4 times the statewide special education 
EPS per-pupil rate for out-of-district placements.  The allowable costs are those 
special education costs described in section 15672, subsection 30-A, paragraphs A 
and B. 
B.  The commissioner shall determine that a school administrative unit is eligible for 
an adjustment under paragraph A if: 
(1)  The student's placement is a result of an appeal approved by the 
commissioner pursuant to section 5205, subsection 6; and 
(2)  The school administrative unit's unexpected allowable costs result in a 5% or 
more increase in the percentage of the unit's special education budget category to 
the unit's total budget excluding the debt service budget category. 
C.  The funds for adjustments under paragraph A are limited to the amount 
appropriated by the Legislature for that purpose and any unexpended balance from 
another program's appropriated amounts under section 15689-E that may be applied 
by the commissioner toward the adjustments. 
D.  A school administrative unit may expend the funds from the adjustment under 
paragraph A without seeking approval by the unit's legislative body. 
2.  Application.  This section applies to funding for the 2016-2017 school year only. 
Emergency clause.  In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this 
legislation takes effect when approved. 
SUMMARY 
This bill provides that if a superintendent's decision regarding the transfer of a student 
receiving special education services to a school out of the student's school administrative 
unit is appealed to the Commissioner of Education or the State Board of Education and 
the commissioner or state board approves the transfer of the student, the state subsidy of 
special education costs for the transferred student may not be reduced as a result of the 
transfer. 
This bill gives the Commissioner of Education the authority to designate a school 
administrative unit to enroll a student when the student's school administrative unit 
neither maintains a school nor contracts with another school administrative unit and no 
school administrative unit enrolls the student voluntarily.  For a student receiving special 
education services, the bill requires a resident school administrative unit to pay to the 
receiving school administrative unit tuition, special education tuition, other costs directly 
related to the student's special education and costs associated with due process 
proceedings for providing a free, appropriate public education. 
This bill allows the Commissioner of Education to designate the school 
administrative unit that is responsible for oversight of the individualized education 
program of a child with a disability who is a state ward and is placed in an out-of-state 
residential treatment center by the Department of Health and Human Services. 
This bill authorizes the Commissioner of Education to provide additional funds to a 
school administrative unit based on a budgetary hardship resulting from a special 
education placement. 
This bill makes the following changes to the laws relating to public charter schools. 
1.  The bill allows charter schools authorized by a local school board or a 
collaborative among local school boards to give enrollment preference to residents of the 
school administrative unit or units whose school board or school boards authorized the 
charter school. 
2.  The bill extends the submission deadline for a charter school authorizer's annual 
report to the Commissioner of Education from 60 to 90 days after the end of the school 
fiscal year and adds language to address the disposition of graduation records and records 
of other students not transitioning to another Maine public school if a charter school 
closes. 
3.  The bill adds language to reflect that charter schools are subject to educator 
effectiveness requirements. 
4.  The bill provides that the compulsory attendance laws apply to virtual charter 
schools. 
5.  For a charter school in a school administrative unit with an enrollment of 500 or 
fewer students, current law caps the number of students from the school administrative 
unit that the charter school may enroll during its first 3 years of operation at 5% of the 
school administrative unit's noncharter public school students per grade level.  The bill 
provides that if 5% of the school administrative unit's noncharter public school students 
per grade level is less than one, the charter school may enroll one student from the school 
administrative unit per grade level in each of the charter school's first 3 years of 
operation.