An Act To Improve Science and Engineering Education for Maine's Students
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 0049
Committee Amendment CA_B_H498 (House)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "g "to H.P. 35, L.D. 49, Bill, "An Act To Improve 
Science and Engineering Education for Maine's Students" 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 3. 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 4 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 4. 
Rulemaking. 
The Commissioner of Education shall amend the 
Department of Education's Rules Chapter 131, the Maine Federal, State, and Local 
Accountability Standards, and Rules Chapter 132, Leaming Results: 
Parameters for 
Essential Instruction, to include in the statewide system of learning results and 
assessment a core of science standards for kindergarten to grade 12 that are, to the extent 
practicable, identical to the science standards adopted by the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts in 2006. Those standards must be aligned to the interactive components, 
including the hands-on applications, experiments and laboratories, of the Next Generation 
Science Standards developed by a collaborative, state-led process involving the National 
Research Council of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the 
National Science Teachers Association, the American Association for the Advancement 
of Science and others and released in April 2013. 
The 2 rules chapters to be amended by the Commissioner of Education in accordance 
with this section are major substantive rules pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 
20-A, section 253, subsection 9 and section 6211. In order to implement the science 
standards as part of the State's system of learning results and assessment beginning with 
the 2020-2021 school year, the Department of Education shall provisionally adopt these 
amended rules on or before December 31, 2018 and shall submit the provisionally 
adopted rules to the Executive Director of the Legislative Council by the deadline 
established for the legislative rule acceptance period in 2019 in accordance with Title 5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 5. 
Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and 
5 
allocations are made. 
EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF 
Page l - 128LR0083(03)-l 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
~j" 
COMMIITEE AMENDMENT" 0 " 
to H.P. 35, L.D. 49 
Learning Systems Team Z081 
Initiative: Provides funds for rule-making, professional development and technical 
assistance costs associated with implementing a core of science standards for 
kindergarten to grade 12 in the statewide system of learning results that are consistent 
with the science standards adopted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 2006 
beginning with the 2020-2021 school year. 
GENERAL FUND 
All Other 
GENERAL FUND TOTAL 
Learning Systems Team Z081 
2017-18 
$10,000 
$10,000 
2018-19 
$10,000 
$10,000 
Initiative: Provides funds for the costs to develop and adopt a new assessment for a core 
of science standards for kindergarten to grade 12 that are consistent with the science 
standards adopted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 2006 beginning with the 
2020-2021 school year. 
GENERAL FUND 
All Other 
GENERAL FUND TOT AL 
EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF 
DEPARTMENT TOTALS 
GENERAL FUND 
DEPARTMENT TOTAL-ALL FUNDS 
2017-18 
$0 
$0 
2017-18 
$10,000 
$10,000 
2018-19 
$1,000,000 
$1,000,000 
2018-19 
$1,010,000 
$1,010,000 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment is the minority report of the committee. The amendment strikes the 
provision of the bill that adds science to the content areas of English language arts, 
literacy and mathematics as part of the rating scale required to measure educator 
effectiveness as required under the performance evaluation and professional growth 
system. The amendment further directs the Commissioner of Education, in amending the 
Department of Education rules in order to include science standards as part of the State's 
system of learning results and assessment, to include the science standards adopted by the 
7 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 2006 and align those standards to the interactive 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
I 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" B" to H.P. 35, L.D. 49 
components of the Next Generation Science Standards released in 2013. The amendment 
also extends the implementation of the amended rules to the 2020-2021 school year and 
requires that the Department of Education provisionally adopt these rules on or before 
December 31, 2018. 
The amendment also provides funding for the costs associated with including the 
science standards adopted by Massachusetts as part of the learning results. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 06/09/17 feac 
LD49 
LR 83(03) 
An Act To Improve Science and Engineering Education for Maine's Students 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment f} ( H- ~ 9 ~) 
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Potential future biennium cost increase - local school administrative units 
FY 2017-18 
FY 2018-19 
Projections 
FY 2019-20 
Projections 
FY 2020-21 
Net Cost (Savings) 
General Fund 
Appropriations/Allocations 
General Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
$10,000 
$1,010,000 
$10,000 
$1,010,000 
$1,010,000 
$0 
$1,010,000 
$0 
This bill includes General Fund appropriations totaling $10,000 in fiscal year 2017-18 and $1,010,000 in fiscal year 
2018-19 to the Leaming Systems Team program within the Department of Education for the costs associated with 
including a core of science standards for kindergarten to grade 12 in the statewide system of learning results that are 
consistent with the science standards adopted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 2006 beginning with the 
· 2020-2021 school year. Of the amounts, $10,000 in fiscal years 2017-18 a11d 2018-19 is provided for rulemaking, 
professional develop and technical assistance and $1,000,000 is provided in fiscal year 2018-19 for the development 
and adoption of a new assessment for the science standards. 
The additional costs to local school administrative units associated with the adoption of these science standards can 
not be estimated at this time. 
LR0083(03) - Fiscal Note - Page l of 1