An Act To Facilitate School Access to Federal Title I Funds and Improve the Delivery of Special Education Services
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 0651
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: FARNSWORTH, BELLOWS, BABINE, FAY, HANDY, HIGGINS, RECKITT, SAMPSON, STEARNS
Amends: 20-A MRSA §2907, 20-A MRSA §4502, 20-A MRSA §4710

Legislative Document
No. 651
H.P. 472
House of Representatives, February 7, 2019
An Act To Facilitate School Access to Federal Title I Funds and 
Improve the Delivery of Special Education Services
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative FARNSWORTH of Portland.
Cosponsored by Senator BELLOWS of Kennebec and
Representatives: BABINE of Scarborough, FAY of Raymond, HANDY of Lewiston, 
HIGGINS of Dover-Foxcroft, McCREA of Fort Fairfield, RECKITT of South Portland, 
SAMPSON of Alfred, STEARNS of Guilford.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA §2907, as amended by PL 1989, c. 700, Pt. A, §47, is further 
amended to read:
§2907.  Nontraditional limited purpose school approval
1.  Requirements. A nonprofit institution, not otherwise approved under this 
subchapter, may operate as an approved nontraditional limited purpose school if it 
demonstrates a commitment to the educational process and to the State's youth by 
possessing the following: 
A.  An incorporated council, board of trustees, board of directors or other governing 
board composed of a cross section of the community served by the school;
B.  An established educational plan;
C.  A written curriculum with appropriate goals, objectives and instructional 
strategies;
D.  Specific instructional time commensurate with the educational activities planned;
E.  Facilities that comply with state health, safety and fire codes;
F.  An instructional staff certified by the Department of Education where appropriate 
and endorsement by professional boards in areas where the State does not have 
certification standards or professional standards agreed upon by the department and 
the respective institution;
G.  School health services that include a registered nurse in residence when students 
are in attendance or the appointment of a school or consulting physician;
H.  Established written emergency and safety procedures, including periodic fire 
drills whenever appropriate;
I.  The unique up-to-date equipment necessary to the services provided;
J.  A demonstrated commitment to work cooperatively with state public schools in an 
effort to meet the specific aspiration needs of Maine students; and
K.  Scholarship assistance to the State's youth.
If approved by the commissioner to provide a special education program, a nonprofit 
institution, not otherwise approved under this subchapter, may operate as an approved 
nontraditional limited purpose school if, in addition to meeting the other requirements of 
this subsection, it demonstrates compliance with all requirements of chapters 301, 303 
and 305 and applicable federal statutes and regulations prior to the enrollment of any 
special education student at public expense.
The commissioner shall promulgate adopt rules, pursuant to the Maine Administrative 
Procedure Act, Title 5, chapter 375, which shall must incorporate the requirements set 
forth in this subsection.
2.  Approval; report. The commissioner shall base approval of a school under this 
section on the school's ability to meet the requirements set forth in subsection 1 and on an 
annual on-site review by the department.  A nonprofit institution may not operate as an 
approved school prior to approval by the commissioner pursuant to subsection 1.  The 
school shall submit to the department an annual report on its activities and compliance 
with this section.
3.  Removal of basic approval. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
commissioner may remove approval from any nontraditional limited purpose school for 
failure to meet applicable approval requirements.  Except as permitted under Title 5, 
section 10004, the commissioner shall give a school notice and opportunity for hearing 
before removing approval.  The notice given and any hearing must conform to the 
requirements of Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 4.
4.  Ineligible for state subsidy. A school eligible for approval under this section 
shall is not be eligible for state subsidy.
5.  Credit. High school credit for programs completed at a school approved under 
this section may be granted to students by the school in which they are enrolled full time.  
A school approved under this section may not award high school credit.
6.  Taxation. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the commissioner's 
approval of an institution as a nontraditional, limited purpose school shall does not alter 
that institution's current status for the purpose of state or local taxation.
Sec. 2.  20-A MRSA §4502, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2009, c. 313, §2, is 
further amended to read:
5.  Other requirements. The state board and the commissioner shall jointly adopt 
basic school approval rules governing school administrative units and elementary and 
secondary schools.  Beginning July 1, 2020, rules adopted by the state board and the 
commissioner pursuant to this subsection are major substantive rules as defined in Title 5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. These rules must set minimum requirements in the 
following areas, incorporating such requirements as are established by statute:
A.  Instructional time, including a minimum school day and week;
B.  Staffing, including student-teacher ratios that permit maximum student-teacher 
ratios of 25:1 school-wide for kindergarten to grade 8 and maximum student-teacher 
ratios of 30:1 school-wide for grades 9 to 12;
C.  Physical facilities, incorporating the school construction rules of the state board;
D.   Requirements for equipment and libraries;
E.  Minimum school size, but including recognition of geographically isolated 
schools;
F.  Grade and program organization;
G.  Assessment and evaluation of student performance;
H.  Student personnel services, including guidance and counseling and, 
notwithstanding any rules adopted by the department, comprehensive guidance plans 
to be approved by the commissioner;
I.  Records, record keeping and reporting requirements;
J.  Health, sanitation and safety requirements, including compliance with section 
6302;
K.  School improvement;
L-1.  A plan for training and development of all personnel that is aligned with the 
system of learning results as established in section 6209;
M.  The use of time-out areas, administered in accordance with requirements adopted 
by the department and with this paragraph.  The use of a time-out area is subject to 
the following:
(1)  The time-out area must be well ventilated and sufficiently lighted.  The time-
out area may not be locked; and
(2)  The time-out area must be designed to ensure the safety of the student so that 
the student is supervised by a professional staff member in the room or can be 
observed from outside of the time-out area and can be heard by a person 
supervising the time-out area;
N.  Preparation of a written local policy and implementation of training for all 
unlicensed personnel who administer medication in accordance with the requirements 
under section 254, subsection 5; 
O.  Preparation of a written local policy and implementation of training for all 
guidance counselors and school personnel who administer reintegration planning 
pursuant to section 254, subsection 12, who participate in a reintegration team and 
who have access to confidential criminal justice information regarding juveniles 
pursuant to section 1055, subsection 12; and
P.  Provision of family outreach and support programs designed to improve parent-
school relations and parenting skills consistent with section 4252, subsection 8.; and
Q.  Response to intervention systems to ensure an all-encompassing, tiered system of 
support for general and special education students in accordance with section 4710.
Sec. 3.  20-A MRSA §4710, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 313, §10, is amended to 
read:
§4710.  Kindergarten to grade 12 response to intervention; tiered system of support
By the school year that begins in the fall of 2012, all school administrative units shall 
develop and implement a system of interventions response to intervention for 
kindergarten to grade 12 that provide provides each student who is not progressing 
toward meeting the content standards of the parameters for essential instruction and 
graduation requirements with different learning experiences or assistance to achieve the 
standard.  The interventions response to intervention must be specific, timely and based 
upon ongoing formative assessments that continuously monitor student progress.
1.  Tiered system of support.  By the school year that begins in the fall of 2020, all 
school administrative units shall enhance and upgrade the system of response to 
intervention for kindergarten to grade 12 to become an all-encompassing, tiered system of 
support that provides each general and special education student who is not progressing 
toward meeting the content standards of the parameters for essential instruction and 
graduation requirements with different learning experiences or assistance to achieve the 
standards.
Sec. 4.  Collaboration between general education and special education.  
The Department of Education shall facilitate a process to help schools apply for 
schoolwide status with respect to federal Title I funds in order to be able to use the funds 
for funding for the development of schoolwide programs designated under the federal 
Every Student Succeeds Act, 20 United States Code, Section 6315(a) and related 
regulations to support the continued and increased collaboration for comprehensive 
reform strategies to raise the achievement levels of all general education and special 
education students.  The Department of Education, with input from state and local 
education policy experts and stakeholders, shall inform school administrative units about 
the potential advantages of applying for schoolwide status and the procedures for 
receiving Title I funds by including the program information on the department's publicly 
accessible website.
Sec. 5.  Dual certification programs.  The Department of Education and the 
State Board of Education shall address special education staffing shortages by reviewing 
the certification processes in order to reduce barriers to obtaining special education and 
related certifications, including, without limitation, certifications for special education 
teachers, reading and math specialists and paraprofessionals.  The department and the 
state board shall collaborate with both state and local education policy makers to design 
and promote the use of dual certification programs at the university level whereby Maine 
students are able to graduate and obtain certification in both general and special 
education.  The department and the state board shall investigate the opportunities for 
promoting dual certification programs and shall jointly report their feedback, findings and 
recommendations to the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs no 
later than February 1, 2020.  After receipt and review of the report, the committee may 
report out legislation regarding the establishment of dual certification programs to the 
Sec. 6.  Recodification of the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, Part 4, 
subpart 1. The Office of Policy and Legal Analysis and the Office of the Revisor of 
Statutes, referred to in this section as "legislative staff," shall prepare a recodification of 
the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, Part 4, subpart 1, concerning special education, 
for introduction in the First Regular Session of the 130th Legislature.  Legislative staff 
may consult with the Department of Education, the State Board of Education, the 
Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of the Attorney General and other 
interested parties in preparing the recodification.
Legislative staff shall submit the recodification under this section to the joint standing 
committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education and cultural affairs no 
later than January 15, 2021.
Sec. 7.  Review of maintenance of effort allocation component.  The 
Department of Education shall review the maintenance of effort funding component of 
the essential programs and services funding formula to determine the purpose of the 
funding, whether it is accomplishing this purpose, why some school administrative units' 
expenditures are consistent with the funding formula allocation model and some are not 
and how to increase the equity of special education allocations across all school 
administrative units.  The department shall invite input from state and local stakeholders 
and policy makers.  The department shall report its findings and recommendations, 
including any statutory changes, to the Joint Standing Committee on Education and 
Cultural Affairs not later than February 15, 2020.  After review of the report, the 
committee may report out a bill related to increasing equity of special education 
allocations across all school administrative units.
Sec. 8.  Review and improvement of MaineCare billing systems and 
procedures.  The Department of Education shall collaborate with the Department of 
Health and Human Services to create a regional pilot program that uses a state agency 
navigator to provide seed money to school administrative units for MaineCare billing 
purposes for medically necessary services.  In order to gather input from the regional 
pilot program's stakeholders, the departments shall establish a working group to review 
and address the problems in the current MaineCare billing systems and processes for 
medically necessary services including:
1.  Improving the distribution of seed money to remove barriers for school 
administrative units to provide medically necessary services, particularly with respect to 
students sent to special purpose private schools;
2.  Considering regional collaborative billing for public schools or for regional 
service centers that are beyond a billing center; and
3.  Having a state agency navigator provide support for accessing funds for medically 
necessary services.
Following the conclusion of the regional pilot program, the Department of Education 
and the Department of Health and Human Services working group shall establish a time 
frame to implement policies and rules to improve the quality of MaineCare billing 
services and the reduction of risks and administrative burdens for school administrative 
units by fiscal year 2020-21.  The departments shall jointly report their findings and 
recommendations to the joint standing committees of the Legislature having jurisdiction 
over education and cultural affairs and health and human services matters no later than 
January 15, 2021.  After receipt and review of the report, the joint standing committees 
may report out legislation regarding the requirements for the MaineCare billing systems 
to the First Regular Session of the 130th Legislature.
SUMMARY
This bill makes the following changes to the laws governing special education.
1.  It adds 4 provisions to the laws regarding nontraditional limited purpose schools 
that were part of Department of Education rule Chapter 250 which has been repealed.
2.  It adds response to intervention systems to the minimum requirements for basic 
school approval to ensure an all-encompassing, tiered system of support for general and 
special education students.  It also clarifies that rules regarding those requirements are 
major substantive rules.
3.  It facilitates collaboration between general education and special education, 
including a clarification that the Department of Education is required to facilitate a 
process to help schools apply for schoolwide status with respect to federal Title I funds.
4.  It promotes dual certification programs by the Department of Education and the 
State Board of Education.
5.  It requires recodification of the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, Part 4, subpart 
1, concerning special education, by the Office of Policy and Legal Analysis and the 
Office of the Revisor of Statutes.
6.  It requires a review of the purpose of the maintenance of effort funding 
component of the essential programs and services funding formula and whether it is 
accomplishing this purpose and how to increase equity among all school administrative 
units.
7.  It requires a review and improvement of MaineCare billing systems and 
procedures through a pilot program through the Department of Education in collaboration 
with the Department of Health and Human Services.