An Act To Promote Accountability in Maine's Charter Schools
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 0604
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: BRENNAN
Amends: 20-A MRSA §2405, 20-A MRSA §2412, 20-A MRSA §2414, 20-A MRSA §15689-C, 20-A MRSA §15689-D, 20-A MRSA §15689-E

Legislative Document
No. 604
H.P. 440
House of Representatives, March 1, 2021
An Act To Promote Accountability in Maine's Charter Schools
Received by the Clerk of the House on February 25, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Education and Cultural Affairs pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to 
Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative BRENNAN of Portland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA §2405, sub-§11 is enacted to read:
11.  Limit on expansion of public charter schools.  A public charter school may not 
expand its facilities or locations without the approval of the commissioner.
Sec. 2.  20-A MRSA §2412, sub-§3, ¶H, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 414, §5, is 
amended to read:
H.  Acquire real property for use as its facility or facilities from public or private 
sources in accordance with section 2414, subsection 1; and
Sec. 3.  20-A MRSA §2414, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 414, §5, is amended 
to read:
1.  Facilities; property.  A public charter school may acquire facilities and property 
only with the approval of the commissioner in accordance with section 2405, subsection 
11. If granted approval, a public charter school may acquire facilities and property in 
accordance with this subsection.
A.  A public charter school has a right of first refusal to purchase or lease at or below 
fair market value a closed noncharter public school facility or property or unused 
portions of a noncharter public school facility or property located in a school 
administrative unit from which it draws its students if the school administrative unit 
decides to sell or lease the noncharter public school facility or property. The school 
administrative unit may not require purchase or lease payments that exceed the fair 
market value of the property.
B.  A public charter school may negotiate and contract with a school administrative 
unit, the governing body of a state college or university or public community college 
or any other public or for-profit or nonprofit private entity for the use of a school 
building.
C.  Library, community service, museum, performing arts, theater, cinema, church, 
community college, college and university facilities may provide space to public 
charter schools within their facilities under their preexisting zoning and land use 
designations.
D.  A public charter school may purchase or lease at or below fair market value part or 
all of any surplus or unused state-owned facility or property located in the State.  The 
state agency in control of the facility may not require purchase or lease payments that 
exceed the fair market value of the property.
E.  The same zoning rules that apply to other noncharter public schools apply to public 
charter schools.
Sec. 4.  20-A MRSA §15689-C, sub-§2, ¶A, as amended by PL 2015, c. 54, §8, is 
further amended to read:
A.  The requested funding levels level for the operating allocation under sections 
section 15683 and 15683-B;
Sec. 5.  20-A MRSA §15689-C, sub-§2-A is enacted to read:
2-A.  Public charter school funding level computation.  The commissioner shall 
include a recommendation for the requested funding levels for the operating allocation and 
other subsidizable costs allocation under section 15683-B. This requested funding level 
must be a separate recommendation from the funding level computations in subsection 2.
Sec. 6.  20-A MRSA §15689-D, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2015, c. 54, §9, is 
further amended to read:
2.  Funding level computations.  The Governor's recommendations under subsection 
must specify the amounts that are recommended for the total operating allocations 
allocation pursuant to section 15683 including, the total allocation pursuant to section 
15683‑B, the total of other subsidizable costs pursuant to section 15681‑A, the total debt 
service allocation pursuant to section 15683‑A, the total costs of enhancing student 
performance and opportunity pursuant to section 15688‑A, the total adjustments pursuant 
to section 15689, the total miscellaneous costs pursuant to section 15689‑A, the amount for 
any other components of the total cost of funding public education from kindergarten to 
grade 12 and the total cost of funding public education from kindergarten to grade 12 
pursuant to this chapter.  The Governor's recommendations regarding the adjustments and 
miscellaneous costs components also must delineate each amount that is recommended for 
each subsection and paragraph under sections 15689 and 15689-A and the purposes for 
each cost in these sections.  For each amount shown in the Governor's recommendations, 
the Governor's recommendations must also show the amount for the same component or 
purpose that is included in the most recently approved state budget, the differences between 
the amounts in the most recently approved state budget and the Governor's 
recommendations and the reasons for the changes.  These computations must be posted on 
the department's publicly accessible website.
Sec. 7.  20-A MRSA §15689-E, 2nd ¶, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 2, Pt. D, §61 and 
affected by §§72 and 74 and c. 12, Pt. WW, §18, is amended to read:
Funds for appropriations under this section must be placed in a single account, except 
that funds for the total operating allocation and other subsidizable costs allocation 
described in section 15683-B must be placed in a separate account.
SUMMARY
This bill provides that a public charter school may not expand its facilities or locations 
without the approval of the Commissioner of Education. This bill also removes public 
charter school funding from the single account appropriating funds for general purpose aid 
for local schools and requires the Commissioner of Education to include a recommendation 
for the requested funding levels for public charter schools separately from the operating 
allocations for noncharter public schools.