An Act to Enact the Curriculum Transparency Act
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1129
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: SAMPSON, BRAKEY, BAGSHAW, DRINKWATER, JAVNER, LEMELIN, LYMAN, POLEWARCZYK, SMITH, MOORE
Amends: 20-A MRSA §4710-C

Legislative Document
No. 1129
H.P. 714
House of Representatives, March 9, 2023
An Act to Enact the Curriculum Transparency Act
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative SAMPSON of Alfred.
Cosponsored by Senator BRAKEY of Androscoggin and
Representatives: BAGSHAW of Windham, DRINKWATER of Milford, JAVNER of Chester, 
LEMELIN of Chelsea, LYMAN of Livermore Falls, POLEWARCZYK of Wiscasset, SMITH 
of Palermo, Senator: MOORE of Washington.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA §4710-C is enacted to read:
§4710-C.  Curriculum and professional development transparency
1.  Short title.  This section may be known and cited as "the Curriculum Transparency 
Act."
2. Policies and procedures. The school board for each school administrative unit shall 
adopt policies and procedures to ensure the approved curriculum presented is implemented 
in the classroom without change.
3.  Class offerings and curriculum materials. The choice of academic class offerings 
and curriculum materials:
A. May not be based on surveys, inventories or other evaluations, analyses or 
assessments of: 
(1) Student, family or community immutable and other identifying characteristics, 
including, but not limited to, race, sex, gender, religion, disabilities or income;
(2) Psychological or social-emotional data; or
(3) Trauma and other psychological and emotional problems; and
B. Must ensure schools meet the purpose of education as provided in the Constitution 
of Maine and disseminate the knowledge needed to ensure the rights and liberties of 
United States citizens in the State.
4. Posting and availability of data.  Each school administrative unit shall post at least 
years of data showing numbers and percentages of total student capacity at each school 
and students by grade level, academic subject and percentage level of proficiency based on 
state assessment scores in the same section as the curricula on the school administrative 
unit's publicly accessible website. The school administrative unit shall make the data 
available for inspection at each school within the school administrative unit.
5. Professional development and instructional programs. All administrator, teacher 
and staff professional development and instructional programs offered to schools that are 
paid for with state funds, whether offered directly by the department, another state agency 
or by a 3rd-party contractor, must be fully transparent and available to the public as follows: 
A. The department shall make all program materials, videos, links and resources 
publicly available at no charge on the department's publicly accessible website;
B. All program offerings must be open for public attendance to residents of the State;
C. All program offerings must be listed in one location on the department's publicly 
accessible website by date and show the title of the program, program description, 
location and time. Programs must be publicly posted at least 30 days in advance, with 
exceptions applying only when the program is added with fewer than 30 days before 
the date of the program based on an emergency as detailed by the school;
D. The school administrative unit shall make audio and video recordings of these 
programs and make the recordings accessible to the public free of charge for at least 3 
years after the event date. If a program recording was not made or maintained, the 
program date, name and description must still be listed on the unit's publicly accessible 
website for 3 years after the event date has passed with a clear explanation as to why a 
recording is not available; 
E. A school administrative unit shall maintain a list showing the date of attendance, 
name and position of unit attendee, program name and program description for the 
prior 3 years.  The unit shall provide this list upon request and free of charge to residents 
of the State; 
F. A school administrative unit may not provide an on-site program prior to the local 
school board approving a statewide program; and
G. The department shall maintain on the department's publicly accessible website a list 
of school boards that have approved a statewide program.
6. Programs provided by 3rd-party contractors. For programs offered to schools by 
3rd-party contractors, the department shall maintain data and information on the 
department's publicly accessible website related to those programs, including, but not 
limited to, a breakdown by school administrative unit for each state-funded program 
showing the amount paid to the 3rd-party contractor by year and by program, detailing the 
public funds spent on program promotion, development, training, local implementation and 
other miscellaneous costs for the prior 3 years. 
7. Online portal. Each school administrative unit shall create an online portal to act as 
the single source for all student information and data that can be accessed by 3rd-party 
contractors. The portal must consist of an easy-to-search database including, but not limited 
to, the following:
A.  All curricula taught by the school administrative unit;
B.  All source materials used to develop a school administrative unit's curricula;
C.  All documents, and the source materials used to develop those documents, used by 
a school administrative unit in the professional development of the school 
administrative unit's faculty and staff;
D.  All speakers and guests used by a school administrative unit in its professional 
development activities; and
E. The costs associated with speakers and guests used by a school administrative unit 
in its professional development activities.
SUMMARY
This bill requires school administrative units to adopt policies and procedures to ensure 
the approved curriculum presented is implemented in the classroom without change, to post 
at least 3 years of data regarding certain student enrollment and performance, to maintain 
lists regarding participation in and development of professional development  and to create 
an online portal that will act as the single source for all student information and data that 
can be accessed by 3rd-party contractors, including curriculum materials and information 
regarding speakers and guests.  The bill requires the Department of Education to list and 
make available to the public all administrator, teacher and staff professional development 
and instructional programs offered to schools that are paid for with state funds and maintain 
a list of school boards that have approved a statewide program.  The bill places restrictions 
on the choice of academic class offerings and curriculum materials and on-site programs.