An Act to S!tengthen Mame's Elementary and Secondary Education System by Cla11fymg Purposes and Procedures for Reviews of Schools
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1420
Committee Amendment CA_A_H581 (House)
Amends: 20-A MRSA §258-A, 20-A MRSA §4504

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A " 
to HP. 916, L D 1420, "An Act to S!tengthen 
Mame's Elementary and Secondary Education System by Cla11fymg Purposes and 
Procedures for Reviews of Schools" 
Amend the bill by stnkmg out everythmg after the enactmg clause and msertmg the 
followmg 
'Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §258-A, as amended by PL 1985, c 142, §1, 1s furthet 
amended to read 
§258-A. Inspection of schools 
1. Petition or request. The comm1ss10ner shall mspect a school or schools ma school 
admm1strat1ve umt 01 a p11vate school approved for tmt1on purposes that enrolls 60% 01 
more pubhcly funded students and 1eport the findmgs and 1ecommendat10ns to the 
approp11ate school board, addressmg the concems of the pet1t10n m hght of applicable 
school approval standards, when 
A Petlt1011ed by 60% of the parents of the children of one school, 
B Requested by the school board or supermtendent of schools 01, tf regardmg a private 
school approved for tmt10n purposes, the school board of the sendmg school 
admm1strat1ve umt, or 
C 
Petit10ned by 20% of the registered vote1 s of the unit or sendmg school 
admm1strat1ve umt 
2. Periodic reviews. The comm1ss1oner shall pe11od1cally review all public schools 
and all private schools whteh that receive public funds, to determme thetr compliance with 
the applicable prov1S1ons of this Title and the Mame Human Rights Act 
3. Special reviews. The comm1ss1one1 shall fulfill the momtormg functions requ11 ed 
by any state or federal giants to school umts or schools 
4. Private schools. The comm1ss10ner may, as a condition of approval, mspect any 
private school wmeh that applies for approval status 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
~os 
COMMJTTEE AMENDMENT" A» to HP 916, L D 1420 
5. Comprehensive reviews. Begmmng m the 2024-2025 school yea1 and every 2 
years thereafter, the commissioner shall conduct a comprehensive review of 5 schools, 
school adm1mstrat1ve umts or private schools approved for tmtlon purposes selected at 
random If a school, school admm1stratlve umt or private school approved for tmt10n 
purposes 1s selected, and at the time of select10n 1s w1thm 2 years of an accreditation review 
by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges or its success01 orgamzat1on or 
has been through a comprehensive review under this subsect10n m the last 10 years, the 
comm1ss1oner shall randomly select a different school, school admm1strat1ve umt or pnvate 
school approved fo1 tmt1on purposes m its place For selected schools, school 
adm1mstrat1ve umts and private schools approved for tmtion purposes 
A. The comm1ss10ner shall notify the school, school admm1stratlve umt or pt 1vate 
school app1 oved fm tmt1on purposes no late1 than 14 days before the date the 1 ev1ew 
ts to take place, 
B On receipt of the notice descnbed m paragraph A, the school, school admimst1at1ve 
umt or private school approved for tmt1on purposes shall ensure that the physical site 
of the school or schools unde1 review are available for mspect10n and make available 
to the commissioner documents related to 
( 1) Baste school approval standards under this Tttle, 
(2) Comphance with the Mame Human Rights Act, 
(3) The statewide assessment program estabhshed under sect10n 6202, 
(4) Implementation of the system of leammg results estabhshed 111 sect10n 6209, 
and 
(5) Health and safety reqmrements; and 
C 
The commissioner shall provide a school, school adm1111strat1ve umt or pt 1vate 
school approved for tmtlon purposes that ts unable to demonstrate compliance with 
basic school approval standards or othe1 reqmrements of this Title with a corrective 
action plan 
If the comm1ss10ne1 finds that a school, school admmist1ative umt or private school 
approved fot tmtion purposes ts not 111 compliance with the Mame Human Rights Act, the 
comm1ss10ner shall refer the findmg to the Mame Human Rights Comm1ss1on 
Sec. 2. 20-A MRSA §4504, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1983, c 859, Pt A, §§20 
and 25, 1s amended to read 
1. Implementation. The comm1ss10ner shall dete1mme which schools and school 
umts ate 111 compliance with the basic school approval standards, m accordance with the 
procedures of the baste school approval rules and the prov1s1ons of this Title, and the Mame 
Human Rights Act 
If the commiss10ner finds that a school 01 school admm1strat1ve umt ts not m comphance 
with the Mame Human Rights Act, the comm1ss1oner shall refer the findmg to the Mame 
Human Rights Comm1ss10n 
Amend the bill by ielette1111g or renumbe1111g any nonconsecutive Part lettei 01 sect10n 
numbe1 to read consecutively 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
-~os 
COMMlTIEE AMENDMENT "+to HP 916, L D 1420 
SUMMARY 
This amendment, which 1s the maJonty report of the committee, replaces the bill The 
amendment provides that the Commiss10ner of Education 1s requrred to mspect pnvate 
schools approved for tmt10n pm poses that enroll 60% 01 more pubhcly funded students m 
the same manner as schools and school adm1mstrative umts upon the petition of 60% of the 
parents of the children of one school, if requested by the school boaid or supermtendent of 
the sendmg school admmistrat1ve umt or upon the petition of 20% of the voters of the 
sendmg school admmistrative umt 
As m the bill, the amendment requues the commissioner to periodically review all 
pubhc schools and all private schools that receive pubhc funds to determme then 
compliance with the applicable prov1s1ons of the Mame Revised Statutes, Title 20-A and 
the Mame Human Rights Act 
The amendment provides for a compiehens1ve review of schools, school admmistrattve 
umts and private schools approved for tmtion purposes Every 2 years, the commissioner 
1s reqmred to select 5 schools, school admmistrat1ve umts or puvate schools app10ved for 
tmt1on purposes at random, except that 1f at the time of the selection a school, school 
admm1strat1ve umt or pnvate school is w1thm 2 years of an accred1tat10n review by the 
New England Association of Schools and Colleges or has been through a comprehensive 
review w1thm the last 10 years, the commissione1 must randomly select a d1ffe1ent school, 
school admmistt ative umt or pnvate school m its place The amendment i equrres the 
commissioner to notify the selected school, school adn11mstrat1ve umt or pnvate school 
approved for tmtion purposes no later than 14 days before the review and 1 equu es the 
school or schools to ensure the physical site 1s avatlable f01 review and make avatlable to 
the comm1ss1oner documents related to baste school approval, compliance with the Mame 
Human Rights Act, the statewide assessment program, 1mplementat10n of the system of 
learning results and health and safety reqmrements If the commiss10ner finds that a school 
or schools are not m comphance with basic school approval standards or othet requu ements 
of Title 20-A, the commissioner 1s reqmred to provide the school or schools with a 
corrective act10n plan If the comm1ss10ner finds that a school or schools ate not m 
compliance with the Mame Human Rights Act, the commissioner 1s requued to 1efer the 
findmg to the Mame Human Rights Commission 
As m the bill, the amendment requires the commissioner to determme which schools 
and school admmistrat1ve umts are m comphance with baste school approval standards and 
compliance with the Mame Human Rights Act, but 1t reqmres the comm1ss1oner to refer 
any findmgs of noncompliance with the Mame Human Rights Act to the Mame Human 
Rights Comm1ss1on 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Revised 06/12/23 ::tPae.. 
LD 1420 
LR249(02) 
An Act to Streng~hen Mame's Elementary and Secondary Education System by Clarifying Purposes 
and Procedures for Reviews of Schools 
: Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment~ { H 
_,,. -5 fJ /) 
I 
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs 
Fiscal Note Reqmred: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Mmor cost mcrease - General Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Add1t10nal costs to the Department of Educat10n and the Mame Human Rights C01mmss10n associated with the 
I 
prov1s1ons ofth1s bill 1are expected to be mmor and can be absorbed w1thm ex1stmg budgeted resomces 
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LR0249(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1