An Act to Create the Educational Opportunity Account Program
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1860
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: LIBBY, BRAKEY, BOYER, DRINKWATER
Amends: 20-A MRSA §5001-A

Legislative Document
No. 1860
H.P. 1190
House of Representatives, May 2, 2023
An Act to Create the Educational Opportunity Account Program
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative LIBBY of Auburn.
Cosponsored by Senator BRAKEY of Androscoggin and
Representatives: BOYER of Poland, DRINKWATER of Milford.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA §5001-A, sub-§2, ¶D, as amended by PL 2009, c. 330, §2, is 
further amended to read:
D.  A person who has matriculated and is attending an accredited, post-secondary 
postsecondary, degree-granting institution as a full-time student.  An exception to 
attendance in public school under this paragraph must be approved by the 
commissioner; or
Sec. 2.  20-A MRSA §5001-A, sub-§2, ¶E, as amended by PL 2015, c. 448, §9, is 
further amended to read:
E.  A person enrolled in an online learning program or course, unless the person is 
enrolled in a virtual public charter school as defined in section 2401, subsection 11.; or
Sec. 3.  20-A MRSA §5001-A, sub-§2, ¶F is enacted to read:
F.  A person participating in the educational opportunity account program established 
under chapter 613.
Sec. 4.  20-A MRSA c. 613 is enacted to read:
CHAPTER 613
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY ACCOUNTS
§17201.  Definitions
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms 
have the following meanings.
1. Education service provider. "Education service provider" means a person or 
organization that receives a payment from an educational opportunity account to provide 
educational goods and services to participating students.
2. Educational opportunity account.  "Educational opportunity account" means an 
account established under this chapter.
3. Eligible student.  "Eligible student" means a resident of this State who is eligible to 
enroll in an elementary or secondary public school.
4. Participating student.  "Participating student" means a student who is participating 
in the program.
5. Program.  "Program" means the Educational Opportunity Account Program 
established under section 17202.
§17202.  Educational Opportunity Account Program
1. Establishment of program. The department shall establish the Educational 
Opportunity Account Program to create educational opportunity accounts to which money 
is deposited by the department as described in subsection 3.
2. Use of educational opportunity accounts.  A parent or legal guardian of a 
participating student may withdraw money from an educational opportunity account to pay 
for education expenses to educate the participating student as provided by this subsection. 
A parent or legal guardian of a participating student must agree to use the money deposited 
in the student's educational opportunity account for only the following expenses to educate 
the student:
A. Tuition and fees at a private school;
B. Tuition and fees for nonpublic online learning programs;
C. Tutoring services provided by an individual or a tutoring facility;
D. Services contracted for and provided by a school administrative unit, a public charter 
school as defined in section 2401 or a magnet school as defined in section 8203, 
subsection 2, including, but not limited to, individual classes and extracurricular 
activities and programs;
E. Textbooks, curriculum materials or other instructional materials, including, but not 
limited to, supplemental materials or associated online instruction required by an 
education service provider;
F. Computer hardware or other technological devices that are primarily used to help 
meet a participating student's educational needs;
G. Educational software and applications;
H. School uniforms;
I. Fees for nationally standardized assessments, advanced placement examinations, 
examinations related to college or university admission and tuition and fees for 
preparatory courses for the examinations;
J. Tuition and fees for summer education programs and specialized after-school 
education programs, but not after-school child care;
K. Tuition, fees, instructional materials and examination fees for career and technical 
education;
L. Educational services and therapies, including, but not limited to, occupational, 
behavioral, physical, speech-language and audiology therapies;
M. Tuition and fees at a postsecondary institution of higher education;
N. Fees for transportation paid to a fee-for-service transportation provider for the 
student to travel to and from an education service provider; and
O. Any other education expense approved by the department.
Money in an educational opportunity account may not be refunded or rebated to or shared 
with a parent or legal guardian of a participating student or a participating student. A refund 
or rebate for goods or services purchased with money from an educational opportunity 
account must be credited directly to that educational opportunity account.
3. Deposits into educational opportunity accounts. The department shall deposit in 
quarterly installments into an educational opportunity account an amount equal to the 
average amount spent by the State on public school students. For participating students 
with disabilities and who are English language learners, homeless students and low-income 
students, the department shall deposit an additional amount that includes any weighted 
funding that would have been provided to a public school for that student. A parent or legal 
guardian may not contribute directly to an educational opportunity account.
Money deposited in an educational opportunity account does not constitute taxable income 
for the parent or legal guardian of the participating student or the participating student for 
the purposes of state income taxes.
§17203.  Application for program
1. Application allowed.  A parent or legal guardian of an eligible student may apply 
to the department to establish an educational opportunity account for the eligible student.  
The department shall accept applications year round and shall establish procedures for 
approving applications in a timely manner.
2. Application form.  The department shall create a standard application form that the 
parent or legal guardian of an eligible student can submit to apply for the program.  The 
department shall make the application publicly available and shall allow a parent or legal 
guardian of an eligible student to submit an application by multiple means, including by 
use of the Internet.
3. Approval.  The department shall approve an application for an educational 
opportunity account if:
A. The parent or legal guardian submits an application for an educational opportunity 
account in accordance with application procedures established by the department;
B. The application is for an educational opportunity account to be created for an eligible 
student; and
C. The application includes an agreement on a form prescribed by the department 
signed by the parent or legal guardian:
(1) To provide an education for the participating student in at least the subjects of 
reading, language, mathematics, science and social studies; 
(2) Not to enroll the participating student as a full-time student in a public school 
while participating in the program;
(3) To use the money in the educational opportunity account only for expenses 
described in section 17202, subsection 2; and
(4) To comply with the rules and requirements of the program.
§17204.  Closure of educational opportunity accounts
1. Enrollment in public school.  On notice to the department, a parent or legal 
guardian of a participating student may choose to stop receiving deposits into an 
educational opportunity account and enroll the student full-time in a public school. On 
enrollment as a full-time student in a public school, the department shall close the 
educational opportunity account of the former participating student and money in the 
educational opportunity account at the time of closure reverts to the department to be 
deposited in other educational opportunity accounts.
2. Other conditions for closure.  The department shall close an educational 
opportunity account if:
A. The parent or legal guardian of the participating student withdraws the participating 
student from the program; or
B. The participating student or a parent or legal guardian of a participating student 
engages in a substantial misuse of money withdrawn from an educational opportunity 
account.
If any of the conditions of this subsection are met, money remaining in the educational 
opportunity account at the time of closure reverts to the department to be deposited into 
other educational opportunity accounts.
§17205.  Department powers and duties
1.  Directory of education service providers.  The department shall implement a cost-
effective and easily accessible Internet-based directory of education service providers that 
allows parents and legal guardians of participating students to rate, review and share 
information about education service providers.  The department shall link the directory to 
the payment system described in subsection 6.
2.  Information required to be provided.  The department shall provide parents and 
legal guardians of participating students with:
A.  A written explanation of the allowable uses of money in an educational opportunity 
account;
B.  The responsibilities of parents and legal guardians of participating students with 
regard to the program and the duties of the department with regard to the program; and
C.  The role of any private financial management firms or other private organizations 
that the department may contract with to administer any aspect of the program.
3.  Notice of rights for students with disabilities.  The department shall notify a parent 
or legal guardian of a participating student with disabilities that participation in the program 
may be a parental placement under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 
United States Code, Section 1412, including an explanation of the rights that parentally 
placed students possess under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and 
any applicable state laws and rules.
4.  Contracting allowed.  The department may contract with a private organization to 
administer the program or specific functions of the program. This includes, but is not 
limited to, contracting with private financial management firms to manage educational 
opportunity accounts.
5.  Costs of administration.  The department may withhold from deposits or deduct 
from an educational opportunity account an amount to cover the costs of administering the 
program, up to a maximum of 5% annually in the first 2 years that a participating student 
is participating in the program and up to a maximum of 3% annually thereafter.
6.  Payment systems.  The department shall contract with private institutions to 
develop and implement a cost-effective system for allowing payments to and withdrawals 
from an educational opportunity account, including by online or electronic funds transfer, 
direct payments to education service providers and requests for preapproval of and 
reimbursements for expenses described in section 17202, subsection 2.  The system must 
be Internet-based and easily accessible by parents and legal guardians of participating 
students. The system may not rely exclusively on requiring parents and legal guardians of 
participating students to be reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses.
7.  Auditing.  The department shall conduct or contract for the auditing of individual 
educational opportunity accounts and shall at a minimum conduct random audits of 
educational opportunity accounts on an annual basis.
8.  Gifts and grants.  The department may accept gifts and grants from any source to 
cover administrative costs, to inform the public about the program or to fund additional 
educational opportunity accounts.
9.  Fraud reporting.  The department may establish or contract for the establishment 
of an online service for reporting fraud related to the program.
§17206.  Misuse of money 
1.  Ineligibility. The department may determine a parent or guardian of a participating 
student or a participating student ineligible for the program in the event of intentional and 
substantial misuse of money withdrawn from an educational opportunity account.
2.  Process.  The department shall create a fair process to determine whether an 
intentional and substantial misuse of money withdrawn from an educational opportunity 
account has occurred.
3.  Appeal.  A parent or guardian of a participating student or a participating student 
may appeal the department's decision of ineligibility reached under the process required by 
subsection 2.
4.  Referral to Attorney General. The department may refer suspected cases of 
intentional and substantial misuse of money withdrawn from an educational opportunity 
account to the Attorney General for investigation if the department has obtained evidence 
of intentional and substantial misuse of money withdrawn from an educational opportunity 
account.
5.  Innocent participating student. If a parent or legal guardian of a participating 
student is determined to be ineligible under subsection 1, and the participating student is 
free from personal misconduct, that participating student is eligible for an educational 
opportunity account if the participating student is placed with a different legal guardian.
§17207.  Education service providers
1.  Partial payments to education service providers. If an education service provider 
requires partial payment of tuition or fees before the start of the academic year to reserve 
space for a participating student admitted to the education service provider, the department 
may make the partial payment before the start of the academic year in which the educational 
opportunity account is opened and deduct the amount of the partial payment in an equitable 
manner from subsequent quarterly deposits to the educational opportunity account to 
ensure adequate funds remain available throughout the academic year. If, after a partial 
payment made under this subsection, a participating student decides not to use the 
education service provider, the partial payment must be returned to the department by the 
education service provider and the department shall credit the amount to the participating 
student's educational opportunity account.
2.  Surety bond.  The department may require a surety bond for an education service 
provider that receives more than $100,000 through the program.
3.  Refunds. The department shall adopt a procedure for refunding a payment from an 
education service provider to an educational opportunity account.
4.  Approval of education service providers. The department by rule may approve a 
type of education service provider for participation in the program on its own initiative, at 
the request of the parent or legal guardian of a participating student or at the request of a 
group of similar prospective education service providers. A single education service 
provider seeking to receive payment under the program shall:
A. Submit an application to the department; and
B. Agree not to refund, rebate or share money paid to the education service provider 
under the program with a parent or legal guardian of a participating student or a 
participating student, except that money may be remitted or refunded to an educational 
opportunity account in accordance with procedures established by the department.
5.  Independence. This chapter may not be interpreted to:
A. Limit the independence or autonomy of an education service provider;
B. Make the actions of an education service provider the actions of the State 
Government; 
C. Expand the regulatory authority of the State, its officers or any school administrative 
unit to impose any additional regulation of education service providers beyond those 
necessary to enforce the requirements of the program; or
D. Require the education service provider to alter the education service provider's 
creed, practices, admissions policy or curriculum to receive payment under the 
program.
6.  Barring education service providers. The department may prohibit an education 
service provider from participating in the program if the department determines that the 
education service provider has:
A. Intentionally and substantially misrepresented information about the education 
services provided or failed to refund an overpayment in a timely manner; or
B. Routinely failed to provide students with promised educational goods or services.
The department shall create a fair process to determine whether an education service 
provider may be prohibited from participating in the program.
If the department prohibits an education service provider from participating in the program, 
the department shall notify parents and legal guardians of participating students served by 
the education service provider no later than 5 days after the prohibition is determined.
An education service provider may appeal the department's decision made under this 
subsection.
§17208.  Parent Review Commission
1.  Commission created. The Parent Review Commission, referred to in this section 
as "the commission," is created in the department for the purpose of advising the 
department on:
A.  Whether money withdrawn from an educational opportunity account was used for 
a purpose described by section 17202, subsection 2. The commission may by majority 
vote recommend to the department that a questionable expenditure be denied or 
approved;
B. Whether an education service provider should be allowed to receive or continue 
receiving payments under the program; and
C. How to implement, administer and improve the program.
2.  Membership; appointment; terms; chair. The commission consists of 7 parents 
or legal guardians of participating students, appointed by the commissioner for 2-year 
terms. A parent or legal guardian's term as a member ends on the last day of the academic 
year in which the participating student of the parent or legal guardian ceases participation 
in the program. The members must represent at least 4 counties in the State.  Members may 
be reappointed. The commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, serves as the nonvoting 
chair of the commission.  The commission may meet virtually.
§17209.  Miscellaneous provisions
1. Records.  A public school or public charter school that previously enrolled a 
participating student shall provide a private school that is an education service provider and 
that has enrolled the participating student with a complete copy of the participating 
student's school records, while complying with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy 
Act of 1974, 20 United States Code, Section 1232g.
2. Intervention.  If any part of this chapter is challenged in a state court as violating 
either the Constitution of Maine or the United States Constitution, a parent or legal guardian 
of an eligible student or participating student may intervene in the lawsuit for the purposes 
of defending the program's constitutionality. A court may require that all parents or legal 
guardians file a joint brief, as long as they are not required to join any brief filed on behalf 
of any named state defendant.
3. Burden of proof.  In a legal proceeding challenging an action taken by the 
department under a rule adopted by the department toward an education service provider, 
the State has the burden of establishing that the rule is necessary and does not impose an 
undue burden on the education service provider.
4. Enrollment not required.  Nothing in this chapter may be construed to require that 
a participating student must be enrolled, full-time or part-time, in either a private school or 
nonpublic online school.
§17210.  Rules
The department shall adopt rules to implement this chapter.  Rules adopted pursuant to 
this paragraph are major substantive rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 
2‑A.
SUMMARY
This bill establishes a program in the Department of Education to create educational 
opportunity accounts for participating students to be funded by the State and used to pay 
certain educational expenses, including expenses paid to education service providers.