An Act to Amend
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 2099
Committee Amendment CA_A_H843 (House)
Amends: 20-A MRSA §4772, 20-A MRSA §4772-A

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "/-f" to H.P, 1414, L,D. 2099, "An Act to Amend
Certain Eligibility Requirements for Secondary Students Receiving State Subsidies for
Postsecondary Courses"
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 2 and inserting the following:
'See. 2. 20-A MRSA §4772, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2005, c, 519, Pt. XX, §1,
is further amended to read:
2. Academic standing. Unless granted a waiver by the eligible institution, the student
is maintaming a mmimum secondary school grade point average of at least 3-0 2.0 on a
scale of 4.0, or the equivalent of a "B C" average, as determined by the school
administrative unit^
This subsection is repealed July 31. 2028:'
Amend the bill in section 4 in subsection 6 in the last line (page 1, line 20 in L,D.) by
inserting after the following: "adffiifiistetiefir" the following: 'or from a school official wifh
knowledee of the student's academic performance'
Amend the bill in section 5 in subsection 7 by striking out all of paragraphs B, C and
D (page 1, lines 25 to 29 in L.D.) and inserting the following:
'B, Is enrolled^OSA tuition student in a school admmisfratiYe unit or a private school
approved for tuition purposes pursuant to chapter 219; or
C. Is a student receivine home mstruction as outlined in section 5001-A. subsection 3.
paragraph A. suboaraeraoh f4').'
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 7 and inserting the following:
'See. 7. 20-A MRSA §4772-A, as amended by PL 2005, c. 519, Pt. XX, §4, is
further amended by enacting at the end a new paragraph to read:
This section is repealed July 31. 2028.'
Amend the bill in section 10 by inserting after subsection 4 the following:
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
A'
COMMn-TEE AMENDMENT "M-" to H.P, 1414, L.D. 2099
This subsection is repealed July 31. 2028.'
Amend the bill m section 11 by inserting after subsection 5 the following:
'This subsection is repealed July 31.2028.'
Amend the bill in section 13 in the indented paragraph in the first 3 lines (page 2, lines
19 to 21 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "the department, m collaboration with
eligible institutions, shall determine annually a process for the reimbursement of tuition up
to a lifetime credit cap of 18 total credits per student" and inserting the following: 'the
department shall reimburse each eligible institution the cost of m-statejuition up to the
maximum rate. calculated as follows: 50% of the averaee m-state tuition rate for the highest
and lowest in-state tuition rates_established by the University of Maine System for eligible
institutions within the system'
Amend the bill by inserting after section 14 the followmg:
'See. 15. Department of Education report on secondary school students
receiving state subsidies for postsecondary courses. The Department of Education,
referred to in this section as "the department," in collaboration with eligible institutions
under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, chapter 208-A, shall provide a report
regarding the effect of changes made by this Act to eligibility requirements for a secondary
school student to receive a state subsidy for postsecondary courses and regarding the
imposition of lifetime credit caps on secondary school students and career and technical
education students in a designated early college career pathway. By Febmary 1,2028, the
department shall submit the report, includmg any recommendations, to the joint standing
committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education and cultural affairs, which
may report out legislation related to the report to the Second Regular Session of the 133rd
Legislature.'
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section
number to read consecutively.
SUMMARY
This amendment strikes from the bill the repeal of the academic standing requirement
in determining student eligibility for secondary school students receiving a state subsidy
0 for postsecondary courses and instead requires a student to maintain a minimum secondary
school grade point average of at least 2,0, rather than 3.0 as in current law, on a scale of
4.0 unless the student is granted a waiver by the relevant public postsecondary education
institution in the State. The amendment repeals this provision July 31, 2028.
The bill amends current law regarding the required recommendation for such a state
5 subsidy to provide that a student is required to receive a recommendation from the student's
6 school to take a postsecondary course at such a public postsecondary education institution.
7 The amendment clarifies fhat the student may also receive a recommendation from a school
8 official with knowledge of the student's academic performance.
The amendment eliminates on July 31, 2028 the lifetime credit caps proposed in the
bill for secondary school students and career and technical education students in a
designated early college career pathway.
Page2-132LR2615(02)
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
•A"
COMMHTEE AMENDMENT "jh-" to H.P. 1414, L.D. 2099
The amendment also requires the Department of Education, in collaboration with the
public postsecondary education institutions in the State, to provide a report regarding the
effect of changes made by this legislation to eligibility requirements for a secondary school
student to receive a state subsidy for postsecondary courses and regarding fhe imposition
of lifetime credit caps on secondary school students and career and technical education
students in a designated early college career pathway. By Febmary 1,2028, fhe department
is required to submit a report, including any recommendations, to the joint standing
committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education and cultural affairs, which
may report out legislation related to the report to the Second Regular Session of the 133rd
Legislature,
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Approved: 03/03/26 i-RL
LD 2099 LR 2615(02)
An Act to Amend Certain Eligibility Requirements for Secondary Students Receiving State Subsidies
for Postsecondary Courses
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment /-f'
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Fiscal Note Required: Yes
Fiscal Note
Temporarily limits participation to keep pace with available funding in current biennium
Fiscal Detail and Notes
This bill imposes a lifetime cap on the number of courses for which secondary students and career and technical
education students enrolled in a designated early college career pathway may receive a state subsidy. The bill a\y
restricts state subsidy for postsecondary courses to students who are Maine residents and meet public tuition crL
The eligibility policy of the Department of Education (department) currently includes these provisions; the bill seeks
to codify existing policy in statute. These provisions are intended to lower the number ofpostsecondary courses for
which secondary and early college students may receive a state subsidy. There is no new funding provided in the bill
because the amount of the state subsidy is included in the department's total cost of education. However, demand for
these courses is likely to continue to outpace available funding, even with the restrictions imposed by this bill,
Additionally, the bill repeals the lifetime credit cap on July 31, 2028, after which the reimbursement due to eligible
institutions from the department is likely to exceed available resources, absent additional appropriations, statutory
changes or other arrangements.
The bill also requires the department, in collaboration with eligible institutions, to provide an update to the Legislature
by Febmary 1, 2028 on eligibility requirements for a secondary student to receive a state subsidy for postsecondary
courses and on lifetime credit caps for secondary students and career and technical education students. Any additional
costs to the department to implement the requirements of this bill can be absorbed within existing resources.
LR2615(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1