An Act to Provide Transparency and Public Access to Public School
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 0660
Sponsors: CARUSO, HAGGAN
Amends: 20-A MRSA §4710-D

Legislative Document
No. 660
H.P. 428
House of Representatives, February 25, 2025
An Act to Provide Transparency and Public Access to Public School 
Curricula
Received by the Clerk of the House on February 20, 2025.  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 CARUSO of Caratunk.
Cosponsored by Senator HAGGAN of Penobscot and
Representatives: COLLINS of Sidney, DAIGLE of Fort Kent, LYMAN of Livermore Falls, 
PERKINS of Dover-Foxcroft, SMITH of Palermo, THORNE of Carmel, WALKER of Naples, 
Senator: LIBBY of Cumberland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA §4710-D is enacted to read:
§4710-D.  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 a school administrative unit shall 
adopt policies and procedures to ensure that 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) The immutable and other identifying characteristics of a student, family or 
community, including, but not limited to, such characteristics as race, sex, gender, 
religion, disability and 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.  A school administrative unit shall post on the 
school administrative unit's publicly accessible website, in the section of the website related 
to curricula, at least 3 years of data showing numbers and percentages of total student 
capacity at each school and enrolled students by grade level, academic subject and 
percentage level of proficiency based on state assessment scores. 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 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 school administrative 
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 each attendee employed by the school administrative unit, 
program name and program description for the prior 3 years.  The school administrative 
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 program available statewide; and
G. The department shall maintain on the department's publicly accessible website a list 
of school boards that have approved a program available statewide.
6. Programs provided by 3rd-party contractors. For professional development and 
instructional 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 and detailing the public funds spent on program promotion, development, 
training, local implementation and other miscellaneous costs for the prior 3 years.
7. Online portal. A 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 
that 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 
programs  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 professional development programs. Certain provisions 
of this bill are designed to satisfy federal law related to parental access to information and 
protection of pupil's rights.