2023 Maine Revised Statutes › TITLE 20-A: EDUCATION › Part 3: ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION › Chapter 206: ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS › Subchapter 1: BASIC SCHOOL APPROVAL › 20-A §4502. School approval requirements

§4502. School approval requirements
1.  General requirements.
Elementary and secondary schools and school administrative units, including an educational program or school located in or operated by a juvenile correctional facility, shall meet all requirements of the system of learning results as established in section 6209 as well as other requirements of this Title and other statutory requirements applicable to the public schools and basic school approval standards. Each school administrative unit shall prepare and implement a comprehensive education plan that is aligned with the system of learning results, focused on the learning of all students and oriented to continuous improvement. The comprehensive education plan must include a plan for the graduation requirements of section 4722. This plan must also address all other plans required by the department.
[PL 2017, c. 466, §5 (AMD).]
1-A.  Developmentally appropriate educational practices; kindergarten to grade 2.
The commissioner shall adopt rules to address developmentally appropriate educational practices for kindergarten to grade 2. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are major substantive rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.
[RR 2019, c. 2, Pt. A, §23 (COR).]
2.  Curriculum requirements.
Schools must meet all curriculum requirements established in chapter 207‑A. Schools that offer public preschool programs shall demonstrate curriculum practice for those programs that implements the Maine early learning and development standards established by the department and is appropriate for the age and development level of the children.
[PL 2021, c. 571, §2 (AMD).]
3.  School year.
Schools shall comply with section 4801.
[PL 1983, c. 859, Pt. A, §§20, 25 (NEW).]
4.  Staff qualifications.
School boards shall employ only teachers and other educational personnel who are properly certified in accordance with certification rules adopted pursuant to chapter 502 and other professional personnel who hold appropriate professional licenses issued by the State.
[PL 1983, c. 859, Pt. A, §§20, 25 (NEW).]
4-A.  Affirmative action plan.
Each school administrative unit shall develop an affirmative action plan in accordance with Title 5, chapter 65 as part of the school approval process and update this plan annually as necessary. The affirmative action plan must include a description of the status of the unit's nondiscriminatory hiring practice provided in section 1001, subsection 13 and plans for in-service training programs on gender equity for teachers, administrators and school boards. The unit shall submit any update of the plan annually to the commissioner.
[PL 2013, c. 506, §8 (AMD).]
4-B.  Economic discrimination.
A school board may consider the economic conditions within its geographical area of jurisdiction in assigning pupils to schools within a school administrative unit or a centralized education program but may not make assignments solely on the basis of economic condition.
[PL 1993, c. 644, §1 (NEW).]
5.  Other requirements.
The state board and the commissioner shall jointly adopt basic school approval rules governing school administrative units and elementary and secondary schools. These rules must set minimum requirements in the following areas, incorporating such requirements as are established by statute:
A. Instructional time, including a minimum school day and week;   [PL 1983, c. 859, Pt. A, §§20, 25 (NEW).]
B. Staffing, including student-teacher ratios that permit maximum student-teacher ratios of 25:1 school-wide for kindergarten to grade 8 and maximum student-teacher ratios of 30:1 school-wide for grades 9 to 12;   [PL 2009, c. 313, §2 (AMD).]
C. Physical facilities, incorporating the school construction rules of the state board;   [PL 1983, c. 859, Pt. A, §§20, 25 (NEW).]
D. Requirements for equipment and libraries;   [PL 2009, c. 313, §2 (AMD).]
E. Minimum school size, but including recognition of geographically isolated schools;   [PL 1983, c. 859, Pt. A, §§20, 25 (NEW).]
F. Grade and program organization;   [PL 1983, c. 859, Pt. A, §§20, 25 (NEW).]
G. Assessment and evaluation of student performance;   [PL 1983, c. 859, Pt. A, §§20, 25 (NEW).]
H. Student personnel services, including guidance and counseling and, notwithstanding any rules adopted by the department, comprehensive guidance plans to be approved by the commissioner;   [PL 2009, c. 313, §2 (AMD).]
I. Records, record keeping and reporting requirements;   [PL 1983, c. 859, Pt. A, §§20, 25 (NEW).]
J. Health, sanitation and safety requirements, including compliance with section 6302;   [PL 1991, c. 181, §1 (AMD).]
K. School improvement;   [PL 1997, c. 428, §1 (AMD).]
L. [PL 2001, c. 454, §13 (RP).]
L-1. A plan for training and development of all personnel that is aligned with the system of learning results as established in section 6209;   [PL 2001, c. 454, §14 (NEW).]
M. The use of time-out areas, administered in accordance with requirements adopted by the department and with this paragraph. The use of a time-out area is subject to the following:
(1) The time-out area must be well ventilated and sufficiently lighted. The time-out area may not be locked; and
(2) The time-out area must be designed to ensure the safety of the student so that the student is supervised by a professional staff member in the room or can be observed from outside of the time-out area and can be heard by a person supervising the time-out area;   [PL 2009, c. 313, §2 (AMD).]
N. Preparation of a written local policy and implementation of training for all unlicensed personnel who administer medication in accordance with the requirements under section 254, subsection 5;   [PL 2007, c. 141, §8 (AMD).]
O. Preparation of a written local policy and implementation of training for all guidance counselors and school personnel who administer reintegration planning pursuant to section 254, subsection 12, who participate in a reintegration team and who have access to confidential criminal justice information regarding juveniles pursuant to section 1055, subsection 12; and   [PL 2007, c. 141, §9 (AMD).]
P. Provision of family outreach and support programs designed to improve parent-school relations and parenting skills consistent with section 4252, subsection 8.   [PL 2007, c. 141, §10 (NEW).]
[PL 2009, c. 313, §2 (AMD).]
5-A.  Application.
[PL 2009, c. 313, §3 (RP).]
5-B.  Suicide awareness education and training.
Each school administrative unit shall develop a plan for suicide prevention awareness education for all school personnel and suicide prevention and intervention training for certain personnel in accordance with this subsection.
A. Beginning in the 2014-2015 school year for high schools and in the 2015-2016 school year for elementary and middle schools, a one-hour to 2-hour in-service training module in suicide prevention awareness must be completed by all school personnel. School personnel shall complete the training module by the commencement of the school year or, for those employees who are newly hired, within 6 months from the beginning of employment. Suicide prevention awareness education must be repeated every 5 years.   [PL 2013, c. 53, §1 (NEW).]
B. Beginning in the 2014-2015 school year, a one-day course in suicide prevention and intervention training that will result in at least 2 school personnel trained in suicide prevention and intervention must be implemented by each school administrative unit and by each island, charter and public school that is not in a school administrative unit. Additional trained school personnel above the minimum of 2 must receive the training if the number of students in the school administrative unit is above 1,000 as follows:
(1) For 1,001 to 1,500 students, one additional school employee;
(2) For 1,501 to 2,000 students, 2 additional school personnel;
(3) For 2,001 to 2,500 students, 3 additional school personnel;
(4) For 2,501 to 3,000 students, 4 additional school personnel;
(5) For 3,001 to 3,500 students, 5 additional school personnel;
(6) For 3,501 to 4,000 students, 6 additional school personnel;
(7) For 4,001 to 4,500 students, 7 additional school personnel;
(8) For 4,501 to 5,000 students, 8 additional school personnel;
(9) For 5,001 to 5,500 students, 9 additional school personnel;
(10) For 5,501 to 6,000 students, 10 additional school personnel;
(11) For 6,001 to 6,500 students, 11 additional school personnel;
(12) For 6,501 to 7,000 students, 12 additional school personnel;
(13) For 7,001 to 7,500 students, 13 additional school personnel; and
(14) For 7,501 or more students, 14 additional school personnel.
Suicide prevention and intervention training must be repeated every 5 years.   [PL 2013, c. 53, §1 (NEW).]
C. Suicide prevention awareness education and suicide prevention and intervention training under this subsection must conform to national guidelines adopted by organizations that offer best practices, research-based training.   [PL 2013, c. 53, §1 (NEW).]
D. Training pursuant to this subsection must count toward satisfaction of professional development requirements for the department and certification requirements for teachers and other professional personnel under chapters 501 and 502.   [PL 2013, c. 53, §1 (NEW).]
The department shall adopt rules to implement this subsection. The rules must include, but are not limited to, implementation standards for suicide prevention awareness education and for suicide prevention and intervention training. Standards adopted for suicide prevention awareness education must be made available on the department’s publicly accessible website. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection before July 1, 2014 are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A. Beginning July 1, 2014, rules adopted by the department pursuant to this subsection are major substantive rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.
[PL 2013, c. 53, §1 (NEW).]
5-C.  Child sexual abuse prevention education and response.
Beginning in the 2017-2018 school year, a school administrative unit that operates a public preschool program or an elementary school shall adopt a written local policy for child sexual abuse prevention education and response that is consistent with the model policy developed by the commissioner pursuant to section 254, subsection 18.
[PL 2015, c. 292, §2 (NEW).]
6.  Annual report on comprehensive education plan.
The superintendent shall make an annual report of progress on the comprehensive education plan, developed pursuant to subsection 1, to the citizens of the school administrative unit. The school board shall annually review and approve the plan. The superintendent shall certify progress on the plan to the commissioner on an annual basis and shall submit to the commissioner a copy of the minutes of the school board meeting at which the school board reviewed and approved the plan.
[PL 2011, c. 669, §4 (AMD).]
7.  Juvenile corrections facilities.
An educational program or school for juveniles located in or operated by a correctional facility must be reviewed for approval by the department on an annual basis, with special attention paid to alternative educational programming and discharge planning and related transition services provided to juveniles who are released from juvenile correctional facilities and enrolled in public schools in the State. The department shall report to the joint standing committees of the Legislature having jurisdiction over appropriations, criminal justice and education matters on the results of the review by January 15th of each year.
[PL 2001, c. 452, §11 (AMD).]
8.  Waivers.
The commissioner may grant a school administrative unit a waiver of one or more school approval requirements upon receipt of an application from the school administrative unit that includes the basis for the waiver request and a plan to reduce reliance on waivers in subsequent years.
A. Financial hardship is one criterion the commissioner must consider in determining whether to grant a waiver.   [PL 2011, c. 669, §5 (NEW).]
B. [PL 2017, c. 466, §6 (RP).]
C. [PL 2017, c. 466, §6 (RP).]
[PL 2017, c. 466, §6 (AMD).]
9.  Public preschool programs for children 4 years of age.
To the extent the State provides adequate start-up funding for a public preschool program for children 4 years of age, a school administrative unit that does not have a public preschool program for children 4 years of age may develop a public preschool program implementation plan for children 4 years of age for submission to and approval by the department. Evaluation and approval of the proposal must include consideration of at least the following factors:
A. Demonstrated coordination with other early childhood programs in the community to maximize resources;   [PL 2007, c. 141, §11 (NEW).]
B. Consideration of the extended child care needs of working parents; and   [PL 2007, c. 141, §11 (NEW).]
C. Provision of public notice regarding the proposal to the community being served, including the extent to which public notice has been disseminated broadly to other early childhood programs in the community.   [PL 2007, c. 141, §11 (NEW).]
Beginning with the 2015-2016 school year, the commissioner may provide start-up funding as set forth in section 4271 to school administrative units to implement or expand public preschool programs for children 4 years of age as required under this subsection.
[PL 2013, c. 581, §5 (AMD).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 1983, c. 859, §§A20,A25 (NEW). PL 1985, c. 142, §1 (AMD). PL 1985, c. 774, §§4,11 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 415, §11 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 889, §7 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 9, §II2 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 181, §1 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 622, §§X1-3 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 824, §A32 (AMD). PL 1993, c. 644, §1 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 527, §§1-3 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 428, §§1-3 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 696, §§1,2 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 669, §§5-7 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 770, §§1,2 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 790, §N1 (AMD). PL 2001, c. 452, §§8-11 (AMD). PL 2001, c. 454, §§12-16 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 141, §§7-11 (AMD). PL 2009, c. 313, §§1-3 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 669, §§3-5 (AMD). PL 2013, c. 53, §1 (AMD). PL 2013, c. 506, §8 (AMD). PL 2013, c. 581, §5 (AMD). PL 2015, c. 292, §2 (AMD). PL 2017, c. 466, §§5, 6 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 508, §5 (AMD). RR 2019, c. 2, Pt. A, §23 (COR). PL 2021, c. 571, §2 (AMD).