Changes from 1 year to 3 years the time needed for those with targeted need and conditional certificates to complete coursework and testing requirements. Review and determine any certification processes/applications need to be revised. LD 1469, Public Law 2015, Chapter 383 An Act To Promote Private Fund-raising for the Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf Requires the Executive Director of the Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf to designate a nonprofit organization as the private support organization for the Maine Educational Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf to organize and foster support for the Center / School and its programs. July 29, 2016 Suzan Beaudoin LD 1475, Public Law 2015, Chapter 463 An Act To Facilitate the Use of State Education Subsidies (EMERGENCY) Authorizes a regional school unit (RSU) to include an article in the warrant for its annual budget meeting providing that, in the event that the RSU receives more state education subsidy than the amount included in its budget, the RSU Board is authorized to increase expenditures for school purposes in cost center categories approved by the RSU board, without a special budget meeting and budget validation referendum. Allows a RSU to include such articles for the purposes of increasing allocation of finances in a reserve fund and decreasing the local cost share expectation for local property taxpayers for funding public education. April 13, 2016 Include in Commissioner’s Dispatch or Update. Add to website information on warrant articles. Joanne Allen LD 1504, Public Law 2015, Chapter 399 An Act To Establish November 1st as Veterans in the Arts and Humanities Day Establishes November 1st as Veterans in the Arts Humanities Day to celebrate significant contributions of veterans of the US Armed Forces in the arts and humanities. Provides that the Governor may issue a proclamation urging people to participate in activities relating to this. July 29, 2016 Include in Commissioner’s Dispatch or Update. Rachelle Tome Beth Lambert LD 1517, Public Law 2015, Chapter 420 An Act To Enable an Alternative Organizational Structure To Purchase Group Health Insurance for Its Allows the governing body of an alternative organizational structure (AOS) to purchase a single health insurance policy that is offered to all eligible employees and retirees and their dependents of the AOS and its member school administrative units. March 31, 2016 Joanne Allen
the Maine budget Stabilization Fund and To Make Additional Appropriations and Allocations for the Expenditures of State Government, General Fund and Other Funds and To Change Certain Provisions of the Law Necessary to the Proper Operations of State Government for the Fiscal Years Ending June 30, 2016 and June 30, 2017 (EMERGENCY) Transfers $10 million from funds received from a court order in State of Maine v. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. and Standard & Poors Financial Services LLC. to the Maine Budget Stabilization Fund. PART D Provides one-time funds of $1.5 million to General Purpose Aid for Local Schools in the Department of Education budget for the Jobs for Maine's Graduates - College Program in FY 2016-17. PART E Establishes the Substance Abuse Assistance Program to provide grants to municipalities and counties to carry out projects designed to reduce substance abuse, substance abuse-related crimes and recidivism. PART I Appropriates one-time funds of $2 million in FY 2016-17 to the Finance Authority of Maine for the Maine State Grant Program. Include funds in quarterly payments to Job’s for Maine Graduates. LD 1623, Public Law 2015, Chapter 432 An Act To Establish Municipal Cost Components for Unorganized Territory Services To Be Rendered in Fiscal Year 2016-17 (EMERGENCY) Establishes for municipal cost components for state and county services, including education in the unorganized territory, provided to the unorganized territory that would be paid for by a municipality in FY 2016-17. The municipal cost components constitute the property tax for the unorganized territory. The cost component for Education in the Unorganized Territory (EUT) for 2016-17 is $12,288,717. April 16, 2016 Shelley Lane LD 1627, Public Law 2015, Chapter 489 Sets up a phased-in schedule for the awarding of proficiency-based diplomas with the graduating class of July 29, 2016 Rachelle Tome Joanne Allen
An Act To Implement Certain Recommendations of the Maine Proficiency Education Council 2021 being required to demonstrate proficiency in 4 core content areas of Maine’s Learning Results: 1) Math, 2) English Language Arts, 3) Social Studies, and 4) Science and Technology). The requirements grow for each graduating class until 2025 at which time students are expected to be proficient in all 8 content areas as defined in Maine’s Learning Results. Creates recognition of multiple pathways for career and technical education (CTE) students to receive proficiency based diplomas with the completion of a CTE program meeting national or state industry standards recognized as a demonstration of proficiency and the phased-in schedule until 2025 to be proficient in CTE and 7 other content areas of the Maine Learning Results. Directs the Department to develop routine technical rules for proficiency-based diplomas to allow local flexibility and innovation in developing consistent graduation standards aligning the phase-in of multiple pathways for CTE students ensuring that all students be exposed to all content areas. Extends through the 2020-21 school year funding to school administrative units (SAUs) of annual transition grants, if funds are available, to implement the proficiency-based graduation, reporting and credentials requirements. Requires a review in 2017-18 and adds a 3 year review cycle of the Essential Programs and Services components related to implementation of proficiency based reporting and graduation requirements. (Transition grants are is the only component at this time with these criteria.) Requires SAUs to maintain a transcript for each student which will reflect the certification by the SAU of each area in which a student achieves proficiency and keep that transcript with the student’s permanent academic transcript. Authorizes the Department to provide guidance and, if necessary, amend major substantive rules in order to establish strategies by which special education students Include in Commissioner’s Dispatch or Update. Review for data collection and reporting impacts. Proposed routine technical rulemaking pertaining to CTE students. Charlotte Ellis