LD 160
Rep Schatz
ONTP

An Act To Require the Department of Education To Provide an Accounting of School Subsidy Based on Individual Members in a Regional School Unit or Alternative Organizational Structure - Current law requires the Commissioner of Education to notify school boards of the amount of school subsidy to be allocated to school administrative units. This bill requires the Commissioner of Education to also provide the governing bodies of regional school units and alternative organizational structures with the computation and the amount of the allocation of school subsidy that the commissioner has estimated for the regional school units and each member municipality in the regional school unit or for the alternative organizational structure and each member entity in the alternative organizational structure.

LD 551
Rep Finch
CO

An Act To Improve the Essential Programs and Services Funding Formula - This bill is a concept draft pursuant to Joint Rule 208.  This bill proposes to enact measures designed to improve the essential programs and services funding formula.

LD 570
Rep Finch
CO

An Act To Improve the Laws Governing the Consolidation of School Administrative Units - This bill is a concept draft pursuant to Joint Rule 208.  This bill proposes to enact measures designed to improve the laws governing the consolidation of school administrative units.

An Act To Align Education Laws with Certain Federal Laws - This bill provides that a student placed by the Department of Health and Human Services with an adult who is not the child's parent or legal guardian in accordance with the educational stability provisions of the federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 is considered a resident of either the school administrative unit where the student resides during the placement or the school administrative unit where the student resided prior to the placement based on the best interest of the student. The Department of Health and Human Services shall determine which of the 2 units is appropriate and notify the unit in writing of its determination.  The bill also provides that all students with disabilities must have access to accessible instructional materials and may receive instruction in Braille. Accessible instructional materials and provisions for the accessibility of online learning programs for individuals with disabilities must be in alignment with the accessible instructional materials provisions of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 and in alignment with the universal design provisions of the 1998 amendments to the federal Higher Education Act of 1965 contained in the federal Higher Education Amendments of 1998.  The bill changes the requirement that all special education programs receive a visit from the Department of Education at least once every 5 years to as often as necessary to comply with federal requirements. It does not prohibit a request from a school administrative unit for the commissioner to review a special education program for the purpose of review and assistance whenever necessary.

An Act To Further Regulate the Communications of Members of Public Bodies - This bill amends the law governing access to public records and proceedings. This bill:  1.  Provides definitions of "electronic mail," "group electronic mail" and "substantive matter"; 2.  Prohibits a member of a public body from knowingly sending a group electronic mail to a quorum of the members of that body regarding a substantive matter that is before the body; 3.  Prohibits a member of a public body from directly or through an intermediary communicating that a majority of that body is in agreement regarding a substantive matter that is before the body to interested persons who are not members of the body; 4.  Specifies that "public records" includes electronic mail that is sent by a member of a public body to a quorum of members of that same body regarding a substantive matter that is before the body; and 5.  Requires that if a member of a public body sends electronic mail to a quorum of members of that same body regarding a substantive matter that is before the body, the electronic mail must be printed and made available to the public at the next public meeting before the body takes a vote on that matter.

Resolve, To Develop a Model Academic Year Calendar - This resolve directs the Commissioner of Education to establish a study group consisting of kindergarten-to-grade-12 school officials, primarily superintendents and career and technical education directors, to prepare a draft model academic year calendar by December 1, 2010. It also authorizes the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education matters to submit legislation to implement the findings of the study group to the First Regular Session of the 125th Legislature.

An Act To Update the Laws Concerning the Maine School of Science and Mathematics - This bill updates the laws concerning the Maine School of Science and Mathematics. It provides that students may use scholarship funds in place of payment for all or part of the cost of room and board and any other fees or expenses incurred as a result of their enrollment at the school. It allows postgraduate high school students to attend at full cost. It clarifies that private scholarship funds may not be used to offset state funds and creates a general purpose educational enhancement fund with the same provision. This bill makes necessary changes to reflect the newly created regional school unit. It provides that one of the 3 teacher members of the board of trustees is a full-time teacher and clarifies that both full-time and part-time faculty members may participate in the election of a faculty representative to the board of trustees. It also provides that the student member of the board of trustees is a nonvoting member. It strengthens the quorum requirement from members in attendance to 1/3 of all voting members. Finally, it removes references to high school sophomores, juniors and seniors in the laws governing admission to the school and provides that admittance of high school students must be based on criteria established by the board of trustees.

An Act To Improve the Availability, Efficiency and Cost of Services for Infants, Young Children and Their Families - This bill is a concept draft pursuant to Joint Rule 208.  This bill proposes to restructure the services available to infants and young children with developmental disabilities, including autism, and developmental delays. The restructured services would include supports for the families of these infants and young children. The bill would aim to improve informed choices for families and improve the coordination of services among numerous community agencies and state departments. The bill would provide a new, streamlined structure to improve identification of need and ease of accessing services and improve outcomes for infants and young children and their families and efficiency in the use of state funds.

An Act To Increase Maine’s High School Graduation Rates - This bill establishes the state goal of achieving an average statewide secondary school graduation rate of 90% by the end of the 2015-2016 school year. The State Board of Education is required to provisionally adopt major substantive rules specifying the methodology to be used to calculate secondary school graduation rates through 2016 and to submit those rules for legislative review by January 14, 2011.  The bill also requires the Commissioner of Education and the State Board of Education to establish a stakeholder group to develop recommendations relating to increasing secondary school graduation rates in the State and to report its findings to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education matters by January 10, 2011.

An Act To Prevent the Spread of H1N1 - This bill requires an employer to give a maximum of 52 accrued hours of paid sick leave per year to any employee who is employed by a large business employer and a maximum of 26 accrued paid sick leave hours per year to any employee who is employed by a small business employer. Paid sick leave is accrued from the first day of employment and can be used on the 90th day and thereafter. Earned paid sick leave may be used by an employee during an absence from employment due to the illness of an employee or illness of an employee's family member, if the employee's place of business is closed due to a public health emergency, if an employee needs to care for a dependent whose school or place of care has been closed due to a public health emergency, for the purpose of an employee accessing necessary preventive health care or an employee's family member accessing necessary preventive health care or due to the employee or the employee's family member being a victim of stalking, domestic violence or sexual abuse.  EMERGENCY

An Act Making Supplemental Appropriations and Allocations for the Expenditures of State Government, General Fund and Other Funds, and Changing Certain Provisions of the Law Necessary to the Proper Operation of State Government for the Fiscal Years Ending June 30, 2010 and June 30, 2011 - For more information on the Education and Cultural Affairs section of the budget bill please select the following link: http://www.maine.gov/legis/ofpr/appropriations_committee/materials/index.htm

An Act To Allow Minor Capital School Improvement Projects To Be Permitted Costs under Essential Programs and Services - This bill allows the cost of minor capital school improvement projects, including, but not limited to, the replacement of windows, a boiler or a roof, to be permitted costs under the essential programs and services funding formula.  EMERGENCY

An Act To Protect Universal Service - This bill prohibits instrumentalities, institutions or agencies of the State from providing telecommunications service or information service to any person other than itself or its tenants. The bill also prohibits instrumentalities, institutions or agencies of the State from procuring such services in a manner that constrains or limits alternative proposals to meet instrumentalities', institutions' or agencies' needs. The bill establishes a right of action for injunctive relief and damages for violation of these requirements. The bill also repeals authority for the University of Maine to install lines on existing utility facilities within or along a right of way for the purpose of transmitting data and communications.

Resolve, To Implement the Recommendations of the Juvenile Justice Task Force - This emergency resolve implements the recommendations of the Juvenile Justice Task Force. The resolve includes directives to the Department of Corrections, the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Labor to develop a statewide coordinated services district system. The system will be responsible for coordinating and implementing service delivery initiatives for the purpose of increasing high school graduation rates, reducing the number of youth in the juvenile justice system, reducing child abuse and neglect and increasing employment opportunities for youth. The resolve also directs the system to work with the Children’s Cabinet.  The resolve directs the Department of Corrections and the Department of Health and Human Services to develop a plan that will detail a statewide system for in-home and out-of-home placements for youth in the juvenile justice system. The plan must include funding options for emergency shelter placements, foster home placements and residential placements. The Department of Corrections, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education are also directed to develop a plan that identifies an ongoing mechanism for providing flexible funding for youth who are served by multiple state agencies. The plan must include resources from public, private and nonprofit sectors.  The resolve requires that the Department of Corrections report progress on these cooperative initiatives to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over juvenile justice matters by January 15, 2011 and gives that committee authority to introduce suggested legislation to implement the recommendations to the 125th Legislature.  EMERGENCY

An Act To Align the Duties of School Boards Concerning Student Safety with the Requirements of the Federal Gun-Free Schools Act and To Prohibit the Discharge of Firearms within 500 Feet of Public and Private School Properties - This bill requires school boards to adopt policies consistent with federal legislation on gun-free schools.  This bill also clarifies that the prohibition of the discharge of firearms within 500 feet of school property applies to both public school property and private school property.

An Act To Form a Western Maine Regional School Unit - This bill allows School Administrative District 58, Coplin Plantation, Highland Plantation and those unorganized territories with students who attend School Administrative District 58 to form a regional school unit. It authorizes the Commissioner of Education to approve the formation of such a regional school unit.

An Act To Allow a Municipality To Withdraw from a Regional School Unit - This bill enacts into law provisions regarding the reorganization of regional school units. The new provisions are similar to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, former sections 1405 and 1406 and allow the withdrawal from a regional school unit of a municipality and the transfer of a municipality out of one regional school unit and into another. A municipality that wishes to withdraw from a regional school unit must have been a member of that regional school unit for at least 3 years and must become a member of a regional school unit within 2 years of withdrawal or be subject to the penalties that apply to nonconforming school administrative units. The bill also includes provisions that formerly applied in this area of law authorizing the State Board of Education to review decisions of the Commissioner of Education.

An Act To Exempt from Penalties School Administrative Units That Would Lose Subsidy as a Result of Reorganization - This bill provides that penalties for a school administrative unit that does not conform to reorganization requirements do not apply if the school administrative unit would lose state subsidy as a result of its reorganization or if the reorganization failed because a participating school administrative unit would lose state subsidy.  EMERGENCY

An Act To Require the Department of Education To Calculate Subsidy on the Basis of Membership in a Regional School Unit or an Alternative Organizational Structure and as if the School Administrative Unit Had Not Reorganized as of 2009 - This bill requires the Department of Education to calculate the subsidy a school administrative unit would receive as part of a regional school unit or an alternative organizational structure and as if the school administrative unit had not reorganized pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20A, chapter 103A. The department shall pay the larger subsidy amount to the regional school unit or alternative organizational structure of which that school administrative unit is a member.  EMERGENCY

An Act To Waive Certain Penalties Imposed against School Administrative Units if the State Has Not Fulfilled Its Goal of Paying 55% of Costs - This bill provides that if the State is able to fund only a percentage of its 55% share of the cost of the components of essential programs and services, local school administrative units that raise at least that same percentage of their required local contribution may not be penalized by further reductions in state subsidy.  EMERGENCY

An Act To Remove the Requirement That the Annual Budget of a Regional School Unit Must Be Approved at a Budget Validation Referendum - This bill removes the requirement that a referendum must be held in a regional school unit to allow the voters to validate or reject the total budget adopted at the regional school unit budget meeting.

Resolve, Regarding Legislative Review of Portions of Chapter 101: Maine Unified Special Education Regulation, a Major Substantive Rule of the Department of Education - This resolve provides for legislative review of portions of Chapter 101: Maine Unified Special Education Regulation, a major substantive rule of the Department of Education.  EMERGENCY

An Act To Allow the Town of Wells and the Town of Ogunquit To Amend the Terms of Their Cost-sharing Agreement for Their Community School District and To Provide Each Town the Ability To Withdraw from the Wells-Ogunquit Community School District - This bill amends the terms of the cost-sharing agreement for the Wells-Ogunquit Community School District and allows each town the right to withdraw from the community school district after 2014.

An Act To Require the State To Pay the Costs of School Administration Consolidation - This bill requires the State to pay the costs of consolidation by July 1, 2012 for any town or community that has complied with the laws governing the reorganization of school administrative units by June 2, 2009.

Resolve, Regarding Legislative Review of the Repeal of Chapter 182: Formula for Distribution of Funds to Child Development Services Regional Sites, a Major Substantive Rule That Has Been Provisionally Repealed by the Department of Education - This resolve provides for legislative review of the final repeal of Chapter 182: Formula for Distribution of Funds to Child Development Services Regional Sites, a major substantive rule of the Department of Education that has been provisionally repealed.  EMERGENCY

Resolve, Regarding Legislative Review of the Repeal of Chapter 181: Child Development Services System: Regional Provider Advisory Boards, a Major Substantive Rule That Has Been Provisionally Repealed by the Department of Education - This resolve provides for legislative review of the final repeal of Chapter 181: Child Development Services System: Regional Provider Advisory Boards, a major substantive rule of the Department of Education that has been provisionally repealed.  EMERGENCY

An Act To Create Fair Education Funding for Regional School Units - This bill requires that the State calculate, based on the original date that school units were required to comply with the school consolidation laws, the reduction in state funding that would have applied to nonconforming school units if penalties had been assessed and requires the State to distribute that amount of funds to those regional school units that successfully completed the process of reorganization in order to comply with the school consolidation laws.

Resolve, To Support the Development of Maine’s Economic Future by Promoting Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Education - This legislation is reported out by the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs pursuant to the authority granted under Resolve 2009, Chapter 98, "Resolve, To Understand and Assist Efforts to Promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Education."  The resolve directs the Department of Education, in consultation with the University of Maine System and the Maine Community College System, to conducts a study and develop a strategic plan for science, technology, engineering and mathematics learning in preparation for the State application for federal funding under the Race to the Top competitive grant established under the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.  The resolve also directs the Department of Education to review existing state learning standards for kindergarten to grade 12 public education to determine if students have the opportunity to develop the skills and gain the knowledge that will be incorporated as part of a national assessment of technological literacy beginning in 2012. The Department of Education shall submit a report by February 1, 2011 to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education matters on the status of the State plan for science, technology, engineering and mathematics learning and on the review of state learning standards and opportunities for learning related to technological literacy. The joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education matters may submit legislation based on the findings and recommendations of the report submitted by the Department of Education to the First Regular Session of the 125th Legislature.  EMERGENCY

An Act To Include All Children in the Conditions of Education Report - This bill requires the Education Research Institute to include in the information that it collects and analyzes information on early care and public preschool programs. The bill also adds as a member of the steering committee a person from the Maine Children's Growth Council.

An Act To Protect Teacher Retirement Income - This bill allows teachers covered by the Maine Public Employees Retirement System to purchase time attributable to days off without pay as a result of budget decisions made by local school administrative units for fiscal years ending June 30, 2010 and June 30, 2011. This bill provides to teachers the same benefits available to state employees.

An Act To Exempt the Town of Hermon from the School Administrative Unit Consolidation Law - This bill exempts the Town of Hermon from minimum student enrollments established in statute for regional school units. The Commissioner of Education is required to treat the town in a manner similar to the treatment of coastal islands.  EMERGENCY

An Act Regarding the Commissioner of Education’s Rule-making Authority - This bill is a concept draft pursuant to Joint Rule 208.  This bill proposes to examine the rule-making authority of the Commissioner of Education as it relates to rules that have been submitted to the Legislature by the commissioner, considered by the Legislature and rejected by the Legislature.

An Act To Implement Recommendations of the Right To Know Advisory Committee Concerning Records of Public Proceedings - This bill is a recommendation of a majority of the Right To Know Advisory Committee as described in its 4th annual report.  This bill requires that a record of all public proceedings for which notice is required under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 1, section 406 must be made within a reasonable period of time after the proceeding. The record is a public record and must be open to public inspection. At a minimum, the record must include: the date, time and place of the public proceeding; the members of the body recorded as either present or absent; the general substance of all matters proposed, discussed or decided; and all motions and votes taken, by individual member if there is a roll call. An audio, video or other electronic recording of a public proceeding is sufficient.  This bill is not intended to change current practices of public bodies that are regularly keeping a record or minutes, but to require that a minimum record of meetings must be kept for those bodies that do not already do so.

An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Right To Know Advisory Committee Concerning Public Records Exceptions - This bill contains the recommendations concerning public records exceptions of the Right To Know Advisory Committee as described in its fourth annual report. This bill includes the recommended amendments to existing public records exceptions to provide as much consistency as possible across the statutes.  This bill restores provisions providing confidentiality concerning complaints made to the State Auditor's hotline or referral service as enacted by Public Law 2005, chapter 682, and repealed July 1, 2009. This bill allows the person making a complaint through a hotline or other referral service to allow that person's name to be disclosed if the person agrees in writing. It imposes a requirement that the State Auditor publicly report the identification of cost savings as a result of the investigation. The report must include recommendations for any action necessary to achieve the cost savings. This bill also requires the State Auditor to submit a written report to the Governor and publish on the auditor's publicly accessible website all other complaints within 120 days of the receipt of the complaint, indicating the nature of the complaint, the agency that is the subject of the complaint and the degree to which the complaint was substantiated.  This bill amends the laws concerning the Maine International Trade Center to treat all proceedings and records as open to the public, with exceptions for proprietary information.  This bill amends the laws concerning the Finance Authority of Maine with regard to records. This bill uses the template recommended by the Right To Know Advisory Committee to provide that proprietary information provided by an applicant is confidential, as is an applicant's financial statement and tax return. Exceptions to confidentiality include information for which confidentiality has been satisfactorily and effectively waived, information that has already been made available to the public and impersonal, statistical and general information. This bill also provides exceptions to the nondisclosure of the confidential information.  This bill amends the laws governing mineral exploration claims on state lands to make the language consistent with other confidentiality language.  This bill amends the laws governing well drilling information to provide that the information required to be reported to the Department of Conservation, Bureau of Geology and Natural Areas, Maine Geological Survey is public unless the well drilling company reporting the information requests that the information be designated confidential and the bureau determines that it is proprietary information.  This bill amends the laws governing the Lobster Promotion Council to establish that information provided to or developed by the council and included in a promotional plan or market study is public unless the council determines that it contains proprietary information.  This bill amends the laws governing confidentiality of information related to experimental forestry practice areas to provide that the information is public unless the person to whom the information belongs or pertains requests that it be designated as confidential and the Department of Conservation, Bureau of Forestry determines that it is proprietary information.  This bill amends the laws governing the confidentiality of information about the Commissioner of Education's disciplinary actions with regard to educational personnel. This bill makes public certain information concerning final written decisions relating to disciplinary action taken by the commissioner against persons holding certifications.  This bill directs the Right To Know Advisory Committee to review and make recommendations concerning issues involved with requests for public records in bulk. The recommendations must be included in the advisory committee's annual report to be submitted by January 15, 2011.  

An Act To Encourage the Use of Models in the Collection and Use of Student Achievement Data - This bill eliminates the prohibition on the use of student assessment data in the establishment of models for evaluation of the professional performance of teachers. It also extends the models for evaluation developed by the Department of Education to principals and requires that the models include multiple measures.  EMERGENCY

An Act To Adopt the Common Core State Standards Initiative - This bill allows the Department of Education to include the so-called "Common Core State Standards Initiative" standards for kindergarten to grade 12 in the State's system of learning results and assessment and grants the Commissioner of Education the authority to adopt emergency rules in order to implement the standards.  EMERGENCY

An Act To Promote the Establishment of Innovative Schools - This bill enables school administrative units to establish innovative schools that meet the requirements of the federal Race to the Top Assessment Program application. The bill also requires that all applicable state statutory and regulatory requirements be met by school administrative units that establish innovative schools.  EMERGENCY

An Act To Exempt Personal Constituent Information from the Freedom of Access Laws - This bill exempts from public records that are subject to the laws governing freedom of access any communication from a constituent to an elected official that the constituent expects to be confidential or that contains certain personal information and any communication from an elected official in response to such a communication.

An Act To Make Certain MaineCare Rules Regarding Service Provided by the Department of Health and Human Services through the Department of Education Major Substantive Rules - This bill is an emergency bill providing that MaineCare rules adopted by the Department of Health and Human Services pertaining to the Child Development Services System are major substantive rules.  EMERGENCY