PLEASE NOTE: Legislative Information cannot perform research, provide legal advice, or interpret Maine law. For legal assistance, please contact a qualified attorney.
An Act To Amend the Laws Governing Education
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §257, sub-§1, ¶A, as repealed and replaced by PL 1991, c. 662, §1, is amended to read:
 
A. Is at least 1817 years of age, if that personand:
 
(1) Has completed a formal training program approved by the commissioner; and
 
(2) Has demonstrated, through procedures prescribed by the commissioner, attainment of a general educational development comparable to that of a secondary school graduate; or.
Sec. 2. 20-A MRSA §257, sub-§1, ¶B, as repealed and replaced by PL 1991, c. 662, §1, is repealed.
Sec. 3. 20-A MRSA §5201, sub-§3, ¶F, as amended by PL 2003, c. 688, Pt. B, §4, is further amended to read:
 
F. A person who obtains a waiver from the commissioner pursuant to section 5206 may enroll as a public secondary school student.
 
This paragraph is repealed July 1, 2020.
Sec. 4. 20-A MRSA §5206, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 116, §2, is amended to read:
§ 5206.Waiver
The superintendent may request that the commissioner approve on a case-by-case basis waivers of the age requirements under section 5201 to allow a student who has reached 20 years of age before the start of the school year to be enrolled as a public secondary school student. The commissioner may grant a waiver upon finding that there are unforeseeable circumstances or undue hardship and that the request that the school administrative unit has submitted is reasonable. The application for a waiver must contain:
 
1.  Documentation.     Documentation of actions taken to meet the requirements prior to applying for the waiver;
 
2.  Description.     A description of the unforeseeable circumstances or undue hardship, including financial hardship, that led to the application; and
 
3.  Statement.     A statement explaining how the waiver requested will not create learning inequities for the students enrolled in the schools in the school administrative unit.
This section is repealed July 1, 2020.
Sec. 5. 20-A MRSA §6301, sub-§1, as repealed and replaced by PL 1989, c. 414, §9, is amended to read:
 
1. Duty of teacher.   A teacher who has reason to believe that a student is a public health threat as a result of being infested with parasites, or having a communicable disease of the skin, mouth or eyes, shall inform the superintendent.
Sec. 6. 20-A MRSA §6301, sub-§2, as amended by PL 1989, c. 414, §10, is further amended to read:
 
2. Duty of superintendent.   A superintendent informed by a teacher under subsection 1 may:
 
A. Inform the student's parent:
 
(1) To cleanse the clothing and bodies of their childrenthe student; and
 
(2) To furnish their childrenthe student with the required home or medical treatment for the relief of theirthe student's trouble so defined in subsection 1;
 
B. Exclude the student from the public schools until the student is no longer a public health threat; and
 
C. Exclude the student from public school as soon as safe and proper transportation home is available.; and
 
D.  Consult with the school nurse.
Sec. 7. 20-A MRSA §6301, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 693, §§5 and 8, is amended to read:
 
3. Duty of parent.   A parent informed by a superintendent under subsection 2 shall promptly do what is reasonably necessary to ensure that the student is no longer offensive or dangerousnot a public health threat.
Sec. 8. 20-A MRSA §6451, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 693, §§5 and 8 and amended by PL 2003, c. 689, Pt. B, §7, is further amended to read:
§ 6451.Hearing and sight screening
 
1. Student right to screening for sight and hearing defects.   Each student shallmust be screened periodically to determine whether they havethe student has sight or hearing defects.
 
2. Commissioner's duties.   The commissioner shall:
 
A. After consultation with the Commissioner of Health and Human Services and in collaboration with the school nurse consultant as described in section 6401-A, adopt rules and provide school administrative units with assistance and materialsa copy of these rules and guidance to carry out this subsection; and
 
B.  Furnish to the administrators of the school administrative units the prescribed directions for the tests of sight and hearing; and
 
C. Furnish test cards, record and report forms and other useful materialsguidance, training and sample report and referral forms that may be helpful for carrying out the purpose of this section.
 
3. Exempt students.   A student whose parent objects in writing to screening or religious grounds shallmay not be screened unless a sight or hearing defect is reasonably apparent.
Sec. 9. 20-A MRSA §6453, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 693, §§5 and 8, is amended to read:
§ 6453.Notice to parents of result of screening
The school board shall appoint appropriate school staff to inform the parent of a student suffering from a suspected disease or defect based on the screening results.
Sec. 10. 20-A MRSA §6455, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 407, §1, is repealed.
Sec. 11. 20-A MRSA §8601-A, sub-§1, ¶E, as amended by PL 2013, c. 167, Pt. C, §1, is repealed.
Sec. 12. 20-A MRSA §8601-A, sub-§18, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 131, §2, is repealed.
Sec. 13. 20-A MRSA §8606-A, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2011, c. 517, §7, is further amended to read:
 
2. Budget recommendation.   Prior to December 15thFebruary 1st of each year, the commissioner shall certify to the Governor and to the Bureau of the Budgetnotify each school board of the estimated amount of the funding levels to be allocated to the school administrative unit for the various program categories in adult education for payment in the next fiscal year. The commissioner shall include these funding levels in the department's request to the Legislature for appropriations from the General Fund to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
 
A. The recommended funding level must include funds in an amount that is sufficient to provide for state administration of adult education programs including funds for the cost of general educational developmenthigh school equivalency tests and administration; supporting volunteer literacy programs; state-sponsored professional development; state-level data collection, including the required software for units, regions or centers providing adult education programs; and reimbursement of the costs listed in section 8607-A at the rates established in that section. The recommended funding level may not exceed the maximum allowable expenditures in the base year, adjusted pursuant to paragraph C.
 
B. A unit, region or center shall provide the commissioner with information requested by the commissioner to carry out the purpose of this chapter. The commissioner may withhold state subsidy payment or a portion of the state subsidy payment from a unit, region or center if the unit, region or center does not provide requested information to the commissioner in compliance with the specified format, content and time schedule established by the commissioner.
 
C. The recommendation in the commissioner's funding level certification must include local adult education program cost adjustment to the equivalent of the year prior to the year of allocation. This adjustment is calculated according to the same guidelines established, for purposes of chapter 606-B, by section 15689-C, subsection 3.
Sec. 14. 20-A MRSA §13012-A, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 235, §11 and affected by §41, is amended to read:
 
4. Requirements.   If a school administrative unit employs a conditionally certified teacher or educational specialist, the school administrative unit shall for at least the first year of employment or longer if determined to be necessary:
 
A. Ensure that the conditionally certified teacher or educational specialist receives high-quality professional development that is sustained, intensive and classroom-focused in order to have a positive and lasting impact on classroom instruction while teaching; and
 
B. Provide a program of intensive supervision for the conditionally certified teacher or educational specialist that consists of structured guidance and regular ongoing support or a mentoring program, which is separate from any student-teacher requirement that may be required under another authority.
Sec. 15. 20-A MRSA §13013, sub-§2-B, ¶C, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 235, §12 and affected by §41, is amended to read:
 
C. Has successfully completed a preparation program in a state with which the State is participating in an interstate compact, subject to the following:
 
(1) Completion of an approved preparation program for the endorsement or certificate being sought with a formal recommendation for certification from the institution; orand
 
(2) In the 5 years prior to applying for certification in this State, the applicant has 3 years of successful teaching experience under a valid comparable certificate in a state with which the State is participating in the interstate compact.
 
If advanced study or tests are required in the State, the commissioner has the right, as specified in the interstate compact, to issue only a conditional certificate under section 13012-A; or
Sec. 16. 20-A MRSA c. 802, as amended, is repealed.
 
SUMMARY
This bill makes the following changes to the laws governing education.
1. It changes the procedure and date for reporting adult education funding levels.
2. It changes the duties of teachers and parents when a student is a public health threat. It allows a superintendent to consult with the school nurse upon being informed by a teacher that a student is a public health threat.
3. It eliminates the Maine Online Learning Program.
4. It directs the Commissioner of Education to collaborate with the school nurse consultant to adopt rules and provide school administrative units with a copy of these rules and guidance regarding the screening of students for sight and hearing defects. It removes the requirement that the commissioner furnish to administrators of school administrative units the prescribed directions for the sight and hearing tests of students. It requires the commissioner to furnish guidance, training and sample report and referral forms in connection with these tests. It removes a reference to religious grounds from the provision governing exempt students to provide that a student whose parent objects in writing to screening may not be screened unless a sight or hearing defect is reasonably apparent.
5. It removes the requirement that a school nurse or trained screener collect body mass index data from students and report this data in the aggregate to the Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
6. It requires a school board to appoint appropriate school staff to inform a parent of a student suffering from a suspected disease or defect based on results of a screening.
7. It removes enrichment courses from the definition of "adult education."
8. It changes the provisions for issuance of high school equivalency diplomas.
9. It specifies criteria that must be met in order for the Commissioner of Education to grant a waiver to allow a student who has reached 20 years of age before the start of the school year to be enrolled as a public secondary school student. It repeals the provisions of law that allow a person to obtain such a waiver effective July 1, 2020.
10. It amends the laws governing the employment of conditionally certified persons to provide that the requirement that a school administrative unit provide professional development and intensive supervision applies only to teachers and not to educational specialists.
11. It amends the laws governing qualifications for a professional teacher certificate to require that a person who has successfully completed a preparation program in a state with which the State is participating in an interstate compact must complete an approved preparation program with a formal recommendation for certification from the institution and must meet the specified teaching experience requirement.