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Amend the bill in section 2 in §4710 in subsection 1 in the 3rd line (page 2, line 25 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "prekindergarten" and inserting the following: 'kindergarten'
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 3 to 5.
Amend the bill in section 6 in the 2nd to 4th lines (page 3, lines 42 and 43 and page 4, line 1 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "targeted assistance through federal Title I funds in order to become eligible for shared funding for the development of school-wide" and inserting the following: 'schoolwide status with respect to federal Title I funds in order to be able to use the funds for funding for the development of schoolwide'
Amend the bill in section 6 in the 2nd line from the end (page 4, line 7 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "targeted assistance" and inserting the following: 'schoolwide status'
Amend the bill in section 7 in the 4th line from the end (page 4, line 20 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "January 15, 2019" and inserting the following: 'April 1, 2019'
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 8.
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 10 to 12 and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 10. Review of maintenance of effort allocation component. The Department of Education shall review the maintenance of effort funding component of the essential programs and services funding formula to determine the purpose of the funding, whether it is accomplishing this purpose, why some school administrative units' expenditures are consistent with the funding formula allocation model and some are not and how to increase the equity of special education allocations across all school administrative units. The department shall invite input from state and local stakeholders and policy makers. The department shall report its findings and recommendations, including any statutory changes, to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education and cultural affairs not later than March 15, 2019. After review of the report, the committee may report out a bill related to increasing equity of special education allocations across all school administrative units.’
Amend the bill in section 13 in the last paragraph in the 3rd line from the end (page 6, line 25 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "January 15, 2019" and inserting the following: 'January 15, 2020'
Amend the bill in section 13 in the last paragraph in the last line (page 6, line 27 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "First" and inserting the following: 'Second'
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 14 and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 14. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.
 
EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF
 
Special Services Team Z080
 
Initiative: Provides funds for one Public Service Coordinator position and 2 Education Specialist III positions and related All Other costs to provide technical assistance, administration and monitoring of the tiered system of support for response to intervention systems.

GENERAL FUND	2017-18	2018-19	
POSITIONS - LEGISLATIVE COUNT	0.000	3.000	
Personal Services	$0	$265,542	
All Other	$0	$19,593	
			
GENERAL FUND TOTAL	$0	$285,135	

Special Services Team Z080
 
Initiative: Provides one-time funds for the pilot program to review and improve MaineCare billing systems and procedures as they relate to school administrative units' billing for medically necessary services.

GENERAL FUND	2017-18	2018-19	
All Other	$0	$150,000	
			
GENERAL FUND TOTAL	$0	$150,000	

EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF			
DEPARTMENT TOTALS	2017-18	2018-19	
			
GENERAL FUND	$0	$435,135	
			
DEPARTMENT TOTAL - ALL FUNDS	$0	$435,135	
 
’
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section number to read consecutively.
 
SUMMARY
This amendment, which is a minority report of the committee, narrows the focus of the bill to the addition of response to intervention systems to ensure an all-encompassing, tiered system of support for general and special education students; collaboration between general education and special education, including a clarification that the Department of Education is required to facilitate a process to help schools apply for schoolwide status with respect to federal Title I funds; promotion of dual certification programs by the Department of Education and the State Board of Education; recodification of the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, Part 4, subpart 1, concerning special education, by the Office of Policy and Legal Analysis and the Office of the Revisor of Statutes; a review of the purpose of the maintenance of effort component of the essential programs and services funding formula and whether it is accomplishing this purpose and how to increase equity among all school administrative units; and a review and improvement of MaineCare billing systems and procedures through a pilot program through the Department of Education in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services. This amendment also delays the reporting dates to ensure adequate time for review. The amendment also adds an appropriations and allocations section.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)