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Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:
‘An Act To Increase the Limit on the Number of Public Charter Schools That May Be Approved’
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the summary and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §2405, sub-§9, as amended by PL 2011, c. 570, §8, is further amended to read:
 
9. Transition period.   The public charter school program set out in this chapter must begin with a 10-year transition period, beginning on the effective date of this chapter. During the transition period, the commissioner shall register the charters approved by all authorizers in chronological order by date of approval under this chapter. During the transition period, only 10 public charter schools may be approved by the commission. Once the cap is reached, the commissionercommission may not accept further registrations from the commission and only localapprove no more than one additional public charter school each school year through the end of the 2021-2022 school year. Local school boards and collaboratives of local school boards may approve charters until the end of the transition period.
 
This subsection is repealed July 1, 2022.’
 
SUMMARY
This amendment, which is the minority report of the committee, replaces the bill and changes the title.
The bill removes the limit on the number of public charter schools that may be approved. Under current law there is a 10-year transition period during which the Maine Charter School Commission may approve only 10 public charter schools. Once the cap is reached, the Commissioner of Education may not accept further registrations from the commission until the provision is repealed on July 1, 2022. The amendment provides that, once the 10-school limit is reached, the commission may approve no more than one additional charter school each school year through the end of the 2021-2022 school year. This change does not affect the authority under current law for local school boards and collaboratives of local school boards to approve charters until the end of the 10-year transition period.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)