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Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA §1001, sub-§20  is enacted to read:
 
20.  Adoption of policy to award credit for study abroad.     Each school board shall adopt a policy to award course credit to a student who has studied abroad and who seeks to be awarded course credit by the school administrative unit. In adopting the policy, a school board may consider that the school administrative unit award the student the following:
 
A.  Elective credit in the amount equal to 1/3 of the direct instruction hours received abroad;
 
B.  Course credit in the relevant content area if the student attains certification in that content area by a 3rd party approved by the school administrative unit. The amount of course credit must be determined by comparing the results of the certification and the requirements of an equivalent course offered by the school administrative unit; or
 
C.  Course credit in the relevant content area if the student receives a passing grade on:
 
(1) The summative assessment in an equivalent course offered by the school administrative unit; or
 
(2) The first summative assessment in a course that is one level higher than the equivalent course offered by the school administrative unit.
Sec. 2. Administrative letter. The Commissioner of Education shall send an administrative letter to school boards and superintendents regarding the adoption of a policy on awarding course credit to a student who has studied abroad and seeks to be awarded course credit by a school administrative unit pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 1001, subsection 20. The letter must address the benefits of proactive communication between the school administrative unit and parents of a student and the student regarding the credit options available to the student prior to the student's participation in the study abroad program.’
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section number to read consecutively.
 
SUMMARY
This amendment, which is the unanimous report of the committee, amends the bill by requiring school boards to adopt a policy on awarding credit to students who have studied abroad. The school board may include in the policy that the school administrative unit award credit as elective credit, through 3rd-party certification or based on a summative assessment.
This amendment also requires the Department of Education to issue an administrative letter to school boards and superintendents addressing the benefits of proactive communication between the school administrative unit and parents of a student and the student regarding the credit options available to the student prior to the student's participation in the study abroad program.
This amendment also incorporates a fiscal note. The fiscal note identifies the requirement that local school boards adopt a policy on awarding credit to students who have studied abroad as a potential unfunded state mandate. The committee reviewed the fiscal note and determined that requiring a school board to adopt a policy on awarding credit to students who have studied abroad is not a mandate. Because school boards have a duty to adopt policies that govern school administrative units pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 1001, subsection 1-A, and because Title 20-A requires school administrative units to provide students with opportunities for learning in multiple pathways, the requirement that local school boards adopt a policy on awarding credit to students who have studied abroad does not require an expansion or modification of activities so as to necessitate additional expenditures.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)