(5) Completion of an apprenticeship program approved by the commissioner plus any combination of college semester hours and in-service study that is equivalent to 2 years of postsecondary study; or

(6) Attainment of a passing score on an academic assessment designed to test knowledge of and the ability to assist in the instruction of reading, writing and mathematics with the passing score to be established and reviewed annually by the state board for its impact on educational technician supply and demand and student achievement.

4.__Professional development and training.__The department shall provide technical assistance and support for professional development and training to each school administrative unit, including at a minimum all local support system chairs pursuant to section 13015, to meet the quality requirements for educational personnel contained in the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, 20 United States Code, Chapter 70, Subchapter II, Part A, as amended by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and the department shall inform each school administrative unit of the options available to educational personnel under subsection 3.

5.__Rules.__The department and the state board shall amend or adopt rules to implement the provisions of this chapter.__ Rules adopted under this subsection must preserve the freedom of educational personnel in the State to select from among the options provided under federal law.__Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.

Sec. 2. Notification of educator quality requirements. The Department of Education shall notify by mail, on or before May 1, 2003, every person who is certified to teach in this State or who is authorized to be employed as an educational technician in this State of the educator quality requirements of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, and of the deadlines for complying with these new requirements.

Sec. 3. Advisory committee on educator quality. The Department of Education shall convene, not later than June 1, 2003, an advisory committee to identify the needs of Maine educators and Maine schools as a result of the educator quality requirements imposed