An Act To Amend and Clarify Certain Education Statutes
Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §1252, sub-§2, ¶C, as amended by PL 1983, c. 806, §15, is further amended to read:
Sec. 2. 20-A MRSA §1479, first ¶, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 240, Pt. XXXX, §13, is amended to read:
A regional school unit shall maintain a program that includes kindergarten to grade 12 except for the school administrative districts that did not operate kindergarten to grade 12 that were reformulated into regional school units in accordance with Public Law 2007, chapter 240, Part XXXX, section 36, subsection 12, as amended by Public Law 2007, chapter 668, section 48.
Sec. 3. 20-A MRSA §1486, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2009, c. 571, Pt. QQQ, §1, is further amended to read:
Every 3 years, the voters in a regional school unit shall consider continued use of the budget validation referendum process. The warrant at the budget validation referendum in the 3rd year following adoption or continuation of the referendum process must include an article by which the voters of the school administrative district unit may indicate whether they wish to continue the process for another 3 years. The warrant for the referendum to validate the fiscal year 2010-11 budget is deemed the 3rd-year warrant. A vote to continue retains the process for 3 additional years. A vote to discontinue the process ends its use beginning with the following budget year and prohibits its reconsideration for at least 3 years.
An article to consider reinstatement of the budget validation referendum process may be placed on a warrant for a referendum vote by either a majority vote of the regional school unit board or a written petition filed with the regional school unit board by at least 10% of the number of voters voting in the last gubernatorial election in the municipalities in the school administrative district unit. The regional school unit board shall place the article on the next scheduled warrant or an earlier one if determined appropriate by the regional school unit board. If adopted by the voters, the budget validation referendum process takes effect beginning in the next budget year or the following budget year if the adoption occurs less than 90 days before the start of the next budget year. Once approved by the voters, the budget validation referendum process may not be changed for 3 years.
Sec. 4. 20-A MRSA §1511, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 240, Pt. XXXX, §13, is amended to read:
§ 1511. Supermajority vote to close school in the regional school unit
A school operated within the regional school unit may not be closed for lack of need unless closure of the school is approved at a regular or special meeting of the regional school unit board by an affirmative vote of 2/3 of the elected membership or voting power of the regional school unit board. A regional school unit must proceed in accordance with section 1512 for elementary schools or for secondary schools if the regional school unit has more than one secondary school. For regional school units with only one member municipality, section 1512 does not apply and the regional school unit must proceed in accordance with section 4102, subsection 4, paragraph B-1.
Sec. 5. 20-A MRSA §2953, first ¶, as amended by PL 2005, c. 153, §4, is repealed.
Sec. 6. 20-A MRSA §2953, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2005, c. 153, §4, is repealed.
Sec. 7. 20-A MRSA §4102, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2007, c. 539, Pt. C, §1 and affected by §23 and amended by PL 2007, c. 599, §1 and affected by §3, is further amended to read:
(1) Section 1351 for school administrative districts;
(2) Title 30-A, sections 2528 to 2532, for community school districts, except the school board shall issue a warrant specifying that the municipalities within the district place the petitioned article on the ballot, and shall prepare and furnish the required number of ballots for carrying out the election; and
(3) Title 21-A and Title 30-A, respectively, for cities and towns.
(1) Section 1351 for school administrative districts;
(2) Title 30-A, sections 2528 to 2532, for community school districts, except the school board shall issue a warrant specifying that the municipalities within the district place the petitioned article on the ballot, and shall prepare and furnish the required number of ballots for carrying out the election; and
(3) Title 21-A and Title 30-A, respectively, for cities and towns.
"Article: Shall the school committee of ........................................................ (name of town) (the board of directors of School Administrative District No. .......) be authorized to close ............................................................. (name of school)?
The additional cost of keeping the school open has been estimated by the school committee (board of directors) to be $ ......... ."
Sec. 8. 20-A MRSA §4102, last ¶, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 240, Pt. XXXX, §23, is repealed.
Sec. 9. 20-A MRSA §6004, as amended by PL 2009, c. 508, §2, is further amended to read:
§ 6004. Student counts
The following provisions apply to the annual counting of students.
(1) Attended school at least 75% of the time between October 1st and April 1st, if enrolled by October 1st; or
(2) Attended school at least 75% of the time between the date of the student's first enrollment and April 1st, if not enrolled by October 1st.
Excused absences and absences due to illness shall may not be considered absences under this subsection.
Sec. 10. 20-A MRSA §15917, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 632, §3, is repealed.
SUMMARY
This bill aligns the board of directors' weighted votes representation in Method B in school administrative districts with the percentage in regional school units.
It exempts certain reformulated school administrative districts that did not operate a kindergarten to grade 12 program from the requirement to maintain such a program.
It corrects certain references to school administrative districts to refer to school administrative units.
It clarifies that the vote regarding the closure of an elementary or secondary school in a regional school unit is required only when the school is closed for lack of need.
It provides that, for regional school units with only one member municipality, the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 4102, subsection 4, paragraph B-1 applies as it pertains to the closing of the regional school unit.
It repeals the annual audit requirement for the purpose of approving private schools for tuition purposes.
It clarifies that elementary school and secondary school closures for regional school units that have more than one secondary school must be in accordance with the procedures in Title 20-A, section 1512.
It amends the language on annual student counts for school administrative units and publicly funded students in private schools or programs for reporting dates to the Department of Education according to time schedules that the Commissioner of Education established. It also amends the laws governing student counts to require that student counts are based on the number of students in attendance on October 1st and April 1st.
It repeals an obsolete provision in the laws regarding school construction pertaining to an inventory of public school facilities, which was completed as required.