Resolve, To Authorize the Legislature To Contract for an Independent Review To Evaluate the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act

Emergency preamble. Whereas,  acts and resolves of the Legislature do not become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and

Whereas,  since enactment of the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act established under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, chapter 606-B, the Legislature has debated both incremental and comprehensive funding reform proposals to remedy perceived flaws in the school funding formula and the state subsidy distribution mechanism; and

Whereas,  in order to obtain information in a timely manner to make informed policy decisions, the Legislature should provide for an independent review of education finance policies and practices associated with the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act; and

Whereas,  the Legislature should promptly contract with a qualified research entity to conduct an objective evaluation of the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act as it relates to the best practices of other states' school funding systems that are considered to be fair and equitable; and

Whereas,  in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore, be it

Sec. 1. Legislature to contract for independent review of the essential programs and services model. Resolved: That the Legislature, through the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs, may contract with a qualified research entity to conduct pursuant to sections 5 and 6 an independent review of the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act established under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, chapter 606-B; and be it further

Sec. 2. Assistance; request for proposals process. Resolved: That, at the direction of the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs, referred to in this resolve as "the joint standing committee," the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability, referred to in this resolve as "the office," shall develop and administer a request for proposals process to permit the Legislature, through the joint standing committee, to award a contract pursuant to section 1. The office, with the advice and assistance of the Independent Review Advisory Committee, established under section 4 and referred to in this resolve as "the advisory committee," and in consultation with and with the approval of the joint standing committee, shall:

1. Develop and administer a request for proposals process in accordance with section 3;

2. Administer the contract entered into pursuant to section 1, including monitoring the research entity's performance in meeting deadlines, providing deliverables pursuant to sections 5 and 6 and complying with other terms of the contract; and

3. Within available resources, provide other assistance to the joint standing committee relating to the contract and the purposes of this resolve; and be it further

Sec. 3. Request for proposals; standards and selection process. Resolved: That the office, with the advice and assistance of the advisory committee, and in consultation with and with the approval of the joint standing committee, shall administer a request for proposals process in accordance with this section.

1. The qualifications of a research entity providing proposals must include, but are not limited to, the financial, technical and operational capacity of the entity to conduct state-level education policy research and fiscal analysis, as demonstrated by the entity's professional experience and expertise.

2. With the approval of the joint standing committee, the office shall issue a request for proposals and publish notice of the request on the Legislature's publicly accessible website and through advertisements in 2 or more public newspapers circulated wholly or in part in the State and may provide any further notice of the request to any other media or entities, as approved by the joint standing committee. The notice must provide that the office will accept, for 30 days after the first date of publication, proposals from qualified research entities that meet the standards approved by the joint standing committee.

3. After proposals have been received and the period for accepting proposals has expired, the office, with the advice and counsel of the advisory committee, shall evaluate the proposals and present a ranking of or recommendations regarding the proposals to the joint standing committee. The joint standing committee shall review the recommendations and choose the proposal it wishes to accept. The joint standing committee shall notify the Executive Director of the Legislative Council of its selection of a proposal. The executive director shall execute a contract with the selected research entity on behalf of the Legislature.

4. Notwithstanding the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 1, section 402, except for the name and mailing address of a research entity that submits a proposal, the proposal and all other materials prepared, used or submitted in connection with the proposal are confidential and are not subject to public review until the period for accepting proposals has expired; and be it further

Sec. 4. Independent Review Advisory Committee. Resolved: That the Independent Review Advisory Committee is established to advise the office and joint standing committee on matters related to developing a request for proposals and administering the contract entered into pursuant to this resolve. The advisory committee consists of the following members:

1. The Commissioner of Education or the commissioner's designee;

2. The Chair of the State Board of Education or the chair's designee;

3. A Co-director of the Education Research Institute established pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 10;

4. The Executive Director of the Maine School Management Association or the executive director's designee; and

5. The Director of the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Maine or the director's designee who is a faculty researcher, research associate or policy fellow at the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center.

The advisory committee shall elect a chair from among its members. The office shall provide to the members of the joint standing committee notice of the meetings of the office with the advisory committee so that members of the joint standing committee may attend; and be it further

Sec. 5. Scope of the review. Resolved: That the contract entered into pursuant to section 1 must require an objective evaluation of the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act and must require a review of the school funding formula. The evaluation must include, but is not limited to, comparisons between municipalities within this State and between this State and other comparable states and must address the following issues:

1. Whether the school funding formula and the subsidy distribution method in the laws of the State are fair and equitable and how the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act compares to other states' school funding systems that are considered to be fair and equitable;

2. The various ways that school funding systems in other states determine and calculate the costs and components of a comprehensive education system and the advantages and disadvantages of those different approaches;

3. The percentage of the total cost of public education that is provided by the state in other states' school funding systems and how the state share is funded in the other states;

4. The advantages and disadvantages of calculating state aid to school administrative units based on student enrollment count and property valuation;

5. How other states define a municipality's ability to pay for public education and what the arguments are in favor of and against those definitions;

6. The effectiveness of state aid provided by other states' school funding systems to support economically disadvantaged students in local school districts as compared to the support provided to economically disadvantaged students in school administrative units under the laws of the State; and

7. Changes that should be made to the definitions of the cost components and to the funding distribution method in the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act to provide adequate resources for a comprehensive education system and to more accurately determine the percentage of essential programs and services funding levels that each school administrative unit should receive from the State; and be it further

Sec. 6. General requirements of the review. Resolved: That the contract entered into pursuant to section 1 must require:

1. A review of previous studies and available data related to the State's school funding laws; a review of school funding systems in comparable states; an assessment of each of the issues in section 5, including the arguments in favor of and against the provisions of the State's school funding laws; recommended alternatives to the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act; and a review of:

2. An in-depth analysis of the recommended alternatives to the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act included in subsection 1 and an evaluation of:

The Department of Education, the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of Revenue Services and the Education Research Institute established pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 10 shall provide the qualified research entity selected with access to previous reports on school funding in the State and access to database information necessary to carry out the evaluation.

The contract entered into pursuant to section 1 must require the qualified research entity selected to provide opportunities for input from education stakeholder groups in the State as part of its evaluation; and be it further

Sec. 7. Disqualification. Resolved: That the Education Research Institute established pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 10, due to its prior involvement with the development, review and analysis of the essential programs and services funding model, is disqualified from being considered or selected to enter into the contract pursuant to section 1; and be it further

Sec. 8. Preliminary and final reports. Resolved: That the qualified research entity selected to conduct the independent review pursuant to this resolve shall present a preliminary report of the results of the review under section 6, subsection 1 to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education and cultural affairs no later than April 1, 2013. The research entity shall present the final report, including the results of the review under section 6, subsection 2, to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education and cultural affairs by December 1, 2013. The joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education and cultural affairs may submit a bill relating to the final report to the Second Regular Session of the 126th Legislature; and be it further

Sec. 9. Suspension of contract to review essential programs and services components. Resolved: That, notwithstanding the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 15689-A, subsection 3, for fiscal year 2011-12 and fiscal year 2012-13, the Commissioner of Education may not contract with a statewide education research institute to review certain cost components of the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act in accordance with the schedule established in Title 20-A, section 15686-A; and be it further

Sec. 10. Contract to compile and analyze education data. Resolved: That, notwithstanding the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 15689-A, subsection 6, for fiscal year 2011-12 and fiscal year 2012-13, the Commissioner of Education and the Legislature may contract with a statewide education research institute for the compilation and analysis of education data in accordance with Title 20-A, section 10, except that the contract for these 2 fiscal years may not exceed the balance of funds remaining after funds allocated for this purpose are transferred pursuant to this resolve to the Legislature to fund the contract authorized under section 1; and be it further

Sec. 11. Committee meetings authorized. Resolved: That the joint standing committee may meet up to 4 times to carry out its responsibilities under this resolve; and be it further

Sec. 12. Appropriations and allocations. Resolved: That the following appropriations and allocations are made.

EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF

General Purpose Aid for Local Schools 0308

Initiative: Deappropriates funds no longer required for the contract to review the cost components of the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 15689-A, subsection 3 and for a portion of the contract with a statewide education policy research institute for the compilation and analysis of education data in accordance with the provisions established pursuant to Title 20-A, section 10.

GENERAL FUND	2011-12	2012-13
All Other	($150,000)	($300,000)
GENERAL FUND TOTAL	($150,000)	($300,000)

EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF
DEPARTMENT TOTALS	2011-12	2012-13
GENERAL FUND	($150,000)	($300,000)
DEPARTMENT TOTAL - ALL FUNDS	($150,000)	($300,000)

LEGISLATURE

Legislature 0081

Initiative: Provides funds for a contract to conduct an independent review of the school funding formula and related state subsidy distribution method in the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act. Funds appropriated for this purpose may not lapse but must be carried forward to be used to complete the independent review authorized by this resolve.

GENERAL FUND	2011-12	2012-13
All Other	$150,000	$300,000
GENERAL FUND TOTAL	$150,000	$300,000

LEGISLATURE
DEPARTMENT TOTALS	2011-12	2012-13
GENERAL FUND	$150,000	$300,000
DEPARTMENT TOTAL - ALL FUNDS	$150,000	$300,000

SECTION TOTALS	2011-12	2012-13
GENERAL FUND	$0	$0
SECTION TOTAL - ALL FUNDS	$0	$0

Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation takes effect when approved.