An Act To Provide for a Later Starting Time for High Schools

Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §4801, sub-§2-B  is enacted to read:

Sec. 2. School administrative units shall provide plan to Department of Education. By September 1, 2018, each school administrative unit shall provide to the Department of Education the unit's plan to comply with the provisions of the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 4801, subsection 2-B, including a proposed calendar and schedule. A failure by a school administrative unit to provide a compliance plan under this section by September 1, 2018 results in a reduction of 0.01% of the state share of funding attributable to the cost of the components of essential programs and services under Title 20-A, section 15671. If a school administrative unit fails to provide a compliance plan under this section by March 1, 2019, the unit shall follow a calendar and schedule provided by the Department of Education. A failure by a school administrative unit to provide a compliance plan under this section by September 1, 2019 results in a reduction of 15% of the state share of funding attributable to the cost of the components of essential programs and services under Title 20-A, section 15671 for each year until the unit provides a compliance plan.

Sec. 3. Effective date. That section of this Act that enacts the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 4801, subsection 2-B takes effect September 1, 2019.

SUMMARY

This bill requires that, by September 1, 2019, each school administrative unit ensure that its secondary schools' school days start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. and that extracurricular activities do not start after 7:30 p.m. on an evening immediately prior to a school day. A school administrative unit is required to provide a compliance plan. Units that do not provide a compliance plan face reductions in the state share of funding attributable to the cost of the components of essential programs and services.