An Act To Amend the Laws Governing Education
Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §257, sub-§1, ¶A, as repealed and replaced by PL 1991, c. 662, §1, is amended to read:
(1) Has completed a formal training program approved by the commissioner; and
(2) Has demonstrated, through procedures prescribed by the commissioner, attainment of a general educational development comparable to that of a secondary school graduate ; or .
Sec. 2. 20-A MRSA §257, sub-§1, ¶B, as repealed and replaced by PL 1991, c. 662, §1, is repealed.
Sec. 3. 20-A MRSA §5201, sub-§3, ¶F, as amended by PL 2003, c. 688, Pt. B, §4, is further amended to read:
This paragraph is repealed July 1, 2020.
Sec. 4. 20-A MRSA §5206, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 116, §2, is amended to read:
§ 5206. Waiver
The superintendent may request that the commissioner approve on a case-by-case basis waivers of the age requirements under section 5201 to allow a student who has reached 20 years of age before the start of the school year to be enrolled as a public secondary school student. The commissioner may grant a waiver upon finding that there are unforeseeable circumstances or undue hardship and that the request that the school administrative unit has submitted is reasonable. The application for a waiver must contain:
This section is repealed July 1, 2020.
Sec. 5. 20-A MRSA §6301, sub-§1, as repealed and replaced by PL 1989, c. 414, §9, is amended to read:
Sec. 6. 20-A MRSA §6301, sub-§2, as amended by PL 1989, c. 414, §10, is further amended to read:
(1) To cleanse the clothing and bodies of their children the student; and
(2) To furnish their children the student with the required home or medical treatment for the relief of their the student's trouble so defined in subsection 1;
Sec. 7. 20-A MRSA §6301, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 693, §§5 and 8, is amended to read:
Sec. 8. 20-A MRSA §6451, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 693, §§5 and 8 and amended by PL 2003, c. 689, Pt. B, §7, is further amended to read:
§ 6451. Hearing and sight screening
Sec. 9. 20-A MRSA §6453, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 693, §§5 and 8, is amended to read:
§ 6453. Notice to parents of result of screening
The school board shall appoint appropriate school staff to inform the parent of a student suffering from a suspected disease or defect based on the screening results.
Sec. 10. 20-A MRSA §6455, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 407, §1, is repealed.
Sec. 11. 20-A MRSA §8601-A, sub-§1, ¶E, as amended by PL 2013, c. 167, Pt. C, §1, is repealed.
Sec. 12. 20-A MRSA §8601-A, sub-§18, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 131, §2, is repealed.
Sec. 13. 20-A MRSA §8606-A, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2011, c. 517, §7, is further amended to read:
Sec. 14. 20-A MRSA §13012-A, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 235, §11 and affected by §41, is amended to read:
Sec. 15. 20-A MRSA §13013, sub-§2-B, ¶C, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 235, §12 and affected by §41, is amended to read:
(1) Completion of an approved preparation program for the endorsement or certificate being sought with a formal recommendation for certification from the institution; or and
(2) In the 5 years prior to applying for certification in this State, the applicant has 3 years of successful teaching experience under a valid comparable certificate in a state with which the State is participating in the interstate compact.
If advanced study or tests are required in the State, the commissioner has the right, as specified in the interstate compact, to issue only a conditional certificate under section 13012-A; or
Sec. 16. 20-A MRSA c. 802, as amended, is repealed.
SUMMARY
This bill makes the following changes to the laws governing education.
1. It changes the procedure and date for reporting adult education funding levels.
2. It changes the duties of teachers and parents when a student is a public health threat. It allows a superintendent to consult with the school nurse upon being informed by a teacher that a student is a public health threat.
3. It eliminates the Maine Online Learning Program.
4. It directs the Commissioner of Education to collaborate with the school nurse consultant to adopt rules and provide school administrative units with a copy of these rules and guidance regarding the screening of students for sight and hearing defects. It removes the requirement that the commissioner furnish to administrators of school administrative units the prescribed directions for the sight and hearing tests of students. It requires the commissioner to furnish guidance, training and sample report and referral forms in connection with these tests. It removes a reference to religious grounds from the provision governing exempt students to provide that a student whose parent objects in writing to screening may not be screened unless a sight or hearing defect is reasonably apparent.
5. It removes the requirement that a school nurse or trained screener collect body mass index data from students and report this data in the aggregate to the Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
6. It requires a school board to appoint appropriate school staff to inform a parent of a student suffering from a suspected disease or defect based on results of a screening.
7. It removes enrichment courses from the definition of "adult education."
8. It changes the provisions for issuance of high school equivalency diplomas.
9. It specifies criteria that must be met in order for the Commissioner of Education to grant a waiver to allow a student who has reached 20 years of age before the start of the school year to be enrolled as a public secondary school student. It repeals the provisions of law that allow a person to obtain such a waiver effective July 1, 2020.
10. It amends the laws governing the employment of conditionally certified persons to provide that the requirement that a school administrative unit provide professional development and intensive supervision applies only to teachers and not to educational specialists.
11. It amends the laws governing qualifications for a professional teacher certificate to require that a person who has successfully completed a preparation program in a state with which the State is participating in an interstate compact must complete an approved preparation program with a formal recommendation for certification from the institution and must meet the specified teaching experience requirement.