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ABC's of Charter Schools
Maine's Need
Maine's Legislation
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MACS Information |
History
of Charter School Legislation in Maine
Current Status:
There are no charter
schools in Maine, as Maine has not passed enabling charter school
legislation.
Maine educators and parents have been working since 1996 to introduce
public charter school options in Maine. MACS has been able to take
advantage of the 15 years of experience in 40 states to craft bills that
adapt the model to Maine's unique characteristics. Support for allowing
public charter schools in Maine has been growing steadily over the years.
LD 1438,
"An Act to Permit Charter Schools in Maine"
is currently before the Legislature's Education Committee. A Public
Hearing was held on LD 1438 on May 5. A work session on the bill is
scheduled for May 14. A vote in the Senate, followed by a vote in the House,
is expected by early June.
History of School Choice in Maine
Maine has had forms of school choice for decades, as has New Hampshire
and Vermont. Towns that do not have their own schools, mostly at the high
school level, allow parents to choose among public and private schools in
the vicinity, with the tuition paid by the town.
Some districts provide choices among public elementary programs, for
example, the Mast Landing School in Freeport hosts 3 different programs.
These choice options have worked well for many Maine communities, and
expanding public school choices for more Maine children would give a boost
to the state's goal of "success for all children."
Charter Schools Proposed to Expand School Choice to All Maine
Children.
Charter schools are a recent addition to public school choice programs
that draws on the history of independently-managed public academies in New
England.
Educators and citizens in Maine have been exploring the concept of public
school choice for several years. After several different bills were
submitted to the Legislature in 1997, at the request of the Legislature's
Joint Standing Committee on Education, the State Board of Education
conducted a study of Charter Schools in 1997-1998.
In 1998, a group of educators began meeting to discuss what an effective
charter school law would look like for, and how to adapt the concept to meet
the particular needs of Maine. This group invited Joe Nathan, of the Center
for School Change in Minnesota, to a forum in Maine, to provide some
national expertise to Maine's efforts. This group became Maine
Association for Charter Schools or MACS.
In 1999, Rep. Judy Powers introduced LD 2027, "An Act to Enable the
Formation of Public Charter Schools," and the Joint Legislative Committee on
Education held a public hearing on January 5, 2000. Several committee "work
sessions" followed. The amendments proposed by the Maine Department of
Education so weakened the proposed charter school bill, that Rep. Powers
requested that the original language be deleted. The Committee Chairman
proposed new language that aimed to expand enrollment flexibility within the
existing system of public education. LD 2027, newly titled "An Act to
Encourage Educational Options," was passed and signed by the Governor. Part
of this bill required the Maine Department of Education to convene a
"Charter School Stakeholders' Group" in the fall of 2000 to address how a
charter school bill in Maine could meet the federal criteria for
participation in the federal Charter School Grant Program. This group met
and sent its report to the Legislature in January 2001.
In February 2001, Rep. Elizabeth Watson re-introduced an improved version of
the charter school enabling legislation; there was a public hearing on April
29 with strong support expressed by the members of the public. At its work
session on May 1, the Education Committee opposed the bill 8-5. Rep. Watson
then introduced substitute language which would have allowed existing public
schools to convert to charter school status, and required the State Board of
Education to draft rules by February 2002 allowing new groups to start
public charter schools. LD 1531, as amended, was sent to the full
Legislature with a 5-8 Committee report. On June 8th, the Senate passed the
bill; it was defeated in the House, 89 to 49 with 13 absent.
In January 2003, improved charter school enabling legislation was
introduced, with a bi-partisan group of sponsors. After a public hearing on
April 7th, the Education Committee voted 4-9 against LD 1391, but supporters
promised a floor fight. A compromise was worked out that the Education
Committee would request the Maine State Board of Education to conduct a
study of charter schools and report back to the Committee in January 2004.
The Board’s Charter School Study Committee met several times from July to
November; it included 3 members of the Board, 2 representatives from the
Maine Department of Education, and 3 professors to help with the research.
Interested observers included MACS, the Maine School Superintendents
Association, the Maine Principals Association and the Maine Education
Association.
After research into the available literature on charter schools and
experiences in other state, telephone and personal interviews with several
charter school leaders, and many discussions, the Committee voted to
recommend a pilot program of charter schools. The full Board ratified this
recommendation on December 10, 2003. The Board’s report and recommendations
were presented to the Legislature’s Education Committee on January 29, 2004.
The Committee did not act on the Board’s recommendations during the second
half of the 2 year legislative session.
In January 2005, charter school enabling legislation, LD 1640, was
introduced again by Sen. Carol Weston and Rep Karl Turner. The
Education Committee responded to a request by the Department of Education to
"carry" the bill over to the second session, to give the Department more
time to consider the specifics of the bill.
In October 2005, MACS arranged a workshop with the Department of
Education, bringing five national experts on charter schools to Augusta....
In January 2006, the Education Committee held a work session on LD 1640
and voted 8 to 3 that the bill "ought not to pass". Two weeks later,
however, the bill was re-visited by the committee to consider amendments by
Rep. Karl Turner and Sen. Connie Goldman. This time, the committee
voted "ought not to pass" by a slim margin, 7-5 with one abstention.
The member abstaining did so since she worked for MACS several years
earlier, lobbying for charter school legislation. Because of the
divided committee report, LD 1640 automatically goes to the full House and
Senate for floor debate and vote.
Unfortunately, LD 1640 lost by a few votes in the Maine Senate and House
in late March 2006.
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