Summary

LD 1533/SP580 (Open States or Maine Legislature) was vetoed on July 8 by Governor LePage. The bill established provisions to fund public charter schools that are authorized by the Maine Charter School Commission beginning in fiscal year 2014-15. These provisions would be tied to annual requirements over experience.

Governor LePage vetoed this bill due to concern over funding and fears that it was not an action of policy and rather overregulation of activities.

Legislative Analysis

This bill established the Maine Online Learning Program Reimbursement Fund to provide funds to a school administrative unit for the cost of courses provided by an online learning provider to students. The bill established eligibility requirements for providers, and guaranteed reimbursement allocations, dollar amount limits and procedures for carrying over unused allocations. The bill provided funding for the Maine Online Learning Reimbursement Fund from the Maine Learning Technology Fund.

LD 1533 imposed both regulation and policy for online learning providers to each provider’s demonstrated experience in collaborating with schools to develop innovative practice.

• Each online learning provider would have been required to reapply for approval annually.
• The legislation allowed courses offered by online learning providers to be of varying lengths and worth varying amounts of credit.
• The legislation also required online learning providers to use Department of Education-approved surveys to gauge the satisfaction of students with both the provider and the courses. The department was then obligated to provide results of those surveys to the legislature.

Veto Analysis

In Governor LePage’s veto, he said he is, “all for increasing the use of digital education in Maine. Providing our students with access to world-class teachers and curriculum is how we will improve our schools and provide more opportunities for Maine’s future. However, this version of the bill appears to move from the realm of legislative policy into managing activities.”

He also cited the fact that this bill would empty one State account (the Maine Learning Technology Fund), potentially leaving unfunded commitments.

Under current law, charters are evaluated and granted the renewal of charter (initial term is five years) based on “performance, demonstrated capacities and particular circumstances of each public charter school.” This new law would regulate providers, outside of just charters, requiring providers to be granted yearly approval based on “demonstrated experience” in management and “collaborating with schools to develop innovative practices related to online learning.” This vague requirement places an additional hurdle and could be used to restrict the growth of charters.

Legislative History

Detailed Legislative Vote: Legiscan | Open States

Vetoed by Governor Paul LePage (R) on 7/8/2013