A reminder that school administrative units and private schools approved for tuition purposes are now required to establish regional school calendars, in coordination with their local secondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) school. Maine DOE has previously reminded districts that calendars must be submitted to us no later than June 1, 2013 so that we can ensure they are approved by the July 1, 2013 deadline. However, because June 1 falls on a Saturday, the Department will accept your submissions for review through Monday, June 3.
The Legislature enacted the requirement as part of Public Law 2011, Chapter 686, a law that expands access to career and technical education in Maine and ensures that students completing career and technical education coursework have greater access to post-secondary opportunities.
Specifically, the law addresses scheduling conflicts that pose barriers to students by requiring that those school districts and private schools approved for tuition purposes that share a CTE school adopt a regional school calendar with no more than five dissimilar days. The law became effective Aug. 30, 2012, and establishing the regional calendar is a condition for eligibility for state subsidy.
For more information, visit our Regional School Calendar resource page or contact Doug Robertson (doug.robertson@maine.gov) at 624-6744 or Margaret Harvey (margaret.harvey@maine.gov) at 624-6739.