Students who are placed by their school administrative unit in a special purpose private school must be assured of a pathway to graduation from that SAU. That assurance, and a description of the pathway, is documented in a written agreement signed by both the SAU and the SPPS for each student at the SPPS.
For students who are in a cohort expected to graduate with a traditional diploma, that agreement takes the form of the School Year SPPS/SAU Work Recognition and Credit and Diploma Agreement; for students who are in a cohort expected to graduate with a proficiency-based diploma, that agreement takes the form of the recently developed School Year SPPS/SAU Work Recognition and Diploma Agreement. The latter form will serve to articulate the agreement as to how and by whom student proficiency will be measured. Regardless of which form is used, the agreement must be signed on behalf of the SAU by the principal of the sending school, rather than the special education director.
Also, not in the very near future, the EF-S-01 form by which SAUs notify the Maine DOE of the placement of a student at an SPPS will be modified to include a check box signifying that a diploma agreement has been signed for that student; forms will not be accepted unless there is a check in that box.
For more information or if you have questions about this issue, please contact Jonathan Braff at the Maine DOE at jonathan.braff@maine.gov or 624-6671.