AUGUSTA – Starting today, superintendents who reject a parent’s request to send their child to school in another district will have to explain why that transfer would not be in the best interest of the student.
Under Maine law, a parent who believes it is in the best interest of their child to attend school in a different district than where the student lives can request the two superintendents agree to a transfer.
Continue reading “Transfer decisions refocused on student best interest”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency offers a three-hour, web-based training that provides leading practices and resources to assist elementary and secondary schools, institutions of higher education and houses of worship in developing emergency plans. The training, titled “Preparing for Mass-Casualty Incidents: A Guide for Schools, Higher Education and Houses of Worship,” will help audiences prepare for, respond to and recover from mass-casualty incidents.
Continue reading “Web-based course prepares educators for mass-casualty incidents”
On Oct. 16, 2012, a 4.5 magnitude earthquake hit the State of Maine, centered in northern York County, and was felt as far south as New Jersey. A year and a day later, on Oct. 17 at 10:17 a.m., schools, communities, families and businesses are invited to join the Great NorthEast ShakeOut, a multi-state earthquake drill spanning nine Northeast region states.
Continue reading “Participate in nationwide earthquake drill”
The Maine DOE has released data provided by Maine schools and other educational settings about the use of physical restraint and seclusion during the 2012-13 school year.
Continue reading “Data on the use of Restraint and Seclusion”
Dear Superintendents,
Last fall, former Commissioner Stephen Bowen sent you a letter on the topic of superintendents’ agreements. In that letter, he explained why he has tended to overturn the superintendent transfer decisions that are appealed to him by Maine families more often than not, in the hope that it would make his thinking on the issue clearer to you.
Since then, the issue of superintendents’ agreements has emerged again, and two bills were passed during this last legislative session that amend the current law in important ways, effective Oct. 9. Continue reading “Message to administrators on superintendents’ agreements”
A new law, signed by Governor Paul R. LePage in April, requires all school personnel to complete Suicide Prevention Awareness Training beginning in the 2014-15 academic year. In addition, all school administrative units (SAUs) must have at least two staff members trained as suicide prevention “gatekeepers.” SAUs with more than 1,000 students will need to add (at least) one gatekeeper for every additional 500 students. Continue reading “New Maine law requires suicide prevention training for all school personnel”
Maine schools are invited to apply for State Farm’s 2014 Good Neighbor Citizenship Company Grants program, which offers programmatic support to U.S. schools in two focus areas: education and safety. The application for 2014 funding is open from Sept. 3 through Oct. 31.
State Farm believes creating better educated communities includes providing access to personal financial education and job training. Funding for education grants is directed toward: Continue reading “State Farm now accepting grant applications from schools”
Teachers, guidance counselors, administrators, bus drivers and others responsible for student welfare in schools are required by Maine law to report to their supervisors or to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services whenever they have reasonable cause to suspect child abuse or neglect has occurred.
Continue reading “Online training available for reporting abuse, neglect”
Department of Labor responds to federal mandate with free online training video
AUGUSTA – All employees in the state of Maine—in both the private and public sectors—must be trained in the federal Occupation Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) new Global Harmonization System Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) by Dec. 1. As part of this federal mandate, schools and districts are responsible for training their staff on GHS and must be able to demonstrate compliance upon inspection.
Continue reading “All districts and schools must train staff in Global Harmonization System”
Non-regulatory guidance
The Department has posted non-regulatory guidance to help schools and other covered educational programs understand the requirements and limitations contained in Rule Chapter 33: Rule Governing Physical Restraint and Seclusion. The guidance document, which is available online, provides information about the rule, describes student behavior scenarios and analyzes potential responses to those scenarios, and provides links to additional resources including tools for managing student behavior.
Continue reading “Restraint and Seclusion updates available”
Maine DOE Newsroom 