Updated guidance on local approval for regional service centers

The Department is issuing updated guidance on obtaining local approval for a regional service center (RSC). Previous guidance stated that each school administrative unit (SAU) member of an RSC must hold a referendum on their interlocal agreement; however, a recent review of applicable statutes provides that local practices and each SAU’s structure will determine the approval process for an RSC interlocal agreement. Specifically:

Approval by town meeting

For a regional school unit (RSU), school administrative districts (SAD), community school district (CSD) or municipal school unit that has a town meeting to approve the annual school budget, a referendum is not required to approve an interlocal agreement establishing an RSC. These types of SAUs can obtain local approval of the interlocal agreement establishing an RSC at the annual school budget meeting.

Approval by referendum

There is no change to guidance for cities and charter municipalities that do not approve the annual school budget at an annual budget meeting. For SAUs in this category a referendum vote to approve an interlocal agreement establishing an RSC will be required on the June 12, 2018 statewide election day.

As stated in Regional Service Center Part I Letter and Guidance published in the Maine DOE Newsroom in December 2017, the Department remains committed to the goal that initial regional service centers will be operational by July 1, 2018, and encourages all applicants to pursue this timeframe.

In the event that there are applicants with member SAUs that are unable to ratify interlocal agreements in time for July 1, the Department will consider, on a case by case basis, whether it makes sense to hold the regional center subsidy for a reasonable amount of time to allow local school communities to reach agreement. In such an instance, the Department will proceed as follows:

The subsidy adjustment calculated for each participating SAU on the ED 279 will be held by the Department, pending the negotiation of an agreement between the Department and each SAU.
In the agreement, the member SAUs will outline the steps that will be taken during the 2018-2019 fiscal year to finalize the regional service center, and laying out milestones that the member SAUs commit to meeting by certain dates to keep the progress on track.

In the event that the milestones are met and ratification of the regional service center occurs by the deadline established in the agreement, the DOE shall make the entire subsidy adjustment available to each member SAU that joins the proposed regional service center and agrees to purchase at least two services from at least two distinct categories.

Reminder regarding student participation in post-secondary enrollment programs

Maine high school students are afforded the opportunity to participate in post-secondary programs under 20-A MRSA, Chapter 208-A. This statute details student eligibility requirements and proscribes the level of student participation as 6 credit hours per semester, not to exceed 12 credit hours per academic year.

As the second semester began, the Department received invoices from post-secondary institutions for students who had already met the 12 credit hours per academic year threshold. This notice is a reminder of the reasons that limiting the credit hours can be beneficial to students:

Completing a high number of college courses while in high school can affect a student’s enrollment status in the first year of college with unintended consequences to federal financial aid, campus housing, academic standing, and scholarship eligibility. Career and technical programs, in a often have tight, sequential requirements in each semester: completing part of a semester of requirements can impact enrollment status (for example there are not enough remaining courses for a student to take to be full-time).
Course requirements can differ from program to program and there is no guarantee that a course will transfer to the student’s college of choice. Therefore, a secondary student participating in the post-secondary enrollment program should receive guidance in the selection of post-secondary enrollment courses, giving consideration to the student’s intended program of study/career pathway. Students should choose intentionally and with the combined guidance of school counselors and advisors at the colleges and/or universities.
Funds to support students enrolled in this program are limited by legislative appropriation and credit hour limits have been established in an effort to afford participate for as many students as possible within the limits of the appropriation.

As a reminder to Superintendents, Principals and Guidance Counselors, the responsibility to monitor student participation in post-secondary enrollment programs lies with the school administrative unit. Please be sure to verify student credit hours each semester, prior to approving a student to enroll in post-secondary courses.

Should you have questions or need clarification, please contact Stephanie Clark, Fiscal Review and Compliance Consultant for the Maine Department of Education at stephanie.clark@maine.gov

Outstanding educators sought for Maine talent pool

The Maine Department of Education is accepting recommendations through April 27, 2018 for the 2018 Maine Educator Talent Pool. These distinguished educators may be considered for membership on local and state advisory boards and task forces, as well as be candidates for special recognition through the Department.

The Department is currently seeking elementary educators (grades K-5), relatively new to the profession, with five to 18 years of experience, who show unusual instructional ability; inspire their students, colleagues and community members; have strong leadership potential; and are comparable to the nation’s best educators. Candidates are typically certified classroom teachers holding a bachelor’s degree. Previous recognition is not required. Of special interest are educators who are outstanding but have not received other recognition.

Recommendation forms can be accessed here: Talent Pool Recommendation Form. Please provide confidential, succinct, compelling, and specific information regarding the candidate on the recommendation form. All questions must be answered, preferably typewritten. Your recommendation packet must include a one-page narrative that addresses how the candidate meets the talent pool criteria, a completed recommendation form, and a resume from his or her personnel file.

School districts are strongly urged to take the time to recommend candidates. If necessary, assign the request to an associate. Please note though, this recommendation must remain confidential and not shared with the individual.

For more information, contact Educator Effectiveness Coordinator Emily Gribben at (207) 624-6748 or Emily.gribben@maine.gov.

Discretionary medication administration in schools

This memorandum is in response to queries from the field regarding PRN or discretionary medication administration in schools.

Registered nurses working as school nurses are in a unique place. Although they are school employees working under the rules and regulations of the local school board and State of Maine Department of Education, they are also licensed by the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, Board of Nursing and therefore must follow the Nurse Practice Act and its rules. The registered nurse coordinates and oversees unlicensed personnel within a school to assign specific health tasks to be done and provides the training. Any unlicensed school staff who will administer medication must be trained by a registered nurse or physician before carrying out this task. It is the position of the Board of Nursing, that any task that requires a nursing assessment or judgment cannot be assigned to unlicensed personnel. When medication is not routine, such as with over-the-counter ibuprofen, for example, and the student’s response to the medication is less predictable, nursing oversight should be carefully considered. When evaluating if medication can be administered by an unlicensed staff, the school nurse should assess the situation and consider the following:

The task should not inherently involve ongoing assessment, interpretation, or nursing judgment and decision making
The school nurse should have the ability to provide adequate oversight of the unlicensed staff member’s medication administration tasks

It is recommended that schools take time to review their medication policies and procedures to ensure requirements from both the Board of Nursing and the Department of Education are being met. The following are resources that may assist your school in doing this:

Maine Board of Nursing Position Statement for School Nursing http://www.maine.gov/boardofnursing/practice/position-statements/school-nursing.html

Maine State Board of Nursing, Chapter 6 Regulations relating to coordination and oversight of patient care services by unlicensed health care assistive personnel. http://www.maine.gov/boardofnursing/docs/Chapter%206.pdf

Maine Department of Education, Chapter 40 Rule for Medication Administration in Maine schools. http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rules/05/chaps05.htm

Maine Department of Education, Decision Tree for Nurse Coordination and Oversight. http://www.maine.gov/doe/schoolhealth/manual/documents/nurse_decision_tree.pdf

Maine Department of Education, School Health Manual. Medication Administration in Schools Introduction http://www.maine.gov/doe/schoolhealth/manual/documents/intro_medication_administration_in_schools.pdf

For further information contact Emily Poland, School Nurse Consultant, Maine Department of Education at emily.poland@maine.gov.

Governor LePage Recognizes School District Collaboration To Benefit Students

Released on Wednesday, February 14, 2018

AUGUSTA – Governor Paul R. LePage has issued the following statement recognizing today’s State Board of Education vote to accept the scoring for the finalists for the Integrated, Consolidated 9–16 Educational Facility Pilot Project.

“Communities across Maine are demonstrating that when the state provides them with support and incentives, they will work together to create more opportunities for students in an efficient and effective way,” said Governor LePage. “I commend the local superintendents and school boards for putting the needs of their students first.”

The Governor added, “Enabling Maine students to benefit from regional and collaborative approaches to education is the right thing to do. When these projects are up and running, they will serve as a shining example of what is possible when our communities work together to benefit students.”

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) has implemented the Integrated, Consolidated 9–16 Educational Facility Pilot Project as part of the EMBRACE initiative, providing support and incentives to communities that work together to increase opportunities for students through regional partnerships that enable efficiency and take advantage of scale that the communities could not achieve on their own.

Most recently, Maine DOE announced grant awards of $4.6 million to school districts to pursue more than $10 million in savings through regional projects.

MSAA Alternate Assessment Test Coordinator Training Webinar

As a reminder to District Assessment Coordinators, Test Coordinators providing assistance with the upcoming administration of the MEA alternate Assessment, MSAA are invited to attend a training this Friday, February 16 at 2:30pm. This webinar may be accessed online here.

This webinar will be recorded and posted on the Maine DOE MSAA website. Online training will also be available within the MSAA site March 5 – May 4, 2018.

For questions regarding this training, please contact Sue Nay at sue.nay@maine.gov.

Mainers take on the Read to ME Challenge

After First Lady Ann LePage launched the Read to ME Challenge with second graders at Gilbert Elementary School in Augusta on February 1, it didn’t take long for others across the state to join in the campaign to promote awareness of the importance of reading regularly to and with children. The Saco School Department hosted Maine children’s author, Chris Van Dusen, who accepted the challenge and read to students at Fairfield Elementary School that same day. Van Dusen quickly challenged the Saco School Department’s superintendent and Fairfield Elementary School’s principal and their efforts have even reached Maine State Senator Chenette.

A bit further north, Lewiston Public Schools’ superintendent, Bill Webster, posted the challenge encouraging educators, parents, and community members read to children throughout the month. Very quickly, students at Lewiston’s McMahon School stepped up to get busy reading followed by students at Montello Elementary.

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Each year the Maine Department of Education (DOE) promotes the challenge as an opportunity to help communities throughout Maine contribute to children’s literacy growth by reading aloud to one or more children for at least 15 minutes. Part of the challenge is capturing the moment via a photo or video and then posting it on social media (with the hashags #ReadtoME or #ReadaloudME) with a challenge to others to do the same. Since the kick-off, parents, educators and community members have been stepping up to accept the challenge and issue challenges of their own. With more than 60 partner organizations helping to support the effort, many minutes of reading have been logged across the state.

Some of the partners in the campaign have included institutions of higher education and community literacy teams. In northern Maine, a number of staff and administration from the University of Maine at Fort Kent have read to students in three St. John Valley elementary schools – Fort Kent Elementary, Madawaska Elementary, and Dr. Levesque Elementary in Frenchville. They targeted 1^st and 2^nd grade classrooms and read Mahalia Mouse Goes to College by John Lithgow to emphasize the importance of literary with the dual purpose of promoting college and post-secondary aspirations.

At the University of Maine at Farmington, Beaver Pride is strong for the challenge. UMF has partnered with Mallett Elementary School. UMF students have signed up to read to kindergarten and first grade students. UMF students can also be Super Beaver Readers by signing up to read to second graders every week for 4 weeks.

Southern Maine Community College President Cantor read to 4^th and 5^th grade students at Skillin Elementary School in South Portland.

In Houlton, the Rotary Club’s community literacy team has plans to sponsor Read to ME Challenge events every Saturday in February. They have combined reading with other fun activities at a variety of locations around Houlton. Additionally, they invited First Lady LePage to read to students at Houlton Elementary School and to speak with their Rotary Club about the importance of reading to children.

Maine Department of Education employees are also taking on the challenge by visiting schools and day care centers to read to children. During the February vacation week, the Maine DOE will be hosting a “read-in” during which employees can bring their children in listen to stories throughout the day.

For more information about the Read to ME Challenge, contact leeann.larsen@maine.gov.

Seeking special education mentors for MACM Program

Maine’s Alternative Certification and Mentoring (MACM) Program is seeking up to 50 practicing or recently retired special educators interested in mentoring conditionally certified first-year teachers for 2018-2019. Maine’s Alternative Certification and Mentoring program is a collaboration between Maine DOE and the UMaine System.

The mentorship position requires the following:

Current or recently expired certification and endorsements in 282, 286, 290, or 291 and at least 5 years of experience supporting students with disabilities. Special education directors and recently retired educators are also encouraged to apply. Must be available to attend training in late June 2018.

For more information and to apply – view the online application.

About Maine’s Alternative Certification and Mentoring Program

For conditionally certified special educators, Maine’s Alternative Certification and Mentoring Program offers intensive, ongoing support and mentoring for up to three years from an experienced special educator in the same area of practice. Find out more information about the MACM Program.

Peer reviewers sought for Maine’s 21st CCLC program

The Maine Department of Education is seeking qualified peer reviewers to read, assess, and score competitive grant proposals for the 21^st Century Community Leaning Centers (21^st CCLC) Program. This federally-funded grant program provides opportunities for schools and communities to develop “community learning centers” that serve children and youth during out-of-school time. Maine currently has 26 grant-funded 21^st CCLC programs operating 45 individual centers in communities across the state. Grant proposals for the 21^st CCLC program will be evaluated through a formal peer review process, which will ensure that quality applications are selected for funding.

This year’s Request for Proposals (RFP) for the 21^st CCLC program was released to the public on January 15 and is available online. The Department anticipates receiving applications from local education agencies, community-based organizations, and other eligible entities seeking awards under this RFP.

Qualifications:

Peer reviewers will be selected for their experience in providing effective academic, enrichment, youth development, and related support services for children and youth. The most qualified reviewers will be individuals who have experience in the administration of high-quality youth development programs within schools and communities. Examples of the experienced individuals sought include, but are not limited to:

21^st CCLC program directors and site coordinators
Teachers and principals
College and university staff
Youth development workers
Community service providers

Please note that an applicant or member of an applicant’s organization will not be selected to serve as a member of the Department’s peer review team.

Required Tasks:

Selected peer reviewers will work individually to read each assigned application and create detailed, objective, constructive, and well-written comments on approximately 10-15 applications on the basis of the criteria established in the RFP. These comments will be turned in to the Department prior to participating in on-site consensus scoring sessions. Reviewers must be able to participate in an online training webinar and review grant applications through a web-based system. It is anticipated that peer reviewers will have a three (3) week window in which to complete their individual review of assigned applications. Following the individual review of applications, each peer reviewer will be required to travel to the Maine Department of Education for two scheduled scoring days. It is during these consensus scoring sessions that each peer reviewer will work with the other members of the peer review team to score each application. Selected peer reviewers must complete the following tasks during the following date(s):

Task	Date(s)	Time(s)
Participate in an online training webinar	April 19, 2018	1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
Review grant applications through a web-based system and provide individual, written comments on each application (which MUST be turned in to the Department)	April 27, 2018 – May 18, 2018	Any Time
Participate in on-site consensus scoring sessions which will be located at the Maine Department of Education in Augusta, ME	May 22, 2018; May 23, 2018	9:00 AM – 4:00 PM; 9:00 AM – Finished

Compensation for Services: Peer reviewers who complete the required tasks will be reimbursed for travel costs to and from the consensus scoring sessions as well as provided a $75 honorarium per assigned application.

Previous peer reviewers have found that serving as a member of the peer review team is an excellent opportunity for professional development and growth. It is likely that, if selected, reviewers will be exposed to new program models, strategies, and practices. These new concepts may provide ideas and support for ongoing work as well as future grant writing efforts. Most importantly, the time given to this effort will be of great benefit the children and families of Maine.

How to Apply: Interested parties must contact Travis Doughty at travis.w.doughty@maine.gov to obtain a copy of the 2018 peer reviewer application and then return the completed application along with a current resume or CV.

Pursuant to Title IV, Part B of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, peer reviewers may not include any applicant, or representative of an applicant, that has or will be submitting a proposal in response to the current competition.

Deadline:

The Maine Department of Education will be accepting peer reviewer applications on a rolling basis until March 22, 2018 or until the needed positions are filled. Interested parties are encourage to submit applicants as soon as possible.

Contact: For more information, contact Federal Grant Coordinator, Travis Doughty at travis.w.doughty@maine.gov or 624-6709.

Notice of proposed rule change to Chapter 82 School Bus Driver Fitness Determination

The Maine Department of Education is proposing to repeal Chapter 82 School Bus Driver Fitness Determination. Current motor vehicle laws provide substantial protections for public safety. The repeal supports local school districts in the selection and hiring of school bus drivers. This repeal affects bus drivers hired by public schools.

Written comments should be mailed to: Maine Department of Education, Attn: Jaci Holmes, 23 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0023, or emailed to jaci.holmes@maine.gov . The comment deadline is March 16, 2018.