11. Basic school approval; accreditation. It is the intent of the Legislature that the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf achieve basic school approval status by January 2001. Thereafter, the Department of Education shall conduct annually an on-site basic school approval review on the educational programs operated by the school. It is also the intent of the Legislature that the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf shall achieve accreditation status from an appropriate accrediting agency for schools for the deaf and subsequently from a regional accrediting agency.

12. Assistance from state agencies; state agency liaisons. The Department of Education; the Department of Labor, Bureau of Rehabilitation Services, Division of Deafness; the Department of Conservation, Bureau of Parks and Lands; and the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of the Budget, Bureau of Employee Relations, Bureau of General Services and the Bureau of Human Resources shall provide any necessary assistance to the School Board of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf to assist in the orderly implementation of this Act for a period of 2 years from the effective date of this Act.

Following this 2-year period, the Department of Education and the Department of Labor, Bureau of Rehabilitation Services, Division of Deafness shall each provide a liaison to the School Board of the Governor Baxter School to assist the school board in providing appropriate educational programs and services to deaf and hard-of-hearing students in the State. These liaisons shall meet with the school board at least once each fiscal year to address these matters.

Also following this 2-year period, the Department of Conservation, the Bureau of Parks and Lands and the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of General Services shall each provide a liaison to the School Board of the Governor Baxter School to assist the school board in properly managing the natural resources of the island and the state-owned facilities on the island. These liaisons shall meet with the school board at least once each fiscal year to address these matters.

Sec. 13. Effective date. Those sections of this Act that repeal the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 7407, subsection 4 and enact Title 20-A, section 7407, subsection 4-A are effective January 1, 2001.