(3) The Maine Turnpike Authority;

(4) Any board of directors functioning as a regional intermediate education unit pursuant to Title 20-A, section 7730;

(5) Any county or subdivision of a county; or

(6) The Maine State Retirement System; or

(7)__The Governor Baxter School for the Deaf; or

Sec. 14. Needs assessment. The School Board of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf is responsible for making provision for a needs assessment to determine the educational needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing students in all geographic areas of the State regarding student placement in satellite programs, including residential programs at any satellite location, that are necessary to satisfy the individualized education program requirements of state and federal law.

The State Board of Education shall appoint the needs assessment team that includes, but is not limited to, representatives of the following interested parties: the School Board of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf, the Department of Education, public schools in the State that send students to the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf, public schools in the State that have students who receive outreach services from the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf and the deaf community. The needs assessment team may hold public hearings and conduct focus group discussions to carry out the purposes of this section. The school board may retain the services of a consultant with expertise in the education of deaf and hard-of-hearing students. The consultant may provide professional services to the assessment team in developing, reviewing and analyzing the needs assessment required by this section.

The needs assessment team shall study the creation of a satellite program, including provision of an array of day, residential and outreach programs and including the interest in and the scope of program placements necessary for deaf and hard-of-hearing students who reside in all geographic areas of the State. The needs assessment team shall also consider how satellite day and residential programs will be funded, whether or not the current residential program located on Mackworth Island should be maintained as part of future plans for the center school of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf, established by the Maine