Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §1, sub-§26, as corrected by RR 1993, c. 1, §44, is amended to read:

26. School administrative unit. "School administrative unit" means the state-approved unit of school administration and includes a municipal school unit, school administrative district, community school district, charter school or any other municipal or quasi-municipal corporation responsible for operating or constructing public schools, except that it does not include an applied technology region.

Sec. 2. 20-A MRSA §202, sub-§§16 and 17, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 693, §§5 and 8, are amended to read:

16. Other entities. Other entities authorized by the Legislature; and

17. Other bureaus. Any other bureau the commissioner establishes.; and

Sec. 3. 20-A MRSA §202, sub-§18 is enacted to read:

18.__Charter schools.__Charter schools.

Sec. 4. 20-A MRSA c. 112 is enacted to read:

CHAPTER 112

CHARTER SCHOOLS

§2411.__Charter schools authorized; program established

Charter schools may be established as public schools pursuant to this chapter to provide varied learning environments and expand existing efforts to support student learning by providing different, often small, learning settings.

The charter school program is established to provide incentives to teachers and community members to establish new kinds of public schools and to seek to improve student achievement through the use of different and innovative learning methods.

Charter schools must meet the goals of the comprehensive statewide learning results system and must use a comprehensive set of assessments appropriate to the mission and curriculum of