Sec. 5. Maine State Retirement System. The Maine State Retirement System shall review the laws governing participating local districts' retirement plans and shall submit emergency legislation no later than November 28, 2005 to the Second Regular Session of the 122nd Legislature to propose changes necessary to fully implement this Act.

Sec. 6. Review. The Commissioner of Education, with assistance from the State Board of Education, shall conduct a review of charter schools created under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, chapter 112 4 years after the effective date of this Act. The commissioner shall submit a report and any recommendations to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education and cultural affairs by December 15th of the following year.

SUMMARY

This bill allows certain educational bodies to approve the establishment of charter schools, a new type of public school, to be a part of the State's program of public education. The charter school pilot program established under this bill permits up to 20 charter schools to be authorized during a 10-year pilot phase. A charter school must be approved for a renewable 5-year term, with a major review of the operations and achievements of the charter school prior to renewal.

Charter schools may be conversions of existing public schools or school administrative units, new schools or existing nonprofit, nonsectarian schools that convert to charter status. A chartering authority may be a local school board or an officially recognized unit of the University of Maine System or one of its universities, the Maine Community College System or one of its colleges or the Maine Maritime Academy.

Charter schools are created to offer students and parents more education options to meet the diversity of learning needs of Maine's children. Charter schools are open to all students equally, though they may specialize in serving a particular age