125th MAINE LEGISLATURE
		LD 1422		LR 1901(16)
	An Act To Prepare Maine People for the Future Economy
	Fiscal Note for Bill as Engrossed with: C "A" (S-477) S "C" (S-529) to C "A" (S-477)
	Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Fiscal Note
Contingent State Mandate - Funded
State Mandates
	Required Activity				Unit Affected	Local Cost
	Requires local school administrative units to transition to proficiency-based standards for awarding a high school diploma by January 1, 2017 contingent on transition grants being provided annually.  To the extent that the development of the methodology for implementation can be provided by the working group and the Department of Education the costs to school administrative units may be moderated.				School	Moderate statewide
	The required local activities in this bill may represent a State mandate pursuant to the Constitution of Maine.  Unless General Fund appropriations are provided to fund at least 90% of the additional costs or a Mandate Preamble is amended to the bill and two-thirds of the members of each House vote to exempt this mandate from the funding requirement, municipalities may not be required to implement these changes.
Fiscal Detail and Notes
	This bill requires the Department of Education to provide annual grants to School Administrative Units (SAU's) equal to 1/10 of 1% of an SAU's total cost of education to fund the cost of transitioning by January 1, 2017 to a standards-based system of education if funds are available.  Implementation of the transition is delayed by one year for each year that the transition grants are not provided or funds appropriated by the State for General Purpose Aid for Local Schools falls below the funding levels provided for the 2012-2013 school year.  The cost of this provision is estimated to be approximately $1.89 million in fiscal year 2012-13.
	Additional costs to the Department of Education to coordinate the development of standards, assessments and rubrics to be used in determining proficiency as required for secondary school graduation beginning January 1, 2017 and to develop the required technical assistance plan can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources.