127th MAINE LEGISLATURE
		LD 1253		LR 1798(02)
	An Act To Improve the Evaluation of Public Schools
	Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment " "
	Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
	Fiscal Note Required: Yes
Fiscal Note
			FY 2015-16	FY 2016-17	Projections  FY 2017-18	Projections  FY 2018-19
Net Cost (Savings)
	General Fund		$108,578	$0	$0	$0
Appropriations/Allocations
	General Fund		$108,578	$0	$0	$0
Fiscal Detail and Notes
	This bill includes a one-time General Fund appropriation of $108,578 in fiscal year 2015-16 to the PK-20, Adult Education and Federal Programs Team within the Department of Education for 2 limited-period Education Specialist III positions and related all other costs to support the task force created to design a school assessment system to evaluate the performance of public schools, public charter schools and private schools approved for tuition purposes that enroll at least 60% publicly funded students in the State.  The appropriation is to support the costs of the positions and the task force from October 1, 2015 through January 31, 2016.
	The Department of Education indicates that it may require additional positions to support the increased workload associated with implementing a school assessment system to measure school performance and student proficiency that includes multiple measures of student achievement for the 2017-2018 school year.  The department also indicates that the costs of implementing additional assessments beyond the summative assessments currently implemented by the State could be approximately $7.0 million per year.  This estimate is based on the assumption that, for any additional assessment required from the State for use in school evaluations, an alternate assessment for severely cognitively delayed students must also be developed.  This fiscal note does not include General Fund appropriations to fund the positions or the additional assessments.  However, depending on the recommendations of the task force and legislation reported out of the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee during the second regular session of the 127th Legislature to implement the recommendations, additional General Fund appropriations may be required.