CHAPTER 775
H.P. 1946 - L.D. 2690
An Act to Implement the Recommendations of the Task Force to Review the Educational Program and the Governance System of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §7401, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 676, §5 and affected by §13, is further amended to read:
The Governor Baxter School for the Deaf is established as a public school pursuant to this chapter for the purpose of educating deaf and hard-of-hearing students. The school is a body politic and corporate and is an instrumentality and agency of the State. The exercise by the school of the powers conferred by this chapter is the performance of an essential public function by and on behalf of the State.
Sec. 2. 20-A MRSA §7402, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 676, §5 and affected by §13, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
1. School. "School" means the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf established under this chapter, including the center school located at Mackworth Island and any satellite school within the State that may be operated under a contracted services agreement.
Sec. 3. 20-A MRSA §7402, sub-§§5 and 6 are enacted to read:
5. Center school. "Center school" means the programs established and operated by the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf located at Mackworth Island, including the residential program, day school program, statewide consultation and outreach programs, parent-infant program, preschool program, communication garden program, distance education program and community education program.
6. Satellite school. "Satellite school" means the programs, including a residential program, day school programs, early childhood programs and outreach programs, that are located near the population centers of deaf and hard-of-hearing students within the State established by the School Board of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf.
Sec. 4. 20-A MRSA §7403, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 676, §5 and affected by §13, is amended to read:
§7403. Location; geographic access
The school is center school programs are located on Mackworth Island. Satellite school programs, including a residential program in accordance with section 7407, subsection 17, may be located near the population centers of deaf and hard-of-hearing students within the State.
Sec. 5. 20-A MRSA §7404, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 676, §5 and affected by §13, is amended to read:
1. Funding. Students from this State may attend the school free of tuition and room and board expense. Funding for these students is provided by legislative appropriation based on the amount services necessary, including room and board, to satisfy the individualized education programs of the students, as defined by department rule. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are major substantive rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II-A. Funding must support maintenance of the center school and that portion of the island used by the center school, security, outreach services, adult education, access to the education network of Maine and operations of the center school, including the residential program, parent-infant program, preschool program and communication garden program. Funding must also support maintenance and operations of any satellite school.
Sec. 6. 20-A MRSA §7405, sub-§§1 and 2, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 676, §5 and affected by §13, are amended to read:
1. Enrollment. The superintendent of the school administrative unit in which a deaf or hard-of-hearing student resides, with the consent of that student's parent or legal guardian and in accordance with the limitations in section 5051, may enroll that student in the school one of the center school programs or the satellite school programs. The sums necessary for tuition and room and board of the student while attending the school one of the center school programs or satellite school programs, as determined by the individualized education program of the student, must be paid by the department school board.
2. State and federal educational services requirements. The school center school and any satellite school must comply with all standards for state public schools and must comply with all federal and state laws and department rules for the provision of educational services to children with disabilities.
Sec. 7. 20-A MRSA §7406, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 676, §5, is amended to read:
The School Board of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf is established as the policy-making authority and the governing body of the school.
1. Membership. In appointing members to the school board, the Governor shall give proper consideration to achieving statewide geographical representation, cultural equity and gender equity. In appointing voting members to the school board, the Governor shall select nominees with experience or special knowledge in one or more of the following areas: law, finance, organizational issues, management, education, human resources and collective bargaining. The school board and interested parties may submit a list of recommended candidates to the Governor to aid in making appointments of voting and nonvoting members. The appointments made by the Governor are subject to review by the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education matters and subject to confirmation by the Legislature. The Governor shall appoint 13 the school board consisting of 15 voting members and 2 nonvoting members as follows:
A. Three Four parents of students who attend the school are deaf or hard-of-hearing, including a minimum of one parent with a child enrolled in the residential program and one parent with a child receiving service from the school's outreach program;
B. Three deaf representatives of the State's deaf community;
C. Two individuals with Eight members of the general public, at least 2 of whom must have expertise in deaf education who are not employed by the school; and
D. Four members of the general public;
E. One parent of a deaf child who is enrolled in a local educational agency receiving services from the school's outreach program; and
F. Two students, one who attend attends the school and one who receives outreach services, who both of whom are nonvoting members and who may not participate as board members in executive sessions or receive materials as board members from executive sessions.
2. Chair. The school board shall choose annually one of its members to serve as chair.
3. Meetings. The school board shall meet at regular intervals.
4. Quorum. Each voting member of the school board is entitled to one vote. Seven A majority of voting members of the school board constitute constitutes a quorum for the transaction of any official business, except that 8 affirmative votes are necessary to approve the budget.
5. Terms of voting members. The terms of the voting members of the school board are for 3 years, unless otherwise designated, and are staggered with 1/3 of the voting members appointed each year. Of the initial appointees, one each as designated in subsection 1, paragraphs A to D, must be appointed for a term of 3 years; one each as designated in subsection 1, paragraphs A to D, must be appointed for a term of 2 years; and one each as designated in subsection 1, paragraphs A, B and E, must be appointed for a term of one year. Members may be appointed for consecutive terms.
6. Terms of nonvoting members. The terms of the nonvoting student members, pursuant to subsection 1, paragraph F, must be determined by the school board. The school board shall submit a list of recommendations to the Governor to aid in making appointments of nonvoting members.
7. Expenses. Voting members of the school board must be compensated according to the provisions of Title 5, chapter 379.
8. Appointments. The Governor shall appoint members to the school board by September 1, 1996.
Sec. 8. 20-A MRSA §7407, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 676, §5 and affected by §13, is amended to read:
3. Administration. The school board shall oversee the administration of the center school and any satellite school, including the hiring of academic, residential, outreach and support staff of the center school.
Sec. 9. 20-A MRSA §7407, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 676, §5 and affected by §13, is repealed.
Sec. 10. 20-A MRSA §7407, sub-§4-A is enacted to read:
4-A. Budget development. The school board shall, with the aid of the superintendent and staff, prepare an annual budget for the operation of the school and exercise budgetary responsibility. The school board shall allocate for expenditure by the school and programs under its jurisdiction all the resources available for the operation of the school and its programs. Annually, not later than January 1, 2001, beginning with the fiscal year 2001-02, the school board shall present to the Governor for submission to the Legislature and review by the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education matters the administrative operating budget of the school for the next fiscal year. The administrative operating budget must be presented as a line-item budget for each of the programs under its jurisdiction. A liability or obligation may not be incurred under this chapter beyond the amount approved in the administrative operating budget. The school board may make expenditures only in accordance with allocations approved by the Legislature. Any balance of an allocation or subdivision of an allocation made by the Legislature for the school that at the time is not required for the purpose named in the allocation or subdivision may be transferred prior to the closing of the books for the fiscal year to any other allocation or subdivision of any allocation made by the Legislature for the use of the school for the same fiscal year. The transfer is subject to review by the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over appropriations and financial affairs. Financial statements describing the transfer must be submitted by the school board to the Office of Fiscal and Program Review 30 days before the transfer is implemented. In case of extraordinary emergency transfers, the 30-day prior submission requirement may be waived by vote of the committee. These financial statements must include information specifying the accounts that are affected, the amounts to be transferred, a description of the transfer and a detailed explanation of the reason the transfer is needed. The school board shall also provide an annual justification for the finances and operations of the programs under the jurisdiction of the school to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over appropriations and financial affairs and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education matters. The justification for the finances and operations of the school must be presented as a line-item budget for each of the programs under its jurisdiction.
Sec. 11. 20-A MRSA §7407, sub-§§6, 10, 16, 17 and 19, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 676, §5 and affected by §13, are amended to read:
6. Collection of fees. The school board may charge service and rental fees for use of facilities at of the school. Any funds received for service and rental fees must be retained by the school.
10. Island access. The school board shall consult regularly annually with the Department of Conservation, Bureau of Parks and Lands on public access and management of that portion of Mackworth Island under the jurisdiction of that bureau.
16. Individualized education programs, standards and measurements. The school board shall ensure that services required to meet the individualized education program for each student are provided by the school. The school board shall establish standards and methods of measuring progress in the levels of academic achievement for students who participate in the school programs and in accordance with the statewide system of learning results established under section 6209. The school board shall also establish standards and methods of measuring progress in the professional development of teachers who participate in school programs. The school board shall assess students and teachers according to those standards and measurements.
17. School programs. The school board may create, maintain and expand center school programs at the school and programs for children that may be served by the school at any satellite school. For the 2000-01 and 2001-02 school years only, the residential program located on Mackworth Island is limited to enrolling up to 20 students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. The superintendent may request that the commissioner approve a waiver of the residential enrollment limit and establish additional placements for students in the residential program located on Mackworth Island; the commissioner may approve those placements on a case-by-case basis and only if the individual education plan of the prospective student who is deaf or hard-of-hearing requires placement in a residential program. Beginning with the 2002-03 school year, the school board shall establish a satellite school program that offers an array of educational programs that provide students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing with geographically convenient access to placement options that may be required by their individualized education program.
19. Report. The school board shall report biennially annually to the Governor and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education matters on the general status of the finances and operations of the school, including the center school programs and any satellite school programs, the status of the professional qualifications of the school board members and the results of the assessments required by subsection 16 and the general status of the school.
Sec. 12. 20-A MRSA §7410, sub-§3 is enacted to read:
3. Repeal. This section is repealed July 1, 2002.
Sec. 13. 26 MRSA §962, sub-§7, ¶A, as amended by PL 1997, c. 698, §1, is further amended to read:
A. Any officer, board, commission, council, committee or other persons or body acting on behalf of:
(1) Any municipality or any subdivision of a municipality;
(2) Any school, water, sewer, fire or other district;
(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 individual-ized 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 Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, chapter 304, whether or not the residential program located on Mackworth Island should continue to impose a limit on enrollment in order to facilitate the creation of a satellite program and whether or not the school board should adopt a criterion limiting the age of students who can be enrolled in a residential program established by the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf. The needs assessment team shall report to the school board as required by the board.
The school board must provide a preliminary report, including initial findings and recommendations, to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education matters on or before February 1, 2001. The final report, including findings and recommendations on the residential capacity of both the residential program at Mackworth Island and any satellite program that may be established, must be provided no later than February 1, 2002. The report recommendations must also include a plan to ensure access to residential programs in geographic areas of the State that have a significant population of deaf and hard-of-hearing students. This plan must address the following issues: what the funding needs are of any proposed satellite day and residential programs and how those needs would be funded, whether the current residential program located on Mackworth Island is consistent with the plan, how short-term residential program needs should be addressed and whether or not the school board should adopt a criterion limiting the age of students who may be enrolled in a residential program established by the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf.
Sec. 15. Transition provisions. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, all references in the laws of the State to the School Board of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf refer to the school board in its capacity as an independent agency.
1. Funds transferred. All funds and invested assets of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf must be transferred to the School Board of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf in its capacity as an independent agency.
2. Rules and procedures. All rules and procedures in effect on the effective date of this Act pertaining to the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf remain in effect until rescinded or amended by the School Board of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf in its capacity as an independent agency.
3. Equipment and property transferred. The State retains ownership of Mackworth Island and the facilities of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf. Except for the land and property transferred to the State pursuant to the Baxter deed, all equipment and property of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf must be transferred to the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf in its capacity as an independent agency.
4. Contracts and agreements. All contracts and agreements in effect on the effective date of this Act with the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf remain in effect until rescinded, terminated or modified by the School Board of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf.
5. Personnel transferred. Classified and unclassified employees assigned to the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf must be transferred from state employment to the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf in its capacity as an independent agency. Fringe benefits from state employment of the transferred personnel, including vacation and sick leave, health and life insurance and retirement, remain with the transferred personnel. The rights and benefits under statutes, rules and collective bargaining agreements in effect on the effective date of this Act or successor collective bargaining agreements continue for all transferred personnel. If these collective bargaining agreements expire, or have expired on the effective date of this Act, the status, rights and benefits of covered employees must be maintained according to applicable labor law principles. All personnel transferred from state employment to the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf as an independent agency retain all applicable seniority rights and privileges and all other rights and privileges with regard to employment in state service for a period of 2 years from the effective date of this Act. During this 2-year period, the recall provisions of these applicable laws, rules and collective bargaining agreements continue to apply for all transferred personnel with layoff status to the filling of any vacancy in the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf. Transferred personnel who refuse recall to the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf retain full recall rights to all other agencies of State Government.
At the end of the 2-year period, the transferred personnel have the same rights and privileges as employees of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf hired on and after the effective date of this Act based on personnel rules, policies and collective bargaining agreements applicable to the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf employees in effect on the effective date of this Act. Transferred personnel may choose to be covered under the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf personnel system and benefits before the 2-year period expires.
The Department of Administrative and Financial Services shall assist the School Board of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf with the orderly implementation of the provisions of this subsection.
6. School board. Members of the School Board of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf on the effective date of this Act serve as members of the School Board of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf in its capacity as an independent agency until their terms expire. New members must be chosen pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 7406.
7. Transferred personnel. All transferred personnel that are in the state administrative services; the professional and technical services; the state supervisory services; the state operations, maintenance and support services; and the state institutional services bargaining units must be transferred to the same respective units within the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf.
All transferred personnel who are represented by a bargaining agent on the effective date of this Act continue to be represented by that bargaining agent. Following the effective date of this Act, a petition for decertification of a bargaining agent or for certification of a new bargaining agent for the newly created bargaining unit may be filed in accordance with the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 26, chapter 9-A and the rules of the Maine Labor Relations Board.
8. School board as successor employer. For the purposes of applying this Act and collective bargaining agreements governing employees of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf, the School Board of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf in its capacity as an independent agency is considered the successor employer to and assumes the obligations of the State.
9. Transition accomplished. The School Board of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf shall appoint a superintendent on the effective date of this Act. The Governor Baxter School for the Deaf shall take the steps necessary to complete the transition and to function as an independent agency on and after July 1, 2002.
10. Transitional budget. For fiscal year 1999-00 and fiscal year 2000-01, the School Board of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf may carry forward any unexpended funds in its program account and may expend up to $100,000 of these funds to assist with implementing basic school approval corrective action. The balance of these funds beyond the $100,000 may be used for any necessary expenses, as determined by the school board, that are incurred in establishing the administrative capacity to execute its new functions as an independent agency.
11. Basic school approval; accreditation. It is the intent of the Legislature that the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf achieve basic school approval status by January 2001. Thereafter, the Department of Education shall conduct annually an on-site basic school approval review on the educational programs operated by the school. It is also the intent of the Legislature that the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf shall achieve accreditation status from an appropriate accrediting agency for schools for the deaf and subsequently from a regional accrediting agency.
12. Assistance from state agencies; state agency liaisons. The Department of Education; the Department of Labor, Bureau of Rehabilitation Services, Division of Deafness; the Department of Conservation, Bureau of Parks and Lands; and the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of the Budget, Bureau of Employee Relations, Bureau of General Services and the Bureau of Human Resources shall provide any necessary assistance to the School Board of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf to assist in the orderly implementation of this Act for a period of 2 years from the effective date of this Act.
Following this 2-year period, the Department of Education and the Department of Labor, Bureau of Rehabilitation Services, Division of Deafness shall each provide a liaison to the School Board of the Governor Baxter School to assist the school board in providing appropriate educational programs and services to deaf and hard-of-hearing students in the State. These liaisons shall meet with the school board at least once each fiscal year to address these matters.
Also following this 2-year period, the Department of Conservation, the Bureau of Parks and Lands and the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of General Services shall each provide a liaison to the School Board of the Governor Baxter School to assist the school board in properly managing the natural resources of the island and the state-owned facilities on the island. These liaisons shall meet with the school board at least once each fiscal year to address these matters.
Sec. 16. Effective date. Those sections of this Act that repeal the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 7407, subsection 4 and enact Title 20-A, section 7407, subsection 4-A are effective January 1, 2001.
Effective August 11, 2000, unless otherwise indicated.
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