§ 20-A §254 — Educational duties

The commissioner shall have the following educational duties.
1.
General duty.
The commissioner may inspect and have general supervision over all public schools and shall advise and direct superintendents and school boards in the discharge of their duties, by circular letters and personal conferences.
2.
Training and development.
The commissioner shall promote the importance of ongoing training and development and encourage initiatives that prepare school personnel to fully implement the system of learning results as established in section 6209.
3.
Contracts for career and technical educational programs.
The commissioner may:
4.
Superintendent conference.
Annually the commissioner shall hold a conference for the instruction of superintendents.
5.
Medication.
The commissioner shall provide for the administration of medication within schools as follows.
6.
Other duties.
The commissioner shall carry out all other duties assigned in this Title.
7.
Clearinghouse for information on nuclear usage.
8.
Model hiring procedure.
9.
Statewide goal.
10.
Gender equity.
11.
Statewide standards for behavior.
In consultation with organizations representing school boards, school administrators, teachers, parents and other interested local officials and community members, the commissioner shall develop statewide standards for responsible and ethical student behavior. The standards must require annual reporting of incidents of violent and harmful behavior by or against students to the department by school administrative units. The department shall provide forms for reporting.
11-A.
Model policy; reporting.
By January 1, 2013, the commissioner shall develop a model policy to address bullying and cyberbullying for use by school administrative units pursuant to section 6554. A copy of the model policy must be sent to each school administrative unit in the State and posted on the publicly accessible portion of the department's website along with any training and instructional materials related to the policy that the commissioner determines necessary.
12.
Technical assistance and statewide standards for reintegration planning.
In consultation with juvenile correctional officials, juvenile community corrections officers, organizations representing school boards, school administrators, teachers and parents and other interested local officials and community members, the commissioner shall develop a program of technical assistance and establish statewide standards for reintegration planning and transition services for juvenile offenders who are discharged from juvenile correctional facilities in the State, who have been enrolled in educational programs or schools for juveniles located in or operated by correctional facilities and who are transferring to schools located within local school administrative units in the State. The technical assistance and standards must include, but may not be limited to:
13.
Technical assistance; integrated model for instruction in personal finance.
The commissioner shall develop a program of technical assistance that promotes the importance of financial literacy and encourages school administrative units to implement an integrated model for instruction in personal finance that may be used in secondary schools as part of the instruction in social studies or mathematics required by section 4722, subsection 2, paragraphs B and C. The commissioner, in consultation with the Finance Authority of Maine, the Office of Securities within the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, Jobs for Maine's Graduates, organizations representing banks, credit unions and financial professionals and other interested organizations promoting personal finance initiatives, shall prepare and distribute annually, in January, a report to school boards and superintendents that includes strategies and resources available to implement an integrated model for instruction in personal finance for use in secondary schools. The annual report must also be provided to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education matters, and the department shall post the report on its publicly accessible website. The commissioner shall identify best practices to support students' financial literacy for those school administrative units that elect to offer financial literacy education pursuant to this subsection.
14.
(REALLOCATED FROM T. 20-A, §254, sub-§13) Transitional services for students with disabilities.
To provide for an efficient and effective coordinated system of services across state agencies and local and private entities, the commissioner shall plan, coordinate and implement services for students with disabilities who are in transition from school to community in accordance with rules adopted by the department. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are major substantive rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.
15.
(REALLOCATED FROM T. 20-A, §254, sub-§13) Technical assistance; professional development and training for instruction in digital literacy; clearinghouse for information on use of online learning resources.
The commissioner shall develop a program of technical assistance, including professional development and training for instruction in digital literacy and the establishment of a clearinghouse for information on the use of online learning resources that may be made available to all school administrative units, including those schools that participate in the learning through technology program under section 15689‑A, subsection 12‑A, which provides one-to-one wireless computers for 7th grade, 8th grade and high school students and educators.
16.
Parental involvement initiatives.
The commissioner shall strongly encourage each school board to adopt local procedures for implementing a districtwide parental involvement initiative as school board policy in accordance with section 255, subsection 6.
17.
Model policy for management of concussive and other head injuries.
In consultation with organizations representing school principals, school boards, school superintendents, athletic directors, athletic trainers, sports medicine practitioners, the Acquired Brain Injury Advisory Council established in Title 34‑B, section 19001 and other interested parties, the commissioner shall develop a model policy on the management of concussive and other head injuries in school activities and athletics.
18.
Model policy; child sexual abuse prevention.
The commissioner shall develop a model policy for child sexual abuse prevention education and response that may be used for public preschool programs operated in compliance with chapter 203, subchapter 3 and for all students enrolled in kindergarten to grade 5.
19.
Designation of school to enroll certain students.
The commissioner may designate a school administrative unit as the receiving school administrative unit for a student who resides in a school administrative unit that neither maintains a school nor contracts for school privileges pursuant to chapter 115 and is unable to find a school administrative unit willing to enroll the student in one of its schools, upon a written request from the superintendent of the school administrative unit where the student resides setting forth the student's circumstances giving rise to the request.

Legislative History

PL 1981, c. 693, §§5,8 (NEW). PL 1983, c. 739 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 889, §3 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 625, §A21 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 351, §1 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 669, §1 (AMD). PL 2001, c. 451, §1 (AMD). PL 2001, c. 452, §3 (AMD). PL 2001, c. 454, §4 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 531, §1 (AMD). PL 2005, c. 397, §D3 (REV). RR 2011, c. 1, §§23, 24 (COR). PL 2011, c. 154, §1 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 348, §2 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 354, §1 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 571, §1 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 659, §1 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 679, §1 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 688, §1 (AMD). PL 2013, c. 506, §§2-4 (AMD). PL 2015, c. 64, §1 (AMD). PL 2015, c. 292, §1 (AMD). PL 2015, c. 448, §1 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 32, §1 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 560, §1 (AMD). PL 2021, c. 12, §1 (AMD).