Six months have passed since Gov. Paul LePage’s administration said it would propose legislation to have the state’s public schools take over special education for 3- to 5-year-olds. Yet as the Legislature enters the final weeks of an abbreviated session, the legislation from the executive branch has yet to arrive on lawmakers’ desks.
Meanwhile, six school districts have started working to take over the special services from the state’s Child Development Services, or CDS, system before any mandate comes down from the Legislature. They’re making the transition with the help of two grants, together worth more than $1 million, that the Maine Department of Education awarded in January as part of the LePage administration’s push to have more school districts collaborate and deliver services regionally.
Maine is the only state where school districts aren’t responsible for providing special education services to preschool-age children with disabilities and developmental delays, according to the state Department of Education. The department recently submitted its proposal to have the state’s 240 school districts take on that responsibility to the Legislature’s Office of the Revisor of Statutes, which is responsible for drafting legislation, Rachel Paling, a department spokeswoman, said Wednesday.
The County is pleased to feature content from our sister company, Bangor Daily News. To read the rest of “Anticipating LePage’s reorganization, schools move to take over preschoolers’ special ed,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writer Matthew Stone, please follow this link to the BDN online.
