Education

This bill establishes Maine's Hope and Inclusion Scholarship Program, providing state-funded scholarships for students attending approved private schools or receiving home instruction under state education law. It creates "hope accounts" managed by a state board to cover qualifying education expenses (like tuition or materials) for eligible students who are Maine residents under 21 and not primarily enrolled in public schools. The program requires parents to apply for accounts, with funds renewed annually if students meet residency, age, and educational enrollment criteria. The Hope and Inclusion Scholarship Board, composed of state officials and community members, administers the program per the bill's provisions.

LD 512 allows students in Maine secondary schools with 200 or fewer students to enroll in another school district. Parents must notify their home district by April 1st and provide the receiving school's acceptance letter by May 1st. The receiving district bills the home district for tuition based on the state's per-student funding rate, capped at the maximum allowable tuition. This change enables small-school students to access broader educational options within Maine's public school system.

This bill (LD 98) expands Maine's Educators for Maine Program to include school counselors as eligible participants. It amends key definitions in state law to explicitly cover school counselors in the program's eligibility criteria for financial assistance and loan repayment. Specifically, the bill adds school counselors to the list of professions (alongside teachers, speech pathologists, and child care providers) that qualify for postbaccalaureate certification support and loan repayment in underserved areas. The change affects school counselors pursuing certification who work in qualifying schools, allowing them to access the same financial benefits as other eligible educators. The program remains unchanged in structure - it simply broadens the professions covered under existing provisions.