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Amend the bill by striking out all of the emergency preamble (page 1, lines 1 to 18 in L.D.)
Amend the bill by inserting after section 4 the following:
‘Sec. 5.  20-A MRSA §8301-A, sub-§1-A  is enacted to read:
 
1-A.  Articulation agreement.     "Articulation agreement" means an agreement between a center or region and a postsecondary institution that:
 
A.  Sets forth a nonduplicative learning pathway for a specific program by which students have an opportunity to acquire a technical skill proficiency, a credential, a certificate or a degree; and
 
B. Includes a credit transfer agreement between the 2 institutions.’
Amend the bill in section 9 in §8306-B by striking out all of subsections 4 and 5 (page 4, lines 19 to 25 in L.D.) and inserting the following:
 
‘4.  Learning pathways and articulation agreements with postsecondary institutions.     To the greatest extent possible, a career and technical education program offered at a center or region must provide students the opportunity to take advantage of any applicable learning pathways, including learning pathways set forth in an articulation agreement with a postsecondary institution.
 
5.  Application.    A statewide career and technical education program seeking approval from the commissioner after the effective date of this section must meet the requirements of this section. A program approved by the commissioner prior to the effective date of this section must certify to the commissioner not later than July 1, 2013 that the program meets industry standards.’
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 10 and 11.
Amend the bill in section 12 in §8401 in subsection 1 in the 2nd line (page 4, line 34 in L.D.) by inserting after the following: "units" the following: 'and must serve its affiliated units'
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 23.
Amend the bill by striking out all of the emergency clause.
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section number to read consecutively.
 
SUMMARY
This amendment does the following:
1. It removes the emergency preamble and emergency clause;
2. It defines "articulation agreement" in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, chapter 313. The definition is based on federal regulations under the federal Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006, Public Law 109-270;
3. It requires career and technical education programs to provide learning pathways, including those set forth in articulation agreements with postsecondary institutions, and provides that an existing approved career and technical education program does not need to go through the entire approval process again, but only needs to certify to the Commissioner of Education that the program, as adopted, is designed to enable a student to meet industry standards. It also changes the effective date of this requirement from July 1, 2012 to July 1, 2013;
4. It reinstates the local approval requirement for reorganization of career and technical education centers or regions;
5. It clarifies that a career and technical education center is not only operated in certain municipalities but must serve its affiliated units; and
6. It strikes a provision relating to the late payments of assessments by member units of a career and technical education region.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)