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An Act To Regionalize Supervision of Students in the Unorganized Territory
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA c. 119, sub-c. 6  is enacted to read:
SUBCHAPTER 6
Regional Administration
§ 3501.  Regionalization
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the commissioner shall, by rules adopted in accordance with this subchapter, establish 4 administrative districts to manage and administer schools within the unorganized territory.
 
1.  Districts.     The 4 districts must be established by rules adopted by the commissioner and include a western district, a central district, an eastern district and a northern district. The commissioner shall work with county and local officials in developing the jurisdictional lines of the 4 districts.
 
2.  Administrative structure.     The commissioner by rule shall establish the administrative structure within each district and the manner of appointing or electing and the terms of superintendents for each district.
 
3.  Authority.     Once appropriate districts have been established and district superintendents elected or appointed, each superintendent may, in accordance with rules adopted by the commissioner, exercise all administrative responsibilities and authority of the commissioner under this chapter with respect to students within that superintendent’s respective district and may hire such personnel as necessary to carry out these administrative responsibilities.
 
4.  Rules.     Rules adopted under this section are major substantive rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 2. Report. By January 1, 2008, the Commissioner of Education shall provisionally adopt and submit to the Legislature rules in accordance with the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 3501. The commissioner shall also submit to the Joint Standing Committee on Education, at the same time it submits the provisionally adopted rules, draft legislation that amends current law as necessary to facilitate and conform to the unorganized territory school district system established by the rules. The Joint Standing Committee on Education may submit a bill related to the unorganized territory school district system to the Second Regular Session of the 123rd Legislature.
 
SUMMARY
This bill establishes a 4-district school administrative system for the unorganized territory. The bill requires the Commissioner of Education to develop rules to transfer state management of the school systems in the unorganized territory to these 4 districts. The commissioner is required to submit to the Second Regular Session of the 123rd Legislature provisionally adopted rules and proposed legislation necessary to accomplish this transfer of responsibility. The Joint Standing Committee on Education is authorized to report out a bill related to the unorganized territory school district system to the Second Regular Session of the 123rd Legislature.