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Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the summary and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §5021-A, first ¶, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 456, §1, is amended to read:
A school administrative unit shall conform to the following standards in making public school resources and services available to a student enrolled in an equivalent instruction program. For the purposes of this section, "student enrolled in an equivalent instruction program" means a student otherwise eligible to attend school in that school administrative unit, including a student who resides in the unorganized territory, when the student is enrolled in an equivalent instruction program in a private school that is recognized as an equivalent instruction alternative under section 5001-A, subsection 3, paragraph A, subparagraph (1), division (a) or (b) and that is not a member of an association that promotes, organizes or regulates statewide interscholastic activities in both public and private schools.
Sec. 2. 20-A MRSA §5021-A, sub-§1, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 456, §1, is amended to read:
 
A. The student or the student's parent or guardian, on behalf of the student, applies in writing to and receives written approval from the principal of the school or the principal's designee. The principal or the principal's designee may withhold approval only if the school does not have the capacity to provide the student with the opportunity to participate in the cocurricular activity. If approval is withheld, the principal or the principal's designee must provide a written explanation to the student or the student's parent or guardian stating the reason or reasons for the decision to withhold approval.
Sec. 3.  20-A MRSA §5021-A, sub-§1, ¶C  is enacted to read:
 
C.  The private school the student attends does not provide the same cocurricular activity.
Sec. 4. 20-A MRSA §5021-A, sub-§2, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 456, §1, is amended to read:
 
A. The student applies for and receives written approval from the principal of the school or the principal's designee, who may withhold such approval only if the school does not have the capacity to provide the student with the opportunity to participate in the extracurricular or interscholastic activity. If approval is withheld, the principal or the principal's designee must provide a written explanation to the student or the student's parent or guardian stating the reason or reasons for the decision to withhold approval.
Sec. 5.  20-A MRSA §5021-A, sub-§2, ¶F  is enacted to read:
 
F. The private school the student attends does not provide the same extracurricular or interscholastic activity.’
 
SUMMARY
This amendment strikes and replaces the bill.
The amendment limits public school resources and services available to students enrolled in private schools to only those students enrolled in certain private schools recognized by the Department of Education as providing equivalent instruction.
The amendment provides that the principal of a public school may deny the request of a student enrolled in an equivalent instruction program to participate in a cocurricular, extracurricular or interscholastic activity only if the school does not have the capacity to provide the student with the opportunity to participate in the activity. If approval for participation is withheld by the principal, the principal must provide a written explanation to the student or the student's parent or guardian stating the reason or reasons for the decision.
The amendment provides that a student enrolled in an equivalent instruction program is not eligible to participate in a cocurricular, interscholastic or extracurricular activity at a public school if the private school the student attends already provides that same activity.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)