BILL TO LEVEL PLAYING FIELD FOR LOW-INCOME STUDENTS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS ADVANCES

AUGUSTA—A bill aimed at leveling the playing field for low-income students in public schools was given the green light earlier today with a vote of nine to one by a panel of legislative leaders.

“An Act to Improve Educational Outcomes for Students in Poverty in Maine’s Public Schools,” (LR 2486) seeks to align the way Maine disburses certain federal education dollars with its intended purpose: improving the academic achievement of disadvantaged youth.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, Title 1 funding is to be granted to “school districts to improve educational programs in schools with high concentrations of students from low income families.” Currently, Maine’s Department of Education allows the state to offset Title 1 funds from the state’s contribution to a school district’s funding. 65% of Maine’s public schools receive Title 1 funding.

“By boosting funding to districts that receive Title 1 dollars, we will give the neediest schools an opportunity to offer the kind of programs that are proven to help students–like after school and tutoring programs, extended day programs and family engagement programs,” said Senator Gratwick, a Democrat from Bangor. “We need to give all students a chance to succeed, not just those who come from wealthy zip codes.”

Maine is the only state in the country that allows the state to take away state funding from poorer districts simply because those districts are receiving federal dollars. Because of the offset, these Maine schools are losing over $40 million in state funding.

According to KIDSCOUNT, 45 percent of school children in Maine are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. There are 17 schools in Maine where 80 percent or more of the students are eligible for free or reduced-priced lunch. Also, according to the KIDSCOUNT report, more than 1 in 5 children live in poverty, and that number has been steadily increasing. The poverty guideline for families and households with three people is $19,530 in annual income or $23,550 for a family of four.

For the second regular session of the legislature, bills must be approved by the Legislative Council, a committee comprised of the ten legislative leaders. The Legislative Council met today to consider more than 400 bills for the second regular session, including Senator Gratwick’s bill “An Act To Improve Educational Outcomes for Students in Poverty in Maine’s Public Schools.”

The full legislature will reconvene in January 2014.

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