Millett lauds Senate passage of education bill to protect Maine kids

AUGUSTA—On Thursday, the Maine Senate unanimously voted to enact legislation regarding the sharing of information between schools and the Department of Education. As amended, LD 1924, “An Act To Improve Information Sharing Relating to Investigations of Educators,” requires that both schools and the Department notify each other of a personnel investigation within 15 business days of the start of the investigation.

“With the tragic deaths of two Maine children, Kendall Chick and Marissa Kennedy, it’s paramount that we take action to better protect Maine children from abusive individuals and predators,” said Sen. Rebecca Millett, D-Cape Elizabeth, the lead Senate Democrat on the Legislature’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee. “This new law will ensure that both our schools and our Education Department are operating with the same information and can effectively keep our kids safe.”

Earlier this year, Sen. Millett introduced LD 1286, “An Act To Facilitate Compliance by School Employees with Criminal History Record Check and Fingerprinting Requirements,” to ensure all school employees are up-to-date on their background checks and fingerprinting requirements in accordance to state law. The bill earned broad, bipartisan support in both the Senate and House before being signed into law by Gov. LePage at the end of June.

LD 1924 will now head to the governor’s office awaiting his signature. Gov. LePage has 10 days to sign the bill, veto it, or allow it to take effect without his signature.

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