Task Force to Review the Educational Program
and the Governance System of the
Governor Baxter School for the Deaf
Legislation
House Paper # 1587
WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf is a unique institution in Maine, a state-funded school for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, with a statewide obligation and role to help local schools educate deaf and hard-of-hearing children and a critical role in the deaf culture of the State; and
WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that, to take best advantage of its unique features, the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf needs a governance system and management powers that reflect the school's unique status; and
WHEREAS, the Committee to Review the Governance Structure of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf concluded that the current governance system of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf does not fit the school's need for effective and efficient governance; and
WHEREAS, both the Department of Education's review committee report regarding the compliance of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf with the basic school approval statutory requirements and the report of the Committee to Review the Governance Structure of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf found the school's employment of certified and qualified school personnel and provisions for the security and welfare of residential students to be deficient, and the department's review committee also concluded that significant deficits in the current educational program at the school, including the lack of a cohesive curriculum, instruction and assessment program, warranted the Commissioner of Education to change the status of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf from "approval" to "provisional approval" and further required the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf to file with the commissioner an acceptable written plan of action for addressing identified deficits, which includes addressing safety concerns at the facility; and
WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that it is necessary to review the efficiency and effectiveness of the educational program at the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf in the context of the range of alternative educational models and placements that are available to deliver appropriate educational programs and services that meet the unique educational needs of children and youth who are deaf and hard-of-hearing; and
WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that there is an urgent need for a task force to review the educational program and the governance system of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf to ensure that the school is meeting its statewide obligation and role of helping local schools educate deaf and hard-of-hearing children in an efficient and effective manner; now, therefore, be it
ORDERED, the Senate concurring, that the Task Force to Review the Educational Program and the Governance System of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf is established as follows.
1. Task force established. The Task Force to Review the Educational Program and the Governance System of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf, referred to in this order as the "task force," is established.
2. Task force membership. The task force consists of 14 members as follows.
A. The President of the Senate shall appoint 4 members from the Senate, including one member who serves on the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs, one member who serves on the Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services, one member who serves on the Joint
Standing Committee on Judiciary and one member who serves on the Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.
B. The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint 4 members from the House of Representatives, including one member who serves on the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs, one member who serves on the Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services, one member who serves on the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary and one member who serves on the Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.
C. The President of the Senate shall appoint 2 members from the Committee to Review the Governance Structure of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf who represent the deaf community.
D. The Speaker of the House shall appoint one member from the Committee to Review the Governance Structure of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf who represents an interested party other than a state agency or the deaf community.
E. The Commissioner of Education or the commissioner's designee must be a member of the task force.
F. The Commissioner of Administrative and Financial Services or the commissioner's designee must be a member of the task force.
G. One of the cochairs of the School Board of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf or the school board cochairs' designee must be a member of the task force.
3. Chairs. The first Senate member named is the Senate chair and the first House member named is the House chair.
4. Appointments; convening task force. All appointments must be made no later than 30 days following the effective date of this order. The appointing authorities shall notify the Executive Director of the Legislative Council upon making their appointments. When the appointment of all members is complete, the chairs of the task force shall call and convene the first meeting of the task force no later than July 15, 1999.
5. Duties. The task force shall review the educational program of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf to ensure that the school is meeting its statewide obligation and role in helping local schools educate deaf and hard-of-hearing children in an efficient and effective manner, and, if appropriate, the task force shall recommend a design for a new governance system for the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf and shall prepare a plan that will help the school develop the capacity to implement a system that is more efficient and effective than the current governance system. In conducting this review, the task force shall:
A. Request, as appropriate, the assistance of the Department of Education, the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, the Bureau of Parks and Lands within the Department of Conservation, the Department of the Attorney General, the School Board of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf, the College of Education within the University of Southern Maine and other appropriate state agencies and educational institutions;
B. Invite the participation of experts and interested parties;
C. Hire an impartial consultant to help the school, the Department of Education and other state agencies to redefine their roles and realign responsibilities; and
D. Review the efficiency and effectiveness of the educational program at the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf in the context of the range of alternative educational models and placements that are available in other states to deliver appropriate educational programs and services that meet the unique educational needs of children and youth who are deaf and hard-of-hearing and, if necessary:
(1) Redefine the basic structure of the governance system, including defining the respective roles and responsibilities of the school board, school administrators and state agencies;
(2) Identify the resources needed for the school board to develop the capacity to perform functions that the school would take over from state agencies, such as personnel and budget management functions. If the School Board of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf is to bargain directly with employee unions and is to address employee relations issues such as grievance proceedings, the school must build the capacity to undertake these functions as well. This may involve securing additional staff for the school to strengthen its personnel management capacity;
(3) Develop a plan to address the findings and recommendations from the Department of Education's basic school approval review conducted in December 1998, conduct any other necessary reviews, such as a comprehensive review of safety, security and welfare of students in the residential program at the school, and develop a plan to address the results of those reviews;
(4) Consult with Governor Baxter School for the Deaf employees and their representatives so that their interests can be taken into account in designing a new governance system. Employees have an interest in the potential for changes in salary, benefits and working conditions. The task force shall take into account existing employee rights under union contracts or state law that may affect the timing or scope of change that may occur at the school;
(5) Develop strategies for properly balancing the protection of and public access to the natural resources of the island with the need for managing the state-owned facilities under the provisions of the deed from Governor Baxter granting Mackworth Island to the State. The strategies must address what role, if any, state agencies play in managing school property and Mackworth Island, what improvements are needed in the school's physical plant and who should make those improvements and whether a state agency should continue to be involved in managing the island or only in overseeing the school's compliance with the deed; and
(6) Establish benchmarks to measure the school's progress toward a more efficient and effective governance system and require that the consultant, the school and the Department of Education make progress reports to interested parties, including the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs.
6. Staff assistance; interpreter services; consultant. The task force may request staffing assistance from the Legislative Council. The task force, with the approval of the Legislative Council, may contract with interpreter services to provide appropriate interpreting services for the deaf and hard-of-hearing and shall contract with a consultant to provide professional services for reviewing and analyzing the status of the governance system of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf.
7. Expenses. Legislative members of the task force are entitled to receive the legislative per diem and reimbursement of necessary expenses for their attendance at authorized meetings of the task force. Public members not otherwise compensated by their employers or other entities whom they represent are entitled to receive reimbursement of necessary expenses and a per diem equal to the legislative per diem for their attendance at authorized meetings of the task force.
8. Report. No later than December 3, 1999, the task force shall submit a report that includes its findings together with any recommendations for legislation to the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs or for supplemental budget appropriations to the Joint Standing Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs. The Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs is authorized to report out legislation during the Second Regular Session of the 119th Legislature concerning the findings and recommendations of the task force. If the task force requires an extension of the reporting deadline, it may apply to the Legislative Council, which may grant the extension.
9. Task force budget. The chairs of the task force, with assistance from the task force staff, shall administer the task force's budget. Within 10 days after its first meeting, the task force shall present a work plan and proposed budget to the Legislative Council for its approval. The task force may not incur expenses that would result in the task force exceeding its approved budget.
Upon request from the task force, the Executive Director of the Legislative Council or the Executive Director's designee shall provide the chairs and staff with a status report on the task force budget, expenditures incurred and paid and available funds.
IN HOUSE -- May 19, 1999
SPONSORED BY: Representative BRENNAN of Portland
LEAD CO-SPONSOR: Senator BERUBE
CO-SPONSORED BY: Members, Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs