More Charter Schools Could Soon Open Their Doors in Maine Under Republican-Led Bill

Maine may gradually increase its current limit on charter schools if lawmakers pass a Republican-led bill introduced in late January.

Several Republican lawmakers have proposed a bill that would increase the state’s limit on charter schools by one every time that it is reached, allowing for a continually greater number of these schools to operate simultaneously in Maine.

Charter schools are independently run public schools that are free of charge for students to attend. Sometimes, these institutions may have a specific educational focus, — such as technology, the arts, or ecology — while others maintain a more traditional academic scope.

Maine currently has seven in-person charter schools throughout the state and two virtual charter schools, placing the state one charter school away from the current limit.

Although the vast majority of the country now allow charter schools within their borders, five states — including North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kentucky, and Vermont — still do not.

Maine was one of the final states in the country to allow for charter schools, becoming the 41st state to do so in 2011.

The state’s first charter schools opened their doors for the 2012-13 academic year.

At that time, the Legislature established a ten-year transition period in which only ten charter schools could be authorized by anyone other than local school boards.

Lawmakers extended this limit indefinitely, however, in 2019 and expanded it to include charter schools approved by any authorizer, including local school boards.

Rep. Michael Brennan (D-Portland) — the sponsor of the current law that set this limit — testified at the time that “for a number of reasons” he felt that “the further expansion of charter schools in Maine is not warranted.”

Supporting the indefinite cap were Maine School Boards Association, Maine School Superintendents Association, and the Maine Education Association.

In testimony presented to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs, these organizations argued that instituting a permanent cap would help to increase the quality of charter schools by imposing a sense of scarcity on the state’s Charter School Commission.

According to their argument, limiting the number of charter schools would force authorizers to think more carefully about which schools were initially given the green light, as well as which ones were allowed to continue operating.

Although a widespread pratice, capping charter schools is not a universal policy. As of 2020, there was roughly a 3:2 ratio of states without a limit to those with one.

While 28 states did not have any policies restricting the number of charter schools allowed to operate or be authorized, 18 states had a cap of some sort in place. The exact nature of these limitations, however, varied from state to state.

LD 282 — the bill to incrementally raise Maine’s charter school cap — was sponsored by Rep. Gary A. Drinkwater (R-Milford) and cosponsored by Sen. Dick Bradstreet (R-Kennebec), Rep. Alicia Collins (R-Sidney), and Rep. Tracy L. Quint (R-Hodgdon).

At some point in the coming weeks and months, this bill will be up for a public hearing before the Legislature’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee where Mainers will have the opportunity to make their voices heard through testimony, whether that be in-person, virtually, or in writing.

Click Here for More Information on LD 282