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ME LD2098

ME LD2098
An Act to Update Certain Higher Education Statutes


summary

Introduced
01/07/2026
In Committee
01/07/2026
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead

Introduced Session

132nd Legislature

Bill Summary

This bill repeals certain statutes related to correspondence schools and updates application requirements for degree-granting educational institutions. The bill requires a degree-granting educational institution to pay an application fee for the initial application that reflects the costs to the Department of Education for processing the application, as determined by the Commissioner of Education, and clarifies that temporary approval to use the name "community college," "college" or "university" may not be used as a basis for a recommendation by the State Board of Education for permanent degree-granting authority. The bill also allows the state board to recommend an educational institution to the Legislature for degree-granting authority without additional review if the state board has approved or renewed approval for the institution to offer academic programs in the State within 5 years of the institution’s application for degree-granting authority and the institution has applied for degree-granting authority only for degrees for which the institution offers academic programs approved by the state board. The bill requires the state board to provide any reports resulting from completed state board reviews of the applicant educational institution to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education matters upon recommending the institution for degree-granting authority.

AI Summary

This bill repeals outdated statutes concerning correspondence schools and updates the application process for institutions seeking to grant degrees in Maine. It requires educational institutions to pay an application fee that covers the Department of Education's processing costs, as determined by the Commissioner of Education. The bill clarifies that temporary permission to use names like "community college," "college," or "university" cannot be used as a basis for permanent degree-granting authority. Additionally, it allows the State Board of Education to recommend an institution for degree-granting authority without further review if the institution's academic programs have been approved within the last five years and the application is for degrees already covered by those approved programs. Finally, the bill mandates that the State Board of Education must provide any review reports for an applicant institution to the legislative committee overseeing education when recommending the institution for degree-granting authority.

Committee Categories

Education

Sponsors (1)

Last Action

Voted: Divided Report (on 02/25/2026)

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