Maine requires that schools develop a written plan, known as a school work recognition plan, that outlines how a student who is experiencing, or who has experienced, an education disruption will make and demonstrate progress toward achievement of learning results. Educational disruptions include, but are not limited to, placement in correctional facilities.
When a juvenile is released from a correctional facility, the Department of Corrections must notify the superintendent of the school to which the juvenile is seeking admission of the availability of information related to the juvenile. Within ten days of receiving this notice, the superintendent must convene a reintegration team to carry out reintegration planning.
The purpose of the Maine Department of Education diploma is to provide students residing in Maine, who have experienced an “education disruption” and are unable to meet the graduation requirements of the local school unit, with an opportunity to seek a Maine Department of Education diploma. Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. Tit. 20-A, § 257-A (2014). This diploma can be issued to students whose education was disrupted by homelessness, unplanned psychiatric hospitalization, unplanned hospitalization for a medical emergency, foster care placement, or youth development center placement.
