MAINE

Maine addresses alternative and dropout prevention together in HB 1661. Under this bill, the state established a Dropout Prevention Committee to study the problem of habitual truancy, as well as to measure the magnitude of the dropout problem. The Dropout Prevention Committee was also tasked with submitting a plan of action inclusive of programmatic recommendations, such as alternative education programs, and identifying screening tools for the early identification of potential dropouts.

While HB 1661 sets the compulsory attendance age at 17,  the state permits 15-year-old students who have completed ninth grade to leave school upon receiving parental permission to participate in a work and study program, or a training program.  Maine also sets its state entitlement age for public education at 20.

Maine also set aside funds from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to fund a “research-based dropout prevention and reengagement initiative that utilizes digital environments to enable project-based learning, nontraditional instructional methods, cyber learning, and other methods aimed at engaging students who have dropped out or who are at-risk of dropping out” (SB 155).