126th MAINE LEGISLATURE
		LD 61		LR 704(01)
	An Act To Amend Standards for Participation in Certain Public School Services by Students Who Are Homeschooled
	Preliminary Fiscal Impact Statement for Original Bill
	Sponsor: Rep. Espling of New Gloucester
	Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
	Fiscal Note Required: Yes
Preliminary Fiscal Impact Statement
State Mandate - Exempted Potential future biennium cost increase - General Fund
State Mandates
	Required Activity				Unit Affected	Local Cost
	Requires school administrative units to provide special education services to homeschooled students in the same manner as provided to private school students.				School	Moderate statewide
	Pursuant to the Mandate Preamble, the two-thirds vote of all members elected to each House exempts the state from the constitutional requirement to fund 90% of the additional costs.
Fiscal Detail and Notes
	Additional costs to school administrative units (SAU's) to meet with parents of homeschooled students to determine what services the SAU can provide can not be determined at this time and will depend on the number of homeschooled students who need special education services and want those services to be provided by the SAU.  Since federal law requires that a portion of the federal special education funding that is allocated to each SAU be set aside for serving private school students, the additional cost of providing services to homeschooled students would be absorbed within each SAU's federal funding that has been set aside.  This may result in fewer services being provided to private school students.
	Allowing eligible students receiving homeschool instruction to receive state tuition subsidy for certain postsecondary courses may increase the total state and local cost of K-12 public education beginning in fiscal year 2013-14.  The amount can not be determined at this time and will depend on the number of homeschooled students that will want to take postsecondary courses.