With concerns raised this past year about racist behavior and bullying at schools in Maine, a quartet of bills is moving forward in the Maine Legislature to help schools better address issues of discrimination, harassment, diversity and inclusion. One of the bills would ensure that not only public schools but also private schools address those issues. Although that bill was strongly opposed by private schools, it was supported by a majority of the legislature's Education and Cultural Affairs Committee. The bill was prompted by allegations of racist behavior and bullying last year at Washington Academy (WA), a private high school in East Machias. All four bills received committee support last week and are headed to votes in the House and Senate.
      The bill to ensure private schools meet the same requirements as public schools, sponsored by Rep. Rebecca Millett of South Portland, was favored by the committee in an 8 to 5 vote. It would require that schools that enroll 60% or more publicly funded students must meet health and safety requirements applicable to public schools; participate in statewide assessment programs; have a curriculum aligned with the state's learning results; and accept any student from a sending school unit. The private schools like WA that enroll at least 60% publicly funded students are referred to as 60/40 schools.
      At WA, a petition for change to address racism and bullying was started last year by a WA student of Hispanic ethnicity, Natalia Kempthorne. Her mother, Esther, a naturalized immigrant from Mexico, was a Spanish teacher at the school for five years before resigning, following a number of racist incidents that culminated with the finding of a noose in her classroom.
      In her testimony to the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee on Rep. Millett's bill on May 13, Esther Kempthorne related how her daughter had reported racist behavior and bullying at WA and stated that 60/40 schools like WA "are not held to the same standards as public schools." She was not able to speak to the WA board of trustees about the issues at the schools, the family "lost all of our savings" in order to hire an attorney and ended up having to leave the state. "We felt really alone," she told the committee.
      Breaking up with emotion at times, her husband Nathan also related how their daughters "reported extensive racial discrimination at the school" but received little response. He said the Department of Education told them there was nothing they could to, the Maine Attorney General "blew us off for 159 days," and law enforcement agencies also did not take any action. He said that WA "could hide behind their private school status," even though taxpayers provide 60% of the funding for such schools. "We lost everything in your state," he told the committee, "and we left for our own safety. Our children are completely traumatized. All we're asking for is for the first time in 227 years you hold taxpayer-funded schools to the same standards" as public schools. "It should not take this long to get an answer," he said. "There needs to be more accountability."
      Don Sprangers of East Machias, a retired science teacher who served at WA for 28 years, testified in support of the bill, noting that when "it comes to the safety of children, all schools should be held to the same standards of providing safe and healthy environments." He wrote that he once witnessed a dormitory parent/teacher give a walking tour to a group of new international students and instruct them on what parts of town they should avoid, including the public Mill Park, because it was not safe. "Someone painted 'Go Home' on a garage in the park. 'Go Home' was allowed to remain for many weeks before it was removed. This speaks to the challenges of racism present in our community."
      Sprangers also testified that teachers at both public and private schools should be held to the same standards for state teacher certification. Of a past incident at WA, he noted, "When state subsidy funds were threatened to be held due to improper teacher certifications, it very quickly became an issue for the 17 teachers who had no teaching certificate or who were teaching outside of their certified area of expertise."
      Also testifying in support of the bill were representatives from the Maine Department of Education, the Maine Principals' Association and Maine School Management Association (MSMA). Eileen King, deputy executive director of MSMA, stated, "The town academies, which are the private schools that enroll 60% or more of publicly funded students because their home district has no public high school, don't have to live by the same rules as public schools in some fairly significant ways. We believe that since they are receiving public funds in the form of tuition from school districts, the same rules should apply. Our understanding is that the actual percentage of students attending through public tuition is in the 89?90% range." She noted that private schools do not take all students, in particular those with special needs or behavioral concerns. Also, they are not required to take a state assessment or report attendance and graduation rates, so that sending districts can know the impact their public funds are having upon the education of their students. "It's time to even the playing field," she said.
      However, a number of the town academies in the state testified in opposition to the bill. Chris McDonald, head of school at Maine Central Institute, stated, "We value every learner, every culture. We support all of our students no matter how they learn." He argued that the bill is destructive and would not allow private schools to be flexible and innovative.
      Dan Walker, an attorney with Preti Flaherty representing the Maine Association of Independent Schools, said serious cases of discrimination complaints can be handled by the Maine Human Rights Commission. He said that the state already requires the private schools to meet the state's learning results and to test students and that public schools are not even required to accept all students. Walker maintained that private schools "do take nearly all students," do administer school assessment tests and report to the Department of Education. "They are held to the same standards as public schools."
      Committee members, though, responded by noting that public schools do accept all students or make accommodation off-site. And under questioning Walker admitted that there are situations in which private schools may not accept a student.
      Timothy Seeley, head of school at George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill, said the bill would "fundamentally change the nature of town academies. It would turn us into public schools, except for our funding models." And Mel MacKay, head of school at John Bapst Memorial High School in Bangor, said the bill would "bring sweeping changes to the schools," with "a one-size fits all approach."
      Judson McBrine, head of school at Washington Academy, also submitted testimony in opposition to the bill, noting the work that the school has done during the past year to ensure equity, inclusion and diversity at the school.

Bills address discrimination, bullying and inclusion
      The three other bills would apply to K-12 education throughout the state. One would create an office of education ombudsman and establish a commission to study the creation of a reporting and response system to assist public schools in addressing incidents of discrimination and harassment. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Traci Gere of Kennebunkport, was amended in committee to create a task force to study establishing the office of education ombudsman, which would report back to the committee by January 15. The committee voted 8-5 for the amended bill in a party-line vote.
      The bill was supported by the Maine Education Association (MEA), with John Kosinski, the MEA government relations director, stating, "We know our schools must do a better job of meeting the needs of all students and rooting out implicit bias and other ways schools may unintentionally disadvantage students of color." The MEA also supports a reporting system, which would help schools better understand the extent of the problem.
      Opposed to the bill was the Maine School Management Association, which was concerned about the "top-down" approach and noted that local school board members respond to the concerns of their communities. Also, the Maine School Boards Association and the Maine School Superintendents Association have developed the Cultural Competence Institute to allow school board members and superintendents to meet regularly to speak about creating a culture of inclusion for students and staff.
      Another bill, sponsored by Senator Mattie Daughtry of Brunswick, would prohibit the bullying of school employees in the workplace. While the MEA testified in support of the bill, the Maine School Boards Association and Maine School Superintendents Association were opposed, fearing that it would create "a burdensome mandate" on schools. The Maine Principals' Association was neither for nor against the bill, noting that harassment policies in school districts already protect educators. The bill was amended in committee to require that school boards implement policies to address the negative impacts of bullying and cyberbullying of school employees. In another party-line vote, the committee voted 8 to 5 for the amended bill.
      A fourth bill, which would direct the Department of Education to implement diversity, equity and inclusion training for educators, is also sponsored by Senator Daughtry. The Maine School Boards Association and Maine School Superintendents Association did support the intent of that bill, and the Maine Education Association also testified in support. The MEA noted that trainings it offers on racial equity attract those who are already aware of the need to address the issue. Those who aren't aware of the issues don't attend, so requiring the training of all certified educations "would go a long way towards building the type of school climate our students deserve in all of our schools across the state," MEA President Grace Leavitt stated.
      The committee voted 12 to 1 for an amended version of the bill.