Launched 1873
Many small towns in Maine do not operate local high schools, and some do not operate local elementary schools. Students in these towns are eligible for vouchers to attend public schools in other towns or non-religious private schools, even outside the state. The sending towns pay tuition directly to the receiving schools. Although most towns allow parents to choose which schools will receive their students, some towns send all their students to one school. In 2009, 176 towns let parents decide where to send their children, while 33 towns contracted with one school.
Latest Stats (2010)
- Students Participating: 5,091
- Schools Participating: 60
- Average Voucher Value: $8,798
Program Details
Program Type
Voucher
Scholarship/Voucher Value
Public schools in Maine have a “tuition rate” that sending towns must pay when their students are tuitioned at public schools. For private schools, the tuition rate for elementary students may not exceed the average per-pupil cost on a statewide basis. For secondary pupils, the tuition rate is Maine’s average per-pupil cost for secondary education in the previous year, plus what is known as the insured value factor, an additional payment intended to cover depreciation of private schools’ buildings. Parents may supplement this voucher with their own money. The values of these vouchers vary from county to county based on current per-student funding levels. Sending towns have the option of increasing the voucher to as high as 115 percent of the per-student funding, but may not reduce the voucher below that rate. Under Maine law for 2010–11, the maximum tuition rate for public elementary students attending elementary private school may not exceed $7,361, whereas the maximum tuition for secondary schools is $9,238.
Participation
In 2010-11, 5,091 students used vouchers at 60 different schools. Eighteen of those students were attending out-of-state private schools.
Student Eligibility
Students must live in Maine and reside in an identified sending town that does not have a public school at their grade level. In 2009, a total of 176 sending towns tuitioned either their elementary or secondary students.
Legal Developments
In 1981, the Maine legislature banned religious schools from participating in the Town Tuitioning Program that was first established in 1873. In 1999, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court upheld the exclusion of religious schools. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review. After the 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of vouchers in Cleveland, the Institute for Justice and Maine families again asked a Maine court to overturn the 1981 law, but the exclusion of religious options was upheld. Anderson v. Town of Durham, 895 A.2d 944 (Me. 2006)
Rules & Regulations
- Income Limit: None
- Geographic Limit: District (w/o Elem or HS)
- Enrollment Cap: None
- Voucher Cap: $7,361 (K-8) /$9,238 (9-12)
- Testing Mandates: Conditional-State
Governing Statutes
Free High School Act of 1873, Sinclair Act of 1957
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