APPROVED CHAPTER
JUNE 18, 2025 362
BY GOVERNOR PUBLIC LAW
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
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H.P. 64 - L.D. 99
An Act to Clarify Information Sharing Between the Department of Health
and Human Services and Schools with Respect to Investigations of Child
Abuse or Neglect
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §6101, sub-§3, as amended by PL 1987, c. 620, §2, is amended
by enacting at the end a new last blocked paragraph to read:
Records of complaints, charges of misconduct, investigations and disciplinary actions may
be provided by the commissioner or the commissioner's designee to the Department of
Health and Human Services when an investigation of child abuse or neglect in accordance
with Title 22, section 4099-N, subsection 3 is in process.
Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §4099-N, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 2023, c. 248, §4, is amended
to read:
3. School personnel. The investigation team may investigate an individual who is
licensed or certified, who has applied for licensure or certification or who is subject to
licensure or certification by the Department of Education and employed by a school
organized under Title 20‑A, Part 2.
Sec. 3. 22 MRSA §4099-O, sub-§6 is enacted to read:
6. Disclosure to schools. The investigation team may notify the superintendent of a
school administrative unit, the chief administrator of a public school not in a school
administrative unit or the chief administrator of a private school when there is an indicated
or substantiated finding of out-of-home abuse or neglect against an employee of that school
administrative unit, public school not in a school administrative unit or private school. For
the purposes of this subsection, "school administrative unit" has the same meaning as in
Title 20-A, section 1, subsection 26.
Sec. 4. 22 MRSA §7703, sub-§3, ¶D, as enacted by PL 1983, c. 691, §2, is
amended to read:
D. A person having the legal responsibility or authorization to educate, care for,
evaluate, treat or supervise a client or recipient of services of the facility. This shall
Page 1 - 132LR0179(03)
 include A person under this paragraph includes a member of a treatment team or group
convened to plan for or treat a person named in a record, provided that as long as the
identity of any reference, complainant, reporter of suspected abuse or neglect or other
person is protected, when appropriate. A person under this paragraph includes the
superintendent of a school administrative unit, the chief administrator of a public
school not in a school administrative unit or the chief administrator of a private school;
Sec. 5. 22 MRSA §7703, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 1983, c. 691, §2, is amended to
read:
5. Dissemination of confidential information. Information released pursuant to
subsections 3 and 4 shall must be used solely for the purpose for which it was provided and
shall may not be further disseminated, except as provided in subsection 5-A.
Sec. 6. 22 MRSA §7703, sub-§5-A is enacted to read:
5-A. Dissemination by Department of Education. Reports of suspected child abuse
or neglect released in accordance with subsection 4, paragraph G may be disseminated by
the Department of Education to the superintendent of a school administrative unit, the chief
administrator of a public school not in a school administrative unit or the chief
administrator of a private school when neither the department nor the Department of
Education is investigating the reports of suspected child abuse or neglect released in
accordance with subsection 4, paragraph G or the school administrative unit, public school
or private school is determined by the department to be unaware of the information, as long
as the identity of or any reference to the complainant or reporter of suspected child abuse
or neglect is protected.
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Statutes affected:
Bill Text ACTPUB , Chapter 362: 20-A.6101, 22.4099, 22.7703