LIVERMORE FALLS – SAD 36 directors voted Thursday to approve the first reading of a promotion and retention policy that would require seventh- and eighth-grade students to earn credits to move to the next grade.

The policy now goes to a legal review before it comes back to the board for a second reading followed by a third reading and then possible adoption.

The board approved a request by middle school Principal Ted Finn to create the policy for the middle school in June. It would award credits to students who successfully completed their academic program and retain them in their current grade level if they failed to gain those credits.

The proposal would require students in the seventh and eighth grades to earn one credit for successfully completing core courses of language arts, math, science, social studies and reading. Students would also need to earn a half-credit each for successfully completing unified arts courses of physical education, health and art.

In order for seventh-graders to be promoted to the eighth grade, they must earn 6.5 credits and eighth-graders would need to earn 6.5 credits to move to the ninth grade.

If students do not earn all the credits required for promotion, they must successfully complete a summer school program in the respective area or areas. If they do not successfully compete the summer school program, they will be retained in their current grade level.

The policy, if it is approved, would take effect for students in grade eight during the 2007-2008 school year. It would take effect for students in seventh and eighth grades beginning in 2008-09.

After the board meeting, Finn said he had 22 waivers from parents of students in grades six through eight requesting their students move to the next grade level regardless of Finn’s strong recommendations of them attending summer school or retention.

Currently, summer school is not mandated, Finn said.

During the board meeting, directors voted to reinstitute the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program in the fifth grade at the Livermore Elementary School. Livermore Falls officer Eric Bernier, who is a part-time officer in Livermore Falls and a full-time Dixfield police officer, will teach the class.

Superintendent Terry Despres also informed the board that the state has approved the Jay and SAD 36 school boards’ letters of intent to gather information on forming Regional School Unit 40, a partnership of the towns of Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls.

Now the boards may move forward with establishing a regional planning committee with one representative elected from each town’s select board, a school board member from each town and a resident at large from each town. Livermore Selectperson John Wakefield has already been elected by that town’s municipal board to serve on the planning committee.

Advisory subcommittees for six areas: finance, governance, transportation, curriculum, co-curricular and extra curricular, and buildings and grounds are being formed and will make recommendations to the regional planning committee.

The next step is to develop a plan to present to Maine Department of Education by Dec. 1, and if it is approved there, it would move forward to a referendum vote in each town.

Despres said there are about 19 initiatives pertaining to the state reorganization law passed this spring that will either need to be considered by the Legislature or reviewed by the Maine attorney general.

Despres said in his opinion, the law is going to stand because it is embedded in the state budget.