It was a long time coming for several education measures adopted during Maine’s legislative session that ended this week.

Among them were: The first reform of the state’s school funding formula in two decades; legislation about school construction originating with a 2024 commission; and the codification of free community college tuition, which has been funded year-to-year since 2022.

Between Gov. Janet Mills’ supplemental budget and a slate of school-related bills, the Legislature took action on some of the biggest issues in Maine education, although several of the most significant changes won’t take effect for years.

Here is an overview of the education-related legislation that advanced this session:

MAJOR FUNDING REFORMS

Lawmakers this week approved the first major overhaul of the state’s school funding formula since it was created in 2005. The new formula — which will integrate local poverty rates into the calculation of state subsidies — will result in higher funding for 247 of the state’s 262 school districts starting in 2027. For those that will get less, changes won’t take effect until 2031 and will be introduced gradually.

The Legislature approved funding to raise the minimum teacher salary from $40,000, where it has been stuck since 2022, to $50,000.

During the last legislative session, lawmakers passed a bill to raise the minimum salary, but it sat unfunded. Mills included money in her supplemental budget to cover incremental raises up to $50,000 between 2026 to 2028.

And a late bill to change some parts of how the state funds school construction projects — born out of the recommendations of a Governor’s commission — passed both chambers (79-68 in the House,  20-12 in the Senate), although it’s still waiting on the appropriations table to be funded.

That bill has a $100 million total price tag, although that amount would be spread over several years and come in part from existing revenue sources, including general fund surplus.

POLICY CHANGES

Lawmakers passed a bill that will require public school applicants to disclose any investigations they were subject to under previous employers. Advocates said it would close a loophole that allows school employees to move to another district without any record of a conduct investigation if they quit before its conclusion.

The law requires schools to complete conduct investigations, even if the employee being investigated quits. It will also prevent school employees and districts from entering into non-disclosure agreements regarding an investigation, if that investigation concluded that the person committed misconduct. Mills signed the bill into law Wednesday, and because it was emergency legislation, it takes effect immediately.

Another bill that became law earlier this month ended the state’s longstanding practice of providing tuition money to out-of-state schools for Maine students who live in a community without a public high school.

Maine and Vermont were the only states organized that way, and Vermont passed legislation this year to end the practice as well. This year, just two Maine students currently attend an out-of-state school with publicly funded tuition.

The Department of Education asked for the change this year, and said the goal was to keep taxpayer money in state, and to save time reviewing applications from out-of-state schools. The law grandfathers students currently at out-of-state schools, allowing them to finish out their education.

Senate President Mattie Daughtry also celebrated the inclusion of her bill to expand universal free school meals to public pre-K programs located off site of public schools, called the APPLE Act, in the supplemental budget.

“Investing in our child care programs is how we support the workforce behind the workforce and make sure the next generation can build their future right here at home,” Daughtry said.

MILLS’ BUDGET INCLUDES PERMANENT FREE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, PHONE BAN

Several major education initiatives became law through the governor’s supplemental budget.

One such item was Mills’ signature free community college tuition program, which the Legislature declined to make permanent last year. The governor even signed the budget into law last Friday at Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor, a sign of her important the provision was to her. System leaders called it a “once-in-a generation moment for Maine’s higher education landscape.”

Her budget also included $5.9 million to install safety enhancements — including anti-pinch door sensors or crossing arms — on school buses, following the deaths of two Maine children killed by school busses in late 2025.

It also had language creating a statewide bell-to-bell cellphone ban in schools, which will require districts to restrict student access to personal electronic devices from the start of the school day to the end. Last year, the Legislature considered but ultimately scaled back a similar initiative.

Mills’ budget includes $350,000 to support schools in adopting phone bans.

The statewide advocacy group Turn the Tide Coalition celebrated the new law and released a resource guide for districts, which will have to adopt policies by August 1.