Maine’s teacher hiring standards could become much stricter if a bipartisan bill aimed at protecting children, currently under consideration in the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs, passes into law.
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“My goal with this legislation is to ensure the protections that should already be in place are clear, enforceable, and truly make sure children and young people are safe in our schools. It also adds protections,” said bill sponsor Sen. Margaret Rotundo (D-Androscoggin).
“The status quo is not acceptable. We are failing our children and educators,” she added.
Rotundo put forward LD 2192 with six Democratic co-sponsors and two Republican Reps. Matthew McIntyre (R-Lowell) and Nathan Carlow (R-Buxton).
The bill imposes much stricter school hiring standards meant to prevent predators from becoming teachers.
Under the bill, applicants would be required to disclose any current or past investigations they have faced involving drugs, alcohol, sexual misconduct of any kind, or other forms of misconduct, even if the investigation determined that the allegations were false.
This provision, while it may increase protections for children, could, in its current form, harm people who have been falsely accused by requiring them to inform a potential employer of even an investigation that determined they committed no misconduct.
The bill requires schools to verify the employment history listed by applicants.
Schools would need to notify the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) if an employee resigned while under investigation, require schools to complete investigations that they begin, and force them to open investigations upon allegations of misconduct, even without a formal complaint.
Rotundo explained that she brought the bill forward after speaking with a constituent who suffered sexual harassment at the hands of a school employee.
“Last August, a constituent of mine went to her young daughter’s elementary school open house and came face to face with a man who had sexually harassed her 20 years before. He was employed at her daughter’s school as a school counselor,” she said.
“My constituent learned through a simple Google search that, in November 2024, this teacher had left his assistant principal position in a Maine school district amid sexual harassment allegations and was hired by the Lewiston School Department in February 2025 as an ed tech. A few days before the 2025 school year started, this person was promoted to school counselor at my constituent’s daughter’s elementary school,” she added.
She explained that the person was able to continue working in part due to a resignation agreement that allowed him to keep allegations of his sexual misconduct hidden at Drummond Woodsum, the school’s law firm.
Rotundo said that the school official has faced sexual misconduct allegations in three different school districts.
Rep. McIntyre explained why he supported the bill.
“I have borne witness to the devastating lifelong impact of emotional or sexual trauma inflicted upon innocent and defenseless victims that came at the hands of those blackhearted individuals who were nothing but vile predators that freely walked through our society and took full advantage of their perceived positions of authority,” he said.
He urged the committee to pass the bill as part of their efforts to protect predators who conceal their ill intentions behind the title of “teacher.”
The majority of testimonies were submitted in favor of the bill, including one from the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
The Maine Principal’s Association (MPA) and the Maine Education Association (MEA) both opposed the bill; however, they raised concerns about harm done to people who have faced false accusations and have been exonerated after investigation.
“We are particularly concerned about individuals who may have been the
subject of retaliatory complaints or unfounded allegations. Even when such
claims are fully investigated and determined to be unsubstantiated, this bill
would require disclosure of those matters-potentially reaching back 20 years.
Requiring applicants to report allegations that were never substantiated risks
causing lasting reputational harm,” said the MPA.
The MPA also raised concerns over the additional administrative burden the bill would place on schools.
“Our system of laws highly values the principle of finality and it is a core aspect of due
process. If we undo these principles, school employees are going to have to relitigate issues forever even when the system we have clears them of any improprieties.
This bill turns innocent until proven guilty into guilty even when proven innocent,” said the MEA.
Both organizations maintained their support for stricter safety requirements for potential school employees.
