ME LD470

School administrative units must adopt either a state-developed pre-approved peer support and teacher mentoring program or submit their own locally developed program to the Department of Education for approval.

Mentoring teachers must receive a minimum stipend of $5,000 per school year for each teacher mentored, funded by the Department of Education.

Teachers requiring assigned mentors include those certified less than 3 years, conditionally certified teachers, emergency certificate holders, teachers new to a school administrative unit, and teachers without valid certificates.

Mentors must have held a Maine teaching certificate for at least 5 years and be selected from a list provided by or in consultation with the local teacher's association.

School administrative units without an approved mentoring program are prohibited from hiring conditionally certified teachers or emergency certificate holders; the act takes effect July 1, 2026.