Summary:

Maine has a long history of providing families with school choice options.

Public School Choice:

The Education Commission of the States that Maine also has adopted voluntary inter-district open enrollment. But Maine is one of only ten states that has not yet passed a charter school law, according to the Center for Education Reform.

Private School Choice:

Since 1873, students from families in small towns that do not have a population to support a local public school have been awarded scholarships to attend public or private schools of choice. (According to the Institute for Justice, the program does not allow students to attend religious schools.) The Friedman Foundation reported that 13,959 students participated in the tuition program in 2004-05. Of these, 6,052 attended private schools.

Online Learning:

Maine has neither a state-led program nor any statewide online programs. According to the Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning report, however, approximately 20 high schools (14 percent) in Maine are part of the Virtual High School Global Consortium. Maine also has no charter school law, and by extension, no online charter schools.

Click here for detailed information on Maine's public school system and see below for school choice contacts in Maine.