An Act To Foster Career And Technical Education In Maine Schools By Creating An Additional Pathway To Certify Industrial Arts Teachers

132nd Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Nathan Carlow and 6 co-sponsors

Directs the Maine State Board of Education to create an industrial arts endorsement pathway, expanding certified industrial arts/CTE teachers and broadening CTE offerings.

Signed by Governor

#certification #industrialartsandcte #teachers

Summary — LD 1163 (132nd Maine Legislature)

Title: An Act To Foster Career And Technical Education in Maine Schools by Creating an Additional Pathway To Certify Industrial Arts Teachers
Bill No.: LD 1163
Introduced: March 20, 2025
Status: Signed by Governor (June 12, 2025) — Emergency measure (effective on signature)
Subjects: Teacher certification; Industrial arts and career & technical education (CTE)

Purpose and intent

LD 1163 directs the State Board of Education (SBE) to create an additional certification pathway — an industrial arts endorsement — to help increase and diversify the pool of teachers qualified to deliver industrial arts and CTE instruction in Maine schools. The intent is to strengthen CTE offerings by making it easier to certify qualified candidates for industrial arts teaching roles.

Key provisions

Directs the State Board of Education to amend its educator credentialing rules to establish a new pathway that results in an industrial arts endorsement.

Leaves the detailed design and requirements of that pathway to the rulemaking process conducted by the SBE (the statute itself does not specify the precise requirements for the endorsement).

Enacted as an emergency measure, so the act takes effect immediately upon the governor’s signature.

Note: The enacted version was amended by Committee Amendment “A” (H-515) and passed as engrossed with that amendment.

Who is affected

State Board of Education — required to undertake rulemaking to develop and adopt the endorsement pathway.

Prospective and current teachers — individuals seeking to teach industrial arts or CTE may be eligible for or benefit from the new endorsement pathway.

School districts and CTE programs — potentially gain access to a larger and more flexible pool of certified industrial arts teachers.

Students and employers — indirectly benefit from potentially expanded CTE offerings and better-aligned workforce skills.

Fiscal impact and implementation

Fiscal note(s) (approved 05/27/25 and 06/09/25) estimate a minor General Fund cost increase related to the SBE’s rulemaking activities.

The fiscal notes state those additional costs can be absorbed within the SBE’s existing budgeted resources.

No specified appropriations or dollar amounts are included in the bill text; ongoing costs depend on the content and implementation of the SBE’s rules.

Legislative and procedural timeline (highlights)

03/20/2025: Introduced and referred to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs.

05/02/2025: Committee work session and voted OTP‑AM (ought to pass as amended).

06/09/2025: Committee Amendment “A” (H‑515) adopted; bill passed in concurrence.

06/10/2025: Finally passed with emergency (two-thirds) requirement in concurrence.

06/12/2025: Signed by the Governor and became law (effective immediately as an emergency measure).

Expected outcome

By directing the SBE to create an industrial arts endorsement pathway, LD 1163 is expected to facilitate certification of more industrial arts/CTE teachers, supporting expansion and resilience of CTE programming in Maine schools, with minimal fiscal impact to the State Board of Education. The exact scope and qualifications of the pathway will be established through the SBE’s rulemaking process.