Superintendent's Agreement Application

Application for Superintendent's Agreement 

Once you have filled out the application form linked above, please send it to your resident district and the district you would like to attend along with any supporting documents. 

RSU 1 contact information:

Please email your request to Patrick Manuel, pmanuel@rsu1.org and Kim Burgess, kburgess@rsu1.org.

This application is for families requesting to attend a school outside their resident district.

·         A request must be made to the Superintendents of both districts. 

·         Transportation is not provided. That is the parent/guardian's responsibility.

·         Superintendent Agreements are only good for the school year. A new request must be made for a subsequent year.

·         Unsatisfactory attendance, behavior and academic performance can impact current agreements and future requests. 

Department of Education Information:

General Residency Rule for Enrollment in Public Schools
A person is eligible to attend schools in the school administrative unit:

1.      Where the person’s parent resides; or

2.      Where the person resides when they reach age 18; or

3.      Where the person resides if they become an emancipated minor.

In general, a student attends school in the school administrative unit where they live.

The “Superintendents’ Agreement” Exception

Under this exception, two superintendents may approve the transfer of a student from one school administrative unit to another school administrative unit (public unit to public unit only). Two conditions must first exist before such an approval can be arranged:

1.      Both superintendents find that a transfer is in a student’s best interest; and

2.      The student’s parent/guardian must approve, except where the student is considered majority age (age 18 or emancipated minor).

Please note that Superintendents’ Agreements:

1.      Can only occur between a student’s resident school administrative unit and the receiving school administrative unit that the student will be attending.

2.      Cannot be used by a school administrative unit to transfer a student that is not a resident of their unit.

Both the superintendent of the school administrative unit where the student resides and the superintendent of the school administrative unit where the student wishes to attend school must agree to the transfer. The transfer cannot take place if one or both of the superintendents involved denies the request.

However, the parent/guardian (or the student if age 18 or emancipated minor) has the right to petition the Commissioner of the Department of Education to review a denied transfer, except in cases where the receiving unit does not operate a public school at the student’s grade level. The Commissioner’s decision in turn may be appealed to the Maine Board of Education.

School administrative units are responsible to have on file a letter of agreement between the superintendent releasing a student or students and the superintendent accepting the student or students. If either of the superintendents decides not to approve the transfer, that superintendent shall provide to the parent/guardian of the student requesting transfer under this paragraph a written description of the basis of that superintendent’s determination. A copy of the denial communications to the parent/guardian should be forwarded to the Commissioner’s office. Approved transfers should be entered in the student information system.