AUGUSTA – A bill that would allow for high school students within their fourth year of study to apply for a Maine Department of Education (DOE) diploma under extraneous circumstances, sponsored by Rep. Michael Brennan, D-Portland, was advanced by the Maine House of Representatives Thursday.
“Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we have witnessed lasting and long-term consequences on students' educational progress,” said Brennan. “LD 628 provides students with the latitude and flexibility to complete their high school education on a different, perhaps more attainable route.”
LD 628 allows the commissioner of the DOE more latitude to determine what education disruptions would allow students to apply for a diploma from the DOE. If passed into law, a student who is faced with a loss of shelter, foster care placement, absence for more than 10% of school days in a year due to unplanned hospitalization or a serious medical condition, or enrollment in two or more schools during their secondary education would be eligible to apply for a high school diploma.
According to a 2025 Maine Education Policy Research Institute (MEPRI) report, the number of diplomas granted by the DOE prior to September 2021 was less than 36. In the years following the COVID-19 pandemic, 214 diplomas were awarded in 2021-22, 421 were awarded in 2022-23 and 384 in 2023-24, with the vast majority being related to the pandemic disruption to education.
“Graduating from high school is a critically important milestone for every student,” said Brennan. “It is incumbent upon us to take every reasonable step to facilitate the attainment of that goal.”
Brennan is serving his fourth consecutive term in the Maine House, having previously served four terms in the House and three in the Senate. He represents House District 115, which includes a portion of Portland. He serves on the Legislature’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee and the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee.
Contact:
Brian Lee (Brennan) | 305-965-2744