Education & Human Development

Maine Education Policy Research Institute
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The Maine Education Policy Research Institute provides policy makers with objective data, policy research and evaluation to define and evaluate educational needs, services and impact. It analyzes trends in K-12 data and performs targeted research. Established by the Legislature, the Maine Education Policy Research Institute is a cooperative effort with the University of Southern Maine.

The Policy Institute provides legislators with an unbiased source of information, projections and trends for informed decision-making. For example, the Institute annually publishes the comprehensive Legislative District Education Report, providing a research-based educational and community demographic data snapshot of each school, school district and municipality in Maine.

Recently, the Institute conducted and published an interim report on the impact of the Maine Learning Technology Initiative, a statewide effort to provide every seventh and eighth grade student in Maine, and their teachers with a lap-top computer. The Institute is continuing to monitor and evaluate the impact of this initiative on teachers and teaching, students and learning, and the school communities in Maine.

Additional projects include research on the funding of necessarily small schools in Maine and on alternative models for funding and providing special education programs.

For further information:
Please contact Walter Harris at (207) 581-2426.