AUGUSTA – Since 1999, schools along the Penobscot River have been sharing resources, experiences and professional development opportunities.

Now, in light of the state’s push to regionalize services and programs, the eight school systems in the Penobscot River Educational Partnership have decided to collaborate to better serve students with disabilities.

PREP has developed a plan to make sure special education services are provided consistently and cost-effectively, Executive Director Owen Maurais told the state Board of Education last week.

The board had requested grant proposals from school systems planning to regionalize special education services.

According to the plan, PREP would train staff on identifying the services within the general education program that could be given to a child who has a learning problem. Options include extra tutoring, behavioral management, or help with fine motor skills.

Called “pre-referral,” the process could eliminate the need for more expensive special education services.

“Consistent pre-referral has tremendous potential,” Maurais said.

PREP also aims to train staff to more consistently identify students with special needs. Because of different interpretations of federal guidelines, a student might be identified as having a disability in one school system, but not in another.

Finally, aiming to provide cost-effective special education services, the group plans to develop contracts with area service providers so every student in the PREP area who requires treatment can receive it.

Maurais said not all students have access to services such as speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy and psychological services.

Members of the partnership are Brewer; Bucksport; Union 90, composed of Alton, Bradley, Greenbush and Milford; Indian Island; Union 91, which is Orrington and Orland; Old Town; SAD 22, including Hampden, Newburgh and Winterport; Union 87, which is Orono and Veazie; United Technologies Center in Bangor; and the University of Maine.

Of the 9,600 students attending PREP schools, 1,500 have been identified as having a disability.

PREP is seeking a $160,000 grant for seed money for the first year of the new collaboration, Maurais said. The money would be used to pay for a director, part-time clerical support and staff development.

The plan could be put into place as early as this fall. School systems in the Southern Penobscot Regional Program for Children with Exceptionalities that collaborate to offer special education also would be able to participate.

PREP schools have “a history of working well together,” Maurais said. UMaine’s education and business professors “will be a real plus for us,” advising on planning and finance, among other things, he said.

State board chairwoman Jean Gulliver said the plan “fits with what we’re trying to do with special education” and that the next step is to organize discussions between PREP and the Maine Department of Education.

The department will receive more federal funds next year through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act so there “is the potential for additional revenue sources,” she said.

Two other regions in the state also are planning to collaborate on special education services, UM professor Walter Harris of the Maine Education Policy Research Institute told the state board.

School systems in Hancock County are looking to share an assessment center to evaluate students who have been identified as potentially needing special education services, according to Harris.

Each school system contracts individually with specialists and often finds it difficult to schedule evaluations within the 45 days mandated by the state, he said.

“This would save time because the specialists are available just to the schools,” he said during an interview after the meeting. The Hancock County group is asking the state for $205,000 to pay for staff to coordinate evaluations.

School systems in Cumberland County also are planning to collaborate on developing an assessment center, Harris said.