The period of an individual assignment of an educator under an interchange program, authorized under section 3003, between the educator’s school administrative unit as the sending agency and the Department of Education as the receiving agency may not exceed 24 months nor may any educator be assigned under such an interchange program for more than 24 months during any 36-month period. For the purposes of this section, “educator” means a teacher, principal or other education professional employed by a school administrative unit. [PL 2017, c. 279, §2 (NEW).]