A program at University of Maine at Farmington that had its funding revoked by the Trump administration may get state money for another year of helping students in Androscoggin and Oxford counties prepare for college.

The River Valley Upward Bound program was defunded in September 2025. A bill before state legislators, LD 2147, seeks to restore about $309,000 to continue services for low-income and first-generation college-going high school students. 

The last two years of funding of a five-year commitment for the program by the Department of Education, over $600,000, were terminated Sept. 30, 2025. 

River Valley Upward Bound provided services to Buckfield Junior Senior High School, Dirigo High School, Edward Little High School, Mountain Valley High School, Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School and Telstar Regional High School.

Those services included advising, academic planning, assistance with scholarship applications and help for seniors registering for college. Also included were trips to college campuses and a five-week summer program on a college campus where students attend classes, learn study habits, network with instructors and participate in team-building activities.

Sen. Jill Duson, a Democrat who represents part of Portland and part of Westbrook, sponsored the bill.

Duson, who nearly 50 years ago was the first in her family to graduate college, said her own experience in an Upward Bound program played a pivotal role in her life and put her on a trajectory for a career in law and politics.

“I was deeply disappointed to hear that the Trump administration terminated federal funding for the River Valley Upward Bound Program, making it harder for students in some of our most rural communities to access a proven path to the American Dream,” Duson said. “With the cost of living making it harder for many families to get by, here we have an opportunity to preserve a way for many to get ahead.”

A similar program through the University of Southern Maine, Veterans Upward Bound, was also defunded, though its money was restored on appeal.

If passed, Duson’s bill would restore the full $309,505 it costs to fund the River Valley Upward Bound program.

“Just as Upward Bound saw me and helped me achieve my highest potential,” Duson said, “we can see what they do for our students and give them a hand up to continue that critical mission.”

An appeal following defunding of the UMF program was unsuccessful, according to Samantha Warren,  spokeswoman for the University of Maine System.

“We did provide impacted students and families with a resource guide compiled by UMF to support their college and career planning,” Warren said, adding that funding continues for UMF’s Foothills Upward Bound program through a separate federal award.

Though the new funding would not replace services students have lost this school year, the University of Maine System is grateful for the bicameral and bipartisan efforts to commit state funds, Warren said. It’s a program that opens the door to higher education and upward mobility, while growing Maine’s workforce, she said.

Levi Cavener, a teacher at Buckfield Junior Senior High School, said losing program services had a profound effect on low-income and first-generation students.

However, he said, while current students were excited to hear about legislation that could temporarily restore funding, it is too little, too late for most current seniors.

“At this point in the school year it would have limited impact on their class, as many of the important functions of Upward Bound specific to seniors have already passed,” Cavener said, noting however the bill would make higher education a reality for several future Upward Bound students. “These students are very capable with the proper supports for post-secondary enrollment that they may not otherwise consider.”

Cavener said former River Valley Upward Bound students told him that without the program, motivation for students to enroll in challenging coursework has waned along with grades and general engagement in coursework.

Meetings with Upward Bound advisors who help with college applications and deadlines were helpful to students who, without that help, have struggled navigating and completing paperwork, the students said.

Because Upward Bound also helped with application fees, most students were not able to apply to some schools due to financial hardship, the students told Cavener. 

State Rep. Alison Hepler, one of the bill’s cosponsors and a former UMF professor of 26 years, said several years of teaching students who came to the university through Upward Bound made it clear the program was essential for the demographic of students.

“I was heartbroken” to hear about the federal funding cut, said Hepler, a Democrat who represents Arrowsic, Georgetown, Phippsburg, West Bath and Woolwich.

“Students, many of them the first in their family to go to college, brought their unique experiences to this environment, and paid it forward,” she wrote to Maine’s delegation in September. “Many of them are now teachers across Maine in our public schools, performing tremendous public service for Maine. All of us benefit from programs like these.”