The Department of Agriculture agreed it will not interfere with Maine school funding based on alleged Title IX violations without following the proper procedure, according to a settlement announced Friday.
Maine Department of Education
Maine will not sign Trump administration letter to remove DEI programs from schools
The state’s education leaders said signing the letter would ‘bind the Maine DOE to language of executive orders or other federal guidance without the force of law.’
Superintendents: Loss of federal funding would hit students most in need of support
School districts say Title I and IDEA dollars pay for staff positions in critical areas like intervention, early literacy and special education, and fund other services for some of Maine’s most vulnerable students.
Judge temporarily blocks USDA from interfering with Maine’s funding
The USDA ‘must immediately unfreeze and release to the state of Maine any federal funding that they have frozen or failed or refused to pay because of the state of Maine’s alleged failure to comply with the requirements of Title IX,’ the judge ruled.
As Trump extends deadline to end DEI in schools, Maine tells districts not to respond
States now have until April 24 to respond to a memo instructing them to remove all diversity, equity and inclusion programming in schools.
US Education Department takes steps to pull Maine’s funding over Title IX noncompliance
The Trump administration announced it would refer the case to the Department of Justice shortly after Maine said it wouldn’t sign an agreement with the federal agency.
USDA freeze impacting school nutrition staff, other grants
A Wednesday letter announcing the freeze said it would not impact federal feeding programs, but Maine DOE says it is unable to access funds for the staff who operate those programs.
New memo gives Maine schools 10 days to remove DEI programming or lose federal money
The letter from the US Department of Education was sent to every state’s K-12 education leaders asking them to sign a letter confirming compliance with a federal interpretation of Title VI and the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard ruling.
Trump administration issues ‘final warning’ to Maine over transgender policy
Republican lawmakers urged Gov. Janet Mills and Democrats to fast-track legislation to comply with President Donald Trump’s demands.
Skowhegan-area school board to consider compliance with Trump order
After a board member tried to force a vote Thursday about whether the board would explicitly follow the Trump administration’s orders, the board chair said the matter would have to be taken up at the next meeting.