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.
Riley Board
Staff Writer
Riley covers education for the Press Herald. Before moving to Portland, she spent two years in Kenai, Alaska, reporting on local government, schools and natural resources for the public radio station KDLL as part of the Report for America program. Riley originally hails from Sarasota, Florida, and is a graduate of Middlebury College in Vermont, where she served as the editor-in-chief of the college’s student newspaper, The Campus. She has interned at the Burlington Free Press, and at the Smithsonian Institution’s Folklife Magazine in Washington, D.C. Outside of work, Riley is passionate about roller skating, cooking and her cat, Edgar.
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.
USDA freezes funds to Maine education, citing Title IX violations
The agency will freeze an unknown amount of money for ‘administrative and technological functions’ in schools but will not pause federal food programs or direct assistance for Mainers.
Trump administration says Maine’s transgender student policies conflict with parental access laws
The federal Department of Education says Maine school districts’ violate FERPA by withholding from parents records about a student’s transgender status, like the choice to use a different name or pronouns at school.
Trump administration targets Maine again, this time on transgender policy in schools
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said the U.S. Department of Education, which Trump wants to abolish, is investigating whether dozens of Maine school districts are violating or misusing federal privacy laws and infringing on parents’ rights.
UMaine to pause new graduate student job offers, citing funding uncertainty
The flagship public university in Orono will temporarily pause funded offers for graduate students like research assistantships, which make up about a quarter of the current graduate student population.
Researchers recommend changes to special ed funding under state formula review
The Maine Educational Policy Research Institute gave its latest presentation about possible changes to the state’s education funding formula, which many say doesn’t account for today’s education needs.
Bill would devote $6M per year to support Maine community college students
Sen. Mattie Daughtry and community college leaders say students receiving free tuition often need support in other areas — including housing, food and counseling — to succeed in higher education.
As Maine Legislature considers new formula for school funding, superintendents weigh in
Researchers with the University of Maine System are working on a report about the formula for funding school districts, which many administrators say doesn’t reflect the current realities of providing an education to all students.
Maine, other states file lawsuit after mass Education Department layoffs
More than a dozen states filed a federal lawsuit alleging cuts to the U.S. Department of Education’s workforce, including all of the staff at a regional office in Boston, will harm students from public K-12 schools to higher education.