States now have until April 24 to respond to a memo instructing them to remove all diversity, equity and inclusion programming in schools.
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.
Posted inLocal & State, Politics, Sports
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.
advertisement
Posted inLocal & State, News, Schools and Education
Portland school board advances $171.7 million budget to City Council
Public comments on the budget this year have been generally positive, although advocates for hourly staff at Portland Adult Education called on the district to increase pay and benefits for those employees.
Posted inNews, Schools and Education
Portland adopts 2025-26 calendar with Yom Kippur and Eid al-Fitr
Dozens of Muslim students, teachers, parents and community members turned out to support the change, which the board approved unanimously.
Posted inHealth, Local & State, News, Politics, Schools and Education
Maine parents, health care workers again spar over bills to roll back vaccine requirements in schools
Two bills being considered by the Legislature’s Education Committee would restore religious exemptions for school vaccinations and roll back school immunization requirements broadly.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Schools and Education
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.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics, Schools and Education
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.
Posted inHealth, Local & State, News, Schools and Education
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.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Religion and Values, Schools and Education
Portland considers adding Yom Kippur, Eid al-Fitr to school calendar
The Jewish and Muslim holidays could be added to the 2025-26 calendar, and would cost the district about $65,000 each to add.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Schools and Education
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.