6 days Ago
AUGUSTA, Maine — The federal government is taking action to pull Maine's K-12 school funding over the state's alleged violation Title IX, which is the 1972 law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education. The U.S.
Department of Education, which found the state to be breaking that law by allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls' sports, also referred the issue to the U.S. Department of Justice for legal action.
"The Maine Department of Education will now have to defend its discriminatory practices before a Department administrative law judge and in a federal court against the Justice Department. Governor Mills would have done well to adhere to the wisdom embedded in the old idiom—be careful what you wish for. Now she will see the Trump Administration in court," Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights at the U.
S. Department of Education, said in a notice Friday. Friday was the deadline for Maine to sign an agreement with President Donald Trump's administration to block transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports or face an investigation by the Department of Justice and possibly lose federal education funding.
The Maine Department of Education and the Office of the Maine Attorney General acknowledged the deadline in a letter to the U.S. Department of Education on Friday.
"We will not sign the Resolution Agreement, and we do not have revisions to counter propose. We agree that we are at an impasse." Full letter Gov.
Janet Mills had said Thursday the state has no plans to sign. “The Attorney General’s Office represents the state in that matter. There have been no negotiations that I’m aware of.
No negotiations," Mills said. The U.S.
Department of Education claims Maine is violating Title IX by allowing transgender athletes to participate in girls’ sports. The department warned the state that unless it complies by April 11, it would refer the matter to the Department of Justice. Title IX , the federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education, does not explicitly address transgender athlete participation.
However, the Trump administration has interpreted the law differently, asserting that transgender athletes should not compete on teams aligning with their gender identity. Trump’s Executive Order on Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports mandates that each federal department "review grants to education programs and, where appropriate, rescind funding to programs that fail to comply with the policy established in this order," which protects women "as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth." Maine is already involved in a lawsuit over the Trump administration’s decision to freeze federal education funds over the issue.
The Maine DOE, the Maine Principals' Association (MPA), and Greely High School were given an extended deadline —Friday—to comply with federal demands. Back in March, the MPA and Greely High said they would not sign the agreement, arguing that banning transgender athletes would violate the Maine Human Rights Act. While Governor Mills has spoken out, the Maine DOE has not made a statement about its stance or next steps.
Attorney Kim Pacelli, who specializes in Title IX cases, said this case is unusual, because investigations are typically resolved before they get to litigation. Pacelli said she expects the case to turn into a lengthy legal battle over federal versus state authority. “Does the federal executive, the president, have the authority through an executive order, to issue an interpretation of federal law that forces a conflict with a statute that's been passed into law by a state legislature?” she said.
According to a report by The Maine Monitor , data from the Maine DOE shows federal funding made up about 16% of total school spending in Maine, which equates to about $467 million for the 2023–2024 school year. The majority of funds spent came from state and property taxes. Most of the federal funds Maine receives go toward supporting special education programs, students from low-income families, and free school meals.
Allison Leavitt, nutrition director for Lisbon schools and president of the Maine School Nutrition Association, is bracing for the impact cuts to the school meals program could have. “A lot of our budgets depend on federal funds, and I think it's really unfortunate that the current administration is trying to use that as a bargaining chip. It’s not fair to our students, [and it] could have a really major, massive effect,” she said.
“We just hope for the best and hope that everything can come around.” NEWS CENTER Maine has not yet received a response from the Maine DOE or the governor’s office about how they plan to address potential litigation or loss of federal education funding. Read the full resolution agreement For more local stories continue with us on our NEWS CENTER Maine+ streaming app.
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