(The Center Square) — Maine’s education leaders say they won’t sign an agreement with the Trump administration to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs in public schools and colleges, and are telling local schools not to respond to the federal government’s demands.
The state’s Department of Education sent a letter Thursday to the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights in response to an April 3 notice demanding that state education agencies and local school districts sign new “certifications” that they are in compliance with Title VI by eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Title VI is a 1964 civil rights law that bars discrimination in public education based on race, color, national origin, sex, and religion. The Trump administration argues that DEI policies are a violation of that federal law. The DOE’s civil rights office sent a letter to states demanding that they guarantee no public schools have DEI programs the Trump administration deems illegal — or lose billions of dollars in federal education funding.
Maine education officials made the announcement in a “priority” notice to local school districts, which said the state agency opted against certification because it would “bind the Maine DOE to language of executive orders or other federal guidance without the force of law, and that lacked clarity regarding what was, or was not, prohibited.”
“These were critical considerations, given the potential consequence of a loss of federal funding,” the agency wrote, noting that the decision was made after consultation with state Attorney General Aaron Frey’s office.
Maine DOE said in the letter that the state already complies with Title VI and pointed out that the state and local school districts regularly submit certifications through the standard federal funding application process. It also cautioned school districts not to reply to the Trump administration’s demands on their own.
On Thursday, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s directives that threatened to cut federal funding for public schools with DEI programs. The lawsuit was filed by the National Education Association and the American Civil Liberties Union, which accused the Trump administration of violating teachers’ due process and First Amendment rights.
Maine isn’t the only state to defy Trump’s demands. Both New York and Massachusetts have informed the DOE that they won’t be certifying that school districts in their states are eliminating DEI initiatives.
Maine is also facing a lawsuit from the Education Department’s civil rights division that faults Maine’s DOE policy allowing transgender athletes to participate in girls’ sports, claiming it violates Title IX, a 1972 law that forbids discrimination in schools that receive federal funding.
The DOE said it will also begin administrative proceedings against Maine to claw back the state’s federal K-12 education funding, including formula funds and discretionary grants.
Maine’s Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who has personally clashed with Trump for weeks over the issue, has called the efforts “politically motivated” and vowed to “vigorously defend” the state against the allegations by his administration.
