MSAD 70 School Board decides to align with Trump administration’s Title IX policy
TODAY IS THE DEADLINE FOR MAINE TO COMPLY WITH TITLE NINE…BUT THE MAINE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE JUST SENT A LETTER TO THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION THIS AFTERNOON – SAYING THE STATE WILL NOT SIGN AN AGREEMENT WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. POLITICAL REPORTER CATE MCCUSKER HAS BEEN LOOKING INTO SIMILAR INVESTIGATIONS IN OTHER STATES – BUT FIRST….CATE WHAT HAS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SAID IN RESPONSE? THE MAINE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE SAYS WE ARE AT AN IMPASS – AND CLAIMSNOTHING IN TITLE IX PROHIBITS SCHOOLS FROM ALLOWING TRANSGENDER ATHLETES TO COMPETE IN WOMEN’S SPORTS… .BUT NOW THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION IS REFERRING THE MAINE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND MOVING TO CANCEL FEDERAL FUNDING IN K THROUGH 12 SCHOOLS IN OUR STATE. MAINE WAS NOT ALWAYS IN THE SPOTLIGHT ON THIS ISSUE. IN EARLY FEBRUARY – THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ANNOUNCED TITLE IX INVESTIGATIONS INTO SCHOOLS IN CALIFORNIA, PENNSYLVANIA, MINNESOTA, AND MASSACHUSETTS… ALLEGING INCIDENTS OF TRANSGENDER ATHLETES COMPETING IN WOMEN’S SPORTS… ..BUT TITLE IX ISSUES IN THE STATE OF MAINE DID NOT APPEAR TO BE PUBLICLY ON THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S RADAR AT THE TIME. HOWEVER THIS ALL CHANGED WHEN A STATE REPRESENTATIVE POSTED A PICTURE OF A TRANSGENDER ATHLETE ON SOCIAL MEDIA – AND GOVERNOR JANET MILLS PUBLICLY CLASHED WITH THE PRESIDENT AT THE WHITE HOUSE. WE DO KNOW THAT THERE ARE STILL OTHER INVESTIGATIONS OVER TITLE IX IN OTHER STATES – LIKE INTO SCHOOLS IN PORTLAND, OREGON AND CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. BUT THE OVERALL ATTENTION FROM THE ADMINISTRATION ON MAINE DOES APPEAR TO OUTWEIGH OTHER STATES….AND TODAY THE ADMINISTRATION ISSUED A STRONG WARNING TO MAINE – SAYING GOVERNOR MILLS SHOULD HAVE BEEN CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT SHE WISHED FOR…BECAUSE NOW SHE WILL SEE THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IN COURT. LIVE IN THE STUDIO IM CATE MCCUSKER FOR MAINES TOTAL COVERAGE TO SEE A FULL TIMELINE ON HOW THE DEBATE OVER TITLE NINE AND MAINE’S TRANSGENDER ATHLETES STARTED — HEAD OVER TO W-M-T-W-DOT-COM OR THE W-M-T-W APP… YOU CAN ALSO SIGN UP F
MSAD 70 School Board decides to align with Trump administration’s Title IX policy
Updated: 4:32 PM EDT Apr 15, 2025
The School Board for Maine School Administrative District 70 has chosen to align with the Trump administration’s Title IX policy as the Maine Department of Education faces potential consequences from the U.S. Department of Justice over noncompliance.MSAD 70 Superintendent Tyler Putnam told Maine’s Total Coverage that the School Board made a motion during a monthly meeting Monday night for the school district’s policies to align with federal Title IX policy by recognizing only two sexes — biological male and biological female — and that all private spaces be separated by biological sex. The School Board unanimously approved the motion.The vote by the MSAD 70 School Board came several days after the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights referred its Title IX investigation into the Maine Department of Education to the Justice Department for further enforcement action. In addition, the federal Education Department said it would begin a proceeding to try to stop the Maine DOE from receiving federal K-12 education funding. A similar Title IX case was also referred to the DOJ by the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.The state’s antidiscrimination law, the Maine Human Rights Act, forbids discrimination on the basis of gender identity when it comes to the opportunity for an individual at an educational institution to participate in all educational, counseling and vocational guidance programs, all apprenticeship and on-the-job-training programs and all extracurricular activities.The debate over whether Maine should follow state law or federal came to a head on Feb. 21, when Gov. Janet Mills got into a heated exchange with President Donald Trump during a meeting of the nation’s governors at the White House. Trump said the state would not receive federal funding if it did not comply with his Feb. 5 executive order. Mills said she has been complying with state and federal law, and told Trump: “We’ll see you in court.”MSAD 70 serves the Aroostook County communities of Amity, Cary Plantation, Haynesville, Hodgdon, Linneus, Ludlow and New Limerick.Related content:
HODGDON, Maine —The School Board for Maine School Administrative District 70 has chosen to align with the Trump administration’s Title IX policy as the Maine Department of Education faces potential consequences from the U.S. Department of Justice over noncompliance.
MSAD 70 Superintendent Tyler Putnam told Maine’s Total Coverage that the School Board made a motion during a monthly meeting Monday night for the school district’s policies to align with federal Title IX policy by recognizing only two sexes — biological male and biological female — and that all private spaces be separated by biological sex. The School Board unanimously approved the motion.
The vote by the MSAD 70 School Board came several days after the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights referred its Title IX investigation into the Maine Department of Education to the Justice Department for further enforcement action. In addition, the federal Education Department said it would begin a proceeding to try to stop the Maine DOE from receiving federal K-12 education funding. A similar Title IX case was also referred to the DOJ by the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The state’s antidiscrimination law, the Maine Human Rights Act, forbids discrimination on the basis of gender identity when it comes to the opportunity for an individual at an educational institution to participate in all educational, counseling and vocational guidance programs, all apprenticeship and on-the-job-training programs and all extracurricular activities.
The debate over whether Maine should follow state law or federal came to a head on Feb. 21, when Gov. Janet Mills got into a heated exchange with President Donald Trump during a meeting of the nation’s governors at the White House. Trump said the state would not receive federal funding if it did not comply with his Feb. 5 executive order. Mills said she has been complying with state and federal law, and told Trump: “We’ll see you in court.”
MSAD 70 serves the Aroostook County communities of Amity, Cary Plantation, Haynesville, Hodgdon, Linneus, Ludlow and New Limerick.
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