Education

Maine's Education Committee will hold votes on a pair of bills that would expand school choice in Maine by creating public school open enrollment across our state.
 

Under the bills, Maine families could transfer their kids to any public school in the state. No longer would they be required to attend the school in their local district if they felt a different public school was a better fit for their child.
 

In response to the pandemic, many states have enacted similar policies and seen positive results. Meanwhile, Maine lags the nation in offering school choice options for families – and our poor test results show it.
 

Maine families want more access to school choice. Click here to contact members of the Education Committee and tell them to support school choice this session!  

  As many of you know, I have spent the last decade fighting for our children and working to improve Maine’s education system. Although my time in the Legislature has come to an end, I will continue that work with you all through the Maine Education Initiative, a project of Maine Policy Institute.
 

2025 has arrived with a bang! Even the Maine Education Initiative has seen big bangs of achievement, and it's still only early January.
 

May 1, 2024 was the launch of a ground game into districts, helping to reconstitute school boards. Just like a packet of freeze-dried food which comes to life when liquid is added, we have so many great people out in the field in their respective districts needing some life infused in their day-to-day efforts as school board members. We've learned a number of valuable lessons and gained great insights through our efforts thus far. Knowing there is a support system being built for our common sense, rational thinking, school board members provide them with a sense of assurance and confidence. Now, it's January 2025 and together, we are shaping the Maine Education Initiative into a valuable resource throughout the State of Maine.
 

The MEI team has been very busy on many levels. The following is a brief overview of what has already been put into place:
 

1. Research: Researching the Maine education system helps to provide the public, school boards and lawmakers with factual data as it pertains to the decline of education here in Maine.
 

2. Legal: We provide excellent legal support through our model policies, legal memos on various pending issues school board members bring to our attention, advice on procedural questions and representation during legal battles.
 

3. Training: MEI is providing consistent, holistic training to both school board members and those interested in running for school board. Some of the training includes practical Robert's Rules of Order training, media coaching, training on current state law, how to interact with the public, building a strategic plan, and more.
 

4. Mentorship: We provide continuous interaction with school board members, providing both coaching and support as they navigate the issues raised in their districts. For school board candidates, we are recruiting, providing strategy, messaging and other support. A new day is dawning for our school boards!
 

5. Parents: Without them, we'd have no schools and no students. We are educating and activating parents at the local level, partnering with Parents Rights in Education.
 

6. Teachers: There are some wonderful, well-meaning and hardworking teachers in our schools. We are currently building a support pipeline to provide them with a safe outlet.
 

7. Exploiting Bad Actors: We are identifying and exploiting the bad actors in our school systems, administration and the Maine Department of Education, holding them accountable for their actions and exposing their many stealthy attempts to change policy at the local and state levels.
 

8. Networking: The MEI team is providing a platform for parents, teachers, school board members, legislators, and other organizations to collaborate and network.
 

The Maine Education Initiative continues to grow every day, utilizing our strategic partnerships with groups like Parents Rights in Education, Courage is a Habit, Freedom Foundation, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, School Boards for Academic Excellence, American Principles Project, and others. Whether you are a student, parent, teacher, administrator, superintendent, school board member, legislator, or activist, we are here for YOU.
 

I look forward to seeing you at an upcoming event listed below. Most importantly, please spread the word to your friends and colleagues. MEI is working to create collaboration and coordination among all the players in Maine’s education system. Soon, we will be launching a website with all of our resources, including our research projects, model policies, legal memos, etc. There's much more to come!
 

Sincerely,
 

Heidi Sampson
Director
Maine Education Initiative

hsampson512@gmail.com 

Thank you to Alvin Lui and team at Courage is a Habit for exposing the Groomers in our State.

  https://courageisahabit.org/#maine

Help stop these 7 radical school board members from installing a clinic in schools that could allow for transgender treatments without parental consent.  

https://courageisahabit.org/#msad11 

https://www.facebook.com/alui.ciah

https://thewaronchildren.com/

Trans advocate for minors and school board chair Becky Fles, pushes for a quick vote to approve a school-based "health  clinic at Gardiner Area High School that will provide hormone therapy and more to children as young as 16 - without the knowledge or consent of parents or guardians. Click on the photo to read the article and watch for updates at Maine First Project. Listen to 2025 School Board meetings, here .

Read the article and write a polite note to Becky Fles at bfles@dmsad11.org . We are sure she would like to hear your concerns about this project. 

Your child is not necessarily safe from the Trans Agenda at school.

https://www.homeschoolersofmaine.org/

https://www.homeschoolersofmaine.org/find-support/home-blog/

Watch Maine legislation that will affect your children and your family:

https://www.homeschoolersofmaine.org/maine-law/legislative-info/

Contact HSLDA for updates about the Zoom meeting. 

The battle to protect a parent's freedom to educate their child has entered a new phase. A group seeking to throttle the rights of parents, the Coalition for Responsible Home Education, has written a 'model bill' detailing restrictions on homeschooling they would like every state to adopt. In this presentation, the entire legal staff of HSLDA takes part in analyzing the model bill, explaining just how bad it is, and exposing the hostile world view on which it is based.

We are eager to inform  families now so they can respond quickly and knowledgably if all or part of the model bill is filed in Maine this year. A Q&A with Attorney Scott Woodruff will follow. Based on the high level of interest for this event, HOME will be hosting the event for free to all families who would like to participate.   

Now Streaming: 'Truth and Lies in American Education'

Click on the picture to watch the trailer for our new documentary film.