AUGUSTA - Following the introduction today of extreme Republican legislation that could ban books, hinder access to educational materials and eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs in Maine public schools, Rep. Mike Brennan, D-Portland, House chair of the Legislature's Education and Cultural Affairs Committee, issued the following statement on behalf of committee House Democrats:
"Make no mistake, the legislation introduced by Republicans in our committee today under the guise of protecting students and parental rights is part of a deeply troubling nationwide effort to attack diversity, equity and inclusion programs, limit access to library books and stifle the free speech in schools that they simply don't like," said Brennan. "Criminalizing Maine teachers and librarians and depriving school bookshelves of educational materials will only hurt our students, who need our support now more than ever. House Democrats are committed to tackling the challenges that our educational system is actually facing by providing school districts, teachers and staff the funding and resources they need to meet students' needs."
This session, House Democrats remain focused on supporting teachers, empowering students and creating an educational system where every student is valued. Examples of legislation that has been introduced include:
LD 955, An Act to Address Shortages of School Support Staff by Increasing the Minimum Hourly Wage for Those Staff, is sponsored by Rep. Rebecca Millett, D-Cape Elizabeth. The bill would establish a minimum hourly wage for public school support staff beginning in 2024. The wage would be equal to 125% of the statewide minimum wage.
LD 1527, An Act to Promote the Community School Program, is sponsored by Rep. Brennan. The bill would develop an application process, procedures and criteria for implementing the requirements for designation of community schools, helping mobilize communities to increase the academic success of students.
LD 1526, An Act to Provide Grants to Support Reading Proficiency Programming in Schools, is sponsored by Rep. Brennan. The bill would create the Reading Proficiency Grant Fund and direct the Department of Education to provide grants to school administrative units to strengthen reading proficiency programming, with a focus on school administrative units serving populations of students with identified reading proficiency achievement gaps.
LD 829, An Act to Improve Behavioral Health Support for Students in Public Schools, is sponsored by Rep. Lydia Crafts, D-Newcastle. The bill would help Maine address its youth mental health crisis by improving student-to-school counselor and student-to-school social worker ratios.
Contact:
Brian Lee [Brennan, Millett, Crafts], 305-965-2744