Students walk on campus at the University of Maine Orono. (UMaine photo)
The University of Maine System will temporarily stop receiving federal funding for a broad range of research for potentially violating federal civil rights laws.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced an investigation into the University of Maine System in late February, “following the State of Maine’s blatant disregard” of President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting trans athletes.
While the results of that investigation have not been announced, the system received a forwarded email on Monday from USDA’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer apparently ordering a temporary pause in funding for the system while the agency evaluates whether it should take any follow-up actions to “prospective Title VI or Title IX violations,” according to a press release by system spokesperson Samantha Warren.
“Please take any necessary actions to effectuate this direction from leadership. This pause will remain in effect until further notice,” the USDA email said.
Title IV prohibits discrimination based on race or national origin, while Title IX bans sex-based discrimination in schools and education programs that receive federal funding.
The USDA investigation is one of several targeting the state since Gov. Janet Mills got into a heated exchange with President Donald Trump over the state’s policy permitting transgender students to participate in teams that align with their gender identity.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights found the state Department of Education in violation of Title IX. That probe was announced on Feb. 21 and concluded four days later. It included no interviews, data requests or negotiations. The U.S. Department of Education is also reviewing Title IX compliance within the Maine DOE and UMaine System.
Last fiscal year, USDA awarded $29.78 million to UMaine for research on a wide variety of agriculture innovations and environmental issues, including PFAS contamination on Maine farms, sustainable packaging materials derived from Maine forest-based materials, potato breeding and varietal development, sustainable lobster fishing and support for 4-H youth leadership and STEM skill development programs, which serve tens of thousands of Maine youth every year. The University of Southern Maine also has several active USDA awards.
In an address to state lawmakers Tuesday, Chancellor Dannel Malloy highlighted these research accomplishments, saying that while the system’s research structure is now, “in some senses, under a challenge, which we will find our way through.”
The system has not received any direct communication from USDA related to the Title IX compliance review since Feb. 26, and has not been made aware of any compliance reviews for violations of Title IV.
On Feb. 26, USDA staff contacted the university system as part of the Title IX review, asking questions “largely focused on whether biological males could compete on women’s sports teams,” Warren said.
The state’s public universities are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which banned trans women from women’s sports following Trump’s executive order, and are “operating in a manner entirely consistent with that association’s recently updated policies,” Warren said.
That means the system can’t allow trans women to compete on women’s teams.
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