Reminder: School Registration Open for Second Annual ‘I Belong’ Youth Summit

Are you ready to open doors to boundless possibilities for your students? Consider registering for the Maine Department of Education (DOE) Office of Special Services and Inclusive Education’s (OSSIE) second annual ‘I Belong’ Youth Summit, scheduled for Thursday, May 29, 2025, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Central Maine Community College.

This Summit invites schools across Maine to join a transformative initiative, designed specifically for students with disabilities who are at the age of transitioning from school to their future. This dynamic gathering goes beyond traditional career fairs to offer meaningful exploration, skill-building, and work-based learning opportunities, tailored to each student’s interests and abilities.

Making a Difference Together

By participating in this summit, you become part of a statewide movement to reshape post-secondary pathways for ALL Maine students with disabilities. Your involvement creates ripple effects of opportunity:

Students discover career paths they may never have considered, building confidence and practical skills for their future.
Educators gain valuable resources, evidence-based practices, and direct connections with industry partners.
Businesses develop tomorrow’s workforce, while fulfilling community engagement goals.

Join the Movement

Help your students find where they belong in Maine’s future workforce. The ‘I Belong’ Youth Summit provides a student-centered environment for youth to explore career pathways at their own pace, connect with potential employers, and envision new possibilities for their lives after school.

Don’t miss this opportunity to be a part of something extraordinary! Together, we can create a more inclusive, opportunity-rich future for Maine’s students with disabilities.

Maine middle and high schools may register their students here if they plan to bring them to the second annual ‘I Belong’ Youth Summit.

For more information, please contact Maine DOE Transition Specialist Titus O’Rourke at titus.orourke@maine.gov.

Maine DOE Hosts Inaugural Inclusive Education Conference

(Pictured: Students from Morse High School’s Unified Literacy Program.)

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) Office of Special Services and Inclusive Education successfully hosted the state’s first-ever Inclusive Education Conference on Thursday, April 10, 2025, at the Augusta Civic Center. The groundbreaking event, themed “Reimagining Education: Empowering All Learners, Embracing All Abilities,” brought together voices from across Maine to celebrate and advance inclusive practices in education.

Hundreds of participants—including students, families, educators, administrators, university faculty, and Maine DOE staff—came together for a day of learning, collaboration, and inspiration. Through powerful presentations, engaging panels, and personal storytelling, attendees shared their experiences and insights about inclusion in Maine schools and communities.

The conference focused on providing school communities with practical tools to support and empower every learner, with a special emphasis on students with disabilities. Attendees explored strategies to embrace diverse abilities, promote equity, and ensure that all students are equipped to thrive in inclusive and meaningful educational environments.

Concurrent sessions covered topics such as unified literacy, mental health, trauma, multitiered systems of support (MTSS), support for multilingual learners with disabilities, inclusive post-secondary education, inclusive early childhood education, and the importance of inclusion in state assessment, as well as engaging and supporting families through positive math experiences. Many sessions were led by representatives from the Maine DOE along with state partners from Disability Rights Maine, Special Olympics Maine, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Best Buddies, Maine Parent Federation, University of Maine System, school administrative units (SAUs) with inclusive models, and students with lived experience.

The conference also featured several student and educator panels, including one about extended learning opportunities with representatives from the Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE), the Noble High School ELO program, Mid-Coast School of Technology (MCST), and Portland Arts and Technology High School (PATHS). There was also an SAU) panel, featuring leaders from MSAD 11, RSU 52, and RSU 71. Morse High School students and their teachers lead a panel about unified literacy; Ames Elementary and Kingfield Elementary Schools hosted panels about their schools’ journeys to inclusion; and students from the Maine DOE Executive Student Transition Committee—a part of the department’s Transition Maine initiative—hosted a panel discussion about student advocacy.

A highlight of the event was a keynote address from Dr. Katie Novak, an internationally-renowned education consultant and advocate for Universal Design for Learning (UDL), who inspired the audience with her message on transforming systems to meet the needs of all learners.

Maine Education Commissioner Pender Makin also stopped by the event to provide a special lunchtime keynote address. She thanked educators for attending the conference and for their expertise and collaboration. She also addressed the importance of inclusion for all students by taking a moment to acknowledge the meaning of DEI—diversity, equity, and inclusion.

“Maine’s inaugural Inclusive Education Conference comes at an opportune moment to remind us all of the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in public education,” Commissioner Makin said. “Diversity makes all of us stronger by ensuring representation of background and perspective; equity allows everyone the opportunity to be the best that they can possibly be, no matter their circumstance; inclusion means that all voices deserve to have a seat at the table, and that no one is left behind or forgotten.”

The Maine DOE plans to host an Inclusive Education Conference annually, building on the success of this year’s conference. For more information and resources on inclusive education in Maine, please visit the Maine DOE website, or contact Maine DOE Special Projects and Educator Supports Coordinator Tracy Whitlock at Tracy.W.Whitlock@maine.gov.

Language, Learning, and Leadership in Maine: Supporting Multilingual Learners with Disabilities through University and State Collaboration

Pictured: From left to right: Associate Professor of Special Education Dr. Sarah Howorth, Assistant Professor of Special Education Dr. Melissa Cuba, Director of Maine DOE Office of Special Services and Inclusive Education Erin Frazier, and Maine DOE State ESOL Specialist Jane Armstrong presenting at the National Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

In a powerful display of statewide collaboration, representatives from the University of Maine (UMaine) and the Maine Department of Education (DOE) joined forces in March to present at the 2025 National Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Conference. The session, Supporting Multilingual Learners with Disabilities through University and State Collaboration,spotlighted Maine’s groundbreaking efforts to support multilingual learners (MLs) with disabilities, showcasing the newly-updated Identifying and Serving Students Who Are Multilingual Learners with Disabilities: Policy and Resource Guide, alongside innovative university programming that prepares educators to support MLs with disabilities.

The presentation was led by Dr. Melissa Cuba, UMaine Assistant Professor of Special Education, and supported by Dr. Sarah Howorth, UMaine Associate Professor of Special Education, in partnership with Maine DOE Director of the Office of Special Services and Inclusive Education Erin Frazier and the English for Speakers of Other Languages State Specialist, Jane Armstrong.

Together, the group highlighted the unique context of the state, tracing the evolution of collaborative efforts, and showcased key contributions to address the dual needs of language acquisition and disability support, including UMaine’s Graduate Certificate in Multilingual Special Education, Maine Access to Inclusive Education Resources (MAIER), and the comprehensive policy and resource guide for educators on identifying and serving MLs with disabilities.

UMaine’s Multilingual Special Education program is uniquely designed to prepare educators to effectively support MLs with disabilities through a blend of linguistic, cultural, and special education expertise. What sets this 15-credit online graduate program apart is its interdisciplinary curriculum, which includes courses that target language development, such as:

ERL 531: Linguistic Diversity, Multilingualism, and the Classroom
ELL 570: Methods of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)
ELL: 572: Second Language Acquisition

It also offers specialized training through:

SED 502: Strategies for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students with Disabilities
SED 545: Intervention for Reading Difficulties

If working with children birth to five, SED 545 is combined with SED 529: Developmentally Appropriate Reading Instruction for Diverse Young Learners. Together, these courses provide a rich foundation in language development, culturally-responsive pedagogy, and targeted academic interventions, empowering educators to create inclusive and effective learning environments for diverse student populations.

The collaboration with the presentation and the co-construction of this iterative guidebook reflects Maine’s growing commitment to inclusive and equitable education, with a focus on multilingualism, disability inclusion, and culturally-responsive practices. The collaboration also underscores the valuable role of higher education institutions like UMaine in supporting these efforts, through research, educator preparation, and training informed by real classroom experiences.

The Maine guidebook serves as a vital resource for school administrative units (SAUs), offering practical tools, guidance, and examples to ensure that linguistic diversity and disability are not barriers to learning but rather opportunities to build inclusive, responsive educational environments.

“This work is a reflection of Maine’s commitment to inclusive education that sees and supports the whole child,” Frazier said. “By bridging the expertise of higher education and state systems, we are empowering educators to confidently identify, support, and celebrate multilingual students with disabilities.”

This work aligns with and strengthens Multi-Tiered Systems of Support by ensuring that academic, behavioral, and social-emotional supports are responsive to the diverse identities and experiences of all students.

As part of the Maine DOE’s commitment to inclusive and equitable education, Teacher Leader Fellow Melissa Frans, has played a vital role in co-facilitating a dynamic six-part professional learning series, designed to support educators working with MLs with disabilities. Through her leadership, Frans has further illuminated the critical intersection between language acquisition and disability services, emphasizing the importance of collaborative practices with linguistically-responsive IEP development. You can see the recordings of this webinar series on the Maine DOE Multilingual Learners with Disabilities webpage.

As Maine experiences growing linguistic and cultural diversity in its schools, this guidebook, along with the collaboration behind it, provides a model of proactive, inclusive, and research-informed practices that other states may consider replicating. Additionally, the Maine DOE Event Calendar has an array of opportunities available to support educators in fostering inclusive and effective learning environments.

For further information or questions about multilingual programming, please contact Maine DOE State ESOL Specialist Jane Armstrong at Jane.Armstrong@maine.gov. For further information or questions about the guidebook, please contact the Maine DOE Office of Special Services and Inclusive Education Director Erin Frazier at Erin.Frazier@maine.gov.

School Registration Open for Second Annual ‘I Belong’ Youth Summit

Making a Difference Together

Students discover career paths they may never have considered, building confidence and practical skills for their future.
Educators gain valuable resources, evidence-based practices, and direct connections with industry partners.
Businesses develop tomorrow’s workforce, while fulfilling community engagement goals.

Join the Movement

Don’t miss this opportunity to be a part of something extraordinary! Together, we can create a more inclusive, opportunity-rich future for Maine’s students with disabilities.

Maine middle and high schools are invited to fill out a school interest form, if they are planning to bring students to the second annual ‘I Belong’ Youth Summit. (Registrations for individual students will be sent directly to schools that complete the interest form.)

For more information, please contact Maine DOE Transition Specialist Titus O’Rourke at titus.orourke@maine.gov.

Making Math Meaningful for All: Applications Open for Math4ME Project

Math4ME is a free, three-year, whole-school project, designed to support all educators (i.e., classroom teachers, special educators, ed techs, and interventionists) to strengthen math proficiency for all learners with a specific focus on increased math proficiency for students with math individualized education plan (IEP) goals.

Administered by the Maine Department of Education (DOE), this project focuses on building positive math school communities and classrooms, mathematical content, and pedagogical skills; and supporting inclusionary practices, increased family engagement, and formative assessment, including the Early Mathematics Diagnostic Interview (EMDI).

For more details about the Math4ME project, check out this informational video.

Applications for the 2025-2026 cohort will be open until April 4, 2025. Please use this link to apply.

A virtual informational meeting will be held on Monday, March 24, 2025, at 4 p.m. Please register here in advance.

For questions or more information, please contact Maine DOE Math4ME Distinguished Educator Susan Hogan at susan.hogan@maine.gov or Maine DOE Interdisciplinary Instruction Specialist Jen Robitaille at jennifer.r.robitaille@maine.gov.

Invitation to Apply to Be a Maine Inclusive Education Model Pilot School – Making Learning Accessible for All

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) and the University of Maine at Farmington (UMF) are partnering to support a cohort of Maine public schools in becoming Inclusive Education Model sites for the state. This project is intended to provide participating Maine schools with five years of support to develop and implement sustainable, inclusive, and integrated multi-tiered systems of support for all students.

Maine Inclusive Education Model Schools will:

Build leadership and staff capacity through ongoing coaching and professional learning.
Implement data-driven decision-making to increase equity, access, and achievement outcomes for the most-marginalized students.
Prioritize collaborative and inclusive service delivery.
Commit to increasing the amount of time all students with disabilities spend in general education settings.
Ground standards-based curriculum and instruction in universal design for learning (UDL) principles.

Who can apply for Cohort 1 (2025-2030)

The Maine DOE and UMF are currently seeking applications from public elementary school leaders serving students in pre-K through grade 5 who are deeply committed to inclusion and are ready to reimagine and realign their schools to better meet the diverse needs of all learners. Secondary schools will be able to apply for subsequent cohorts.

What participating Cohort 1 schools will receive

Pilot schools participating in Cohort 1 will receive five years of support from inclusive education experts to implement pilot project goals. Supports will include:

A summer orientation in year one.
Access to annual summer inclusion institutes in years two through five.
Leadership support and staff professional development from inclusive education experts in years one through five.
A network of pilot school cohort leaders and staff.

Commitments for pilot schools include:

Leadership development and coaching.
Participation in professional development and coaching.
Realignment of school schedules and service delivery models to more effectively and inclusively meet the needs of all learners.
Hiring or reassigning of a current educator to serve as the school inclusion facilitator to support sustainability.
Serving as a model inclusion school (e.g., being available for on-site visits from educators and families, participating in video recordings of classroom practice, doing interviews, etc.)
Participating in a research study conducted by Drs. Kate MacLeod and Jessica Apgar of UMF.

Please join the Maine DOE and UMF for a virtual information session on February 26, 2025, from 2-3 p.m. via Zoom to learn more before submitting your materials. You may register here in advance for the meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Applications are welcome from all interested public elementary school leaders in Maine who have started the work of improving inclusive education in their schools.

If you would like to receive an application, please complete this form. Once you’ve completed the form, you will receive the application from Dr. Kate MacLeod (kate.macleod@maine.edu). The application deadline is March 14, 2025.

School finalists will be selected for site visits and interviews, and three elementary schools representing diverse demographic and geographical regions will be accepted into Cohort 1.

For further questions, please reach out to Tracy Whitlock, Maine DOE Special Projects Coordinator for the Office of Special Services and Inclusive Education, at tracy.w.whitlock@maine.gov.

Reminder: Registration Open for Inclusive Education Conference on April 10

Join the Maine Department of Education (DOE) for the state’s first Inclusive Education Conference on Thursday, April 10, 2025, at the Augusta Civic Center. The conference theme is “Reimagining Education: Empowering All Learners, Embracing All Abilities.” It will provide school communities (educators, administrators, families, and students) with the tools necessary to empower every student, particularly those with disabilities, by embracing diverse abilities and ensuring that all students have the support they need to build inclusive, meaningful futures.

The Maine DOE Office of Special Services and Inclusive Education and the University of Maine at Farmington are hosting this conference. The keynote speaker will be Katie Novak, an internationally renowned education consultant, author, graduate instructor at the University of Pennsylvania, and a former Assistant Superintendent of Schools in Massachusetts. Dr. Novak’s keynote address will focus on an introduction to inclusive education practices and structures in schools. She will also hold three sessions on Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

The conference will feature students, families, educators, administrators, university faculty, and Maine DOE staff from across the state, as well, who will share their expertise and experiences with inclusion in schools and communities.

Please gather a team of your school colleagues and meet us in Augusta this spring! The cost of the daylong conference (8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.) is $175 and includes lunch, as well as a wealth of information and resources.

Register here. (Please note that technical issues with the event registration website have been resolved.)

For more information, please reach out to Maine DOE Special Projects for Inclusion Coordinator Tracy Whitlock at tracy.w.whitlock@maine.gov. Click here to learn more about the conference and other inclusive programming.

FREE Professional Learning Series: Building Linguistically-Responsive Individual Education Plans (IEPs) for Multilingual Learners

To support educators across Maine who work with multilingual learners with disabilities, the Maine Department of Education’s (DOE) Office of Special Services and Inclusive Education (OSSIE) and Office of Teaching and Learning (OTL) are collaborating to facilitate a six-session professional learning series entitled, “The Intersection of English Language Acquisition and Individualized Education Programs”.

Designed for Special Education teachers, Case Managers, and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teachers, this professional learning community will foster collaboration and collective efficacy to address students’ linguistic, cultural, and academic strengths through the intersection of language acquisition and disability.

Participants will work toward developing linguistically-responsive Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) through the integration of Individual Language Acquisition Plans (ILAPs) for multilingual students.

Session topics include:

Foundational Knowledge: Legal Regulations, Civil Rights, and Data Overview
Collaboration and Integration of IEPs and Individual Language Acquisition Plans (ILAPs)
IEPs for Multilingual Learners: Section 3 Special Factors
Linguistically-Appropriate Goals, Services, and Accommodations
Test Participation Guidance and Accommodations

Each session will be artfully facilitated by Leora Byras, Education Specialist, Maine DOE OSSIE, and Melissa Frans, Teacher Leader Fellow for Multilingual Learners with Disabilities, Maine DOE OTL.

Two contact hours per session will be awarded to account for essential pre-work. Participants, including school and district teams, are encouraged to attend all six sessions and, upon completion, will receive a free anchor text: IEPs for ELs and Other Diverse Learners.

“With practical guidance and checklists, this book provides educators with research-based strategies and examples that empower them to write effective IEPs for K-12 EL learners.” (Corwin Publishers, 2017.)

Sessions will be held virtually from 3:30-4:30 p.m. on:

Tuesday, January 21, 2025
Thursday, February 27, 2025
Tuesday, March 18, 2025
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Thursday, May 22, 2025
Tuesday, June 10, 2025

To register for this event, please use this registration link.

If you have any questions, please contact Leora Byras (Leora.Byras@maine.gov) or Jane Armstrong, Maine DOE ESOL State Specialist (Jane.Armstrong@maine.gov).

Empowering Students with Diverse Abilities: Nominations Open for Executive Student Transition Committee

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) Transition Maine program invites educators to nominate Maine students with individualized education programs (IEPs) to apply for a leadership role on the Executive Student Transition (EST) Committee.

Established by the Maine DOE in early 2022, Transition Maine was created to provide equitable and inclusive post-secondary transition services for students with IEPs to help them ease into adulthood. Since then, the Maine DOE Transition team has been on a mission to amplify youth voices in Maine and beyond. The Executive Student Transition Committee is a big part of that mission.

The Committee is comprised of students with diverse abilities who work to champion their rights and actively shape inclusive transition experiences. As an Executive Student Transition Committee member, a student will engage in initiatives that forge pathways to promoting equitable access to education, employment, and independent living while building leadership and self-advocacy skills.

Committee members independently attend virtual weekly meetings and develop content related to transition topics, like self-advocacy and determination. They also engage in leadership opportunities in community-wide programming, such as taking part in the planning of the Maine DOE’s Annual Transition Maine Youth Summit and representing Transition Maine at local, statewide, or national events.

Along with the nomination form, student nominees will need to prepare a written, audio, or video response to a topical prompt around advocacy and transitions. This can be done independently or with the assistance of an educator.

Executive Student Transition Committee nominees should be students who are passionate about leadership and advocacy. Members

New committee members will help plan and run the 2025 Transition Maine youth Summit in Presque Isle.

of the Committee are compensated for up to 20 hours per month. By joining the Committee, students will be part of a team dedicated to driving positive change and creating opportunities for all Maine students with diverse needs.

Please submit your nomination using this link. If you are a student or want to provide a potential nominee with more information, you can download the file linked here.

For more information, please reach out to the Maine DOE Transition Specialist Titus O’Rourke at titus.orourke@maine.gov.

Maine Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Conference Registration Now Open!

Join the Maine Department of Education (DOE) Office of Special Services and Inclusive Education for the 14th Annual Maine PBIS Conference at the Augusta Civic Center on Thursday, November 7, 2024 from 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM. The conference is a chance for Maine Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) leaders and implementers from across Maine and beyond to come together to celebrate, learn, and network together.

This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Ruthie Payno-Simmons, the founder of RPS Educational Impact and serves as the Associate Director at the Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center (MAP Center). She leads the coordination, design, and delivery of universal, targeted, and systemic equity-focused professional learning experiences and technical assistance to state and local agencies throughout the MAP Center’s 13-state region. Her keynote address is on, “Enhancing Positive and Supportive School Climate Through Storytelling and Rightful Presence.”

Conference Fees:

General (individual)- $195
Group (groups of 3 or more attendees)- $165
Student (full-time undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in 6 credits per semester for at minimum two semesters per year)- $85
Lead Presenter (those accepted to present; only lead presenters are at no charge; co-presenters will be charged the individual rate)- $0

For more information about the conference, to submit a proposal, sign up for a school showcase, and/or to register to attend the conference, visit the PBIS Conference Website.