Maine Citizens' Assembly on Education Priorities 2026

"What actions should our next governor and our legislature prioritize to improve PK-12 education in Maine?"

64 delegates to the Maine Citizens' Assembly on Education Priorities will answer this question.
Selected by lottery to represent the diversity of our state, delegates will work with legislators, experts, and statewide organizations to shape the future of education in Maine.

Welcome!

We want Maine citizens to know, we are listening.

"The problems we face in education can't be solved with quick fixes or politics as usual.

We need Maine citizens to come together to wrestle with the issues and identify where our highest priorities for action should be, to shape education policies that will impact the future of our state.

The Maine Citizens' Assembly on Education Priorities is a way to do just that. Our job is to listen and then get it done, together."

Maine Citizens' Assembly Legislative Strategy Team

Representatives Holly Sargent, Kim Haggan, Sheila Lyman, and Dan Sayre.

"Great to see the initiative go live! Ground breaking work that can demonstrate how to effectively give citizens a seat at the table to help determine the policies that most impact their lives."

Carolyn Lukensmeyer, Founder of AmericaSpeaks, on Maine ED 2050

Why Does Maine Need This Assembly Now?

Wicked problems require wicked solutions.

The challenges we face in our education system are urgent—uneven student opportunities and outcomes, a youth mental health crisis, a trickling educator pipeline, the opioid epidemic's multigenerational effects, rising costs, property tax pressures, and the difficulty of preparing youth for a rapidly changing economy. These are complex, interrelated issues involving multiple systems and several different legislative committees. And they exist in an environment of increasing polarization. Finding a way forward requires us to work together in new ways to find new solutions.

A Citizens' Assembly is an innovative model for bringing citizens together to solve these kinds of problems. It offers a structured approach to large-group collective deliberation, based on developing a shared understanding of the issues and committing to deciding for the public good. Delegates represent a cross section of Maine and can leverage varied lived experiences and practical wisdom to weigh tradeoffs and identify where common ground exists.

A list of shared priorities for action will be delivered to legislators, providing them with the refined public judgment they need to chart a path forward for Maine's schools and system of education.

Learn more about Citizens' Assemblies →

Who Are the Delegates?

Mainers like you and our neighbors.

Sixty-four residents, four from each of Maine's sixteen counties, selected from the volunteer pool through random selection. The process is designed to ensure balance across rural and urban communities, age, educational attainment, gender, race and ethnicity, and political perspective.

Together, delegates bring the range of lived experiences that defines Maine. No special background is needed — only a willingness to learn, listen, and deliberate alongside fellow Mainers.

Register for the Delegate Lottery →

What Is the Process?

Register

Mainers 16 and older. (No elected officials.)

Select

64 delegates, are selected by lottery to represent the diversity of Maine.

Deliberate

Delegates engage in a structured in-person engagement to identify the priorities.

Draft

MEPRI produces sample policies to address the delegates' priorities.

Feedback

MEPRI Steering Committee members provides feedback.

Approve

Delegates vote virtually. A supermajority approves a final slate of priorities.

IMPACT
The Legislative Strategy Team takes the delegates' approved priorities and brings them into planned strategy work with MEPRI in Fall 2026, prior to the start of the 133rd Regular Session.

Is This a Part of the Maine ED 2050 Project?

The Assembly is the next phase of a multi-year research and community-will-building project: Maine Education 2050, which seeks to identify what Maine youth need from their education and schooling to thrive personallly, civically, and economically in the Maine of 2050.. Through the Maine School Stories Portal, more than 1,000 residents from all 16 counties have already shared their aspirations, challenges, and visions for Maine's education system. The Assembly's 64 delegates will build on that foundation—engaging directly with what Mainers have said, deliberating together, and developing recommendations grounded in shared judgment to support positive, strategic legislative action.

Visit the Maine School Stories Portal →

Who Is Behind This Project?

Organizers

Experts led by

Maine Legislators

Maine Education 2050 is project of the Center for Education Policy, Applied Research, and Evaluation at University of Southern Maine.

The Maine Citizens' Assembly on Education Priorities 2026 is a part of a multi-phase project, Maine Education 2050.

Phase I: We hosted over 200 recorded conversations with 1000+ Mainers—teens, educators, parents, and community members in every county— to discuss their aspirations and how education and schooling can help them achieve the future they imagine. Mainers 'stories and statements were themed and shared on a public site, the Maine School Stories Portal.

Phase II: Citizens' Assembly. Delegates listen to the Maine School Stories Portal to hear the voices of Maine people and gain an understanding of what everyday Mainers want to see in the system of education and in their schools.

Phase III: Members of Maine's industries will be invited imagine the future of their fields and how education and PK-12 schooling can help them thrive in the coming decades.

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