Watch the final day
On August 28, delegates reconvened virtually to deliberate on the policy options, give feedback, and ratify their final slate of priorities. Watch the recording below.
Delegates have ratified their final priorities. The work now moves toward the legislature.
On June 17–18, delegates developed their own proposals for improving PK-12 education in Maine, then voted on which to carry forward. They advanced two priorities, both centered on hands-on, real-world learning — each with 84% support. You can read them in full on the results page.
Over the summer, MEPRI researched feasible policy options for achieving the delegates' intent, with feedback from our Expert Advisory Committee members and MEPRI Steering Committee organizations.
On August 28, delegates reconvened virtually, deliberated on the policy options, and ratified a final slate of two primary priorities along with several recommendations.
The bipartisan Legislative Strategy Team is now carrying the ratified priorities into strategy work with MEPRI this fall — alongside additional senators, representatives, and experts — ahead of the 133rd Regular Session.
Maine came together. Now the work continues.
"The problems we face in education can't be solved with quick fixes or politics as usual. We needed 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.
Over three days — two in Bangor and a final day on Zoom — the Assembly did just that. Our delegates listened, deliberated, gave feedback on policy options, and ratified a final slate of priorities. Now we move on to getting it done, together."
Reps. Holly Sargent, Kim Haggan, Sheila Lyman & Dan Sayre — a bipartisan group committed to carrying the delegates' priorities into strategy work this fall.
Why does Maine need this Assembly now?
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.
From volunteers to shared priorities
Seven stages turn a representative group of Mainers into refined public judgment that legislators can act on. The Assembly has completed deliberation; the feedback phase is now underway.
Register
Mainers 16 and older volunteered for the delegate selection lottery.
Select
64 delegates were selected by lottery to represent the diversity of Maine.
Learn
Delegates reviewed materials provided by MEPRI and stakeholder organizations and listened to a range of education experts.
Deliberate
On June 17–18 in Bangor, delegates engaged in structured, in-person deliberation to identify the priorities.
Feedback
MEPRI research produced feasible draft policy options to achieve delegates' intent. Steering Committee organizations and volunteers not selected as delegates provided feedback, which MEPRI synthesized and shared with delegates.
Approve
On August 28, delegates voted virtually. A two-thirds supermajority ratified a final slate of two primary priorities and several recommendations. Minority positions are documented.
Impact NOW
The Legislative Strategy Team carries the ratified priorities into strategy work with MEPRI in Fall 2026 — with additional senators, representatives, and experts — before the 133rd Regular Session.
Mainers like you and our neighbors.
Sixty-four residents, four from each of Maine's sixteen counties, were selected from the volunteer pool through random selection. The process was designed to ensure broad representation of the population of Maine, across rural and urban communities, age, educational attainment, gender, race and ethnicity, and political perspective.
Together, delegates brought the range of lived experiences that defines Maine. No special background was needed — only a willingness to learn, listen, and deliberate alongside fellow Mainers.
Phase II of Maine Education 2050
The Assembly is the second 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 personally, civically, and economically in the Maine of 2050 and develop a strategy for a responsive, evolving system of education in Maine.
In Phase I more than 1,000 residents from all 16 counties have already shared their aspirations, challenges, and visions. Their stories can be explored in the Maine School Stories Portal. The Assembly's 64 delegates build on that foundation — engaging directly with what Mainers have said, deliberating together, and developing recommendations for the public good.
Learn More
Explore the research behind the Assembly — MEPRI’s reports on the essentials of a Maine education, drawn from Phase One of Maine Education 2050. Click any cover to open the full PDF.
