The AHA encourages its members in Maine to make their voices heard as the Maine Department of Education (DOE) nears completion of its mandated social studies standards revisions process. The DOE has asked for public comments regarding existing standards; AHA members in Maine can review those standards and provide written feedback or testify in-person at a public hearing on April 29. AHA researcher Scot McFarlane will testify on behalf of the AHA.

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is nearing completion of its mandated social studies standards revisions process. The agency is soliciting public comments regarding the existing social studies standards, which were revised most recently in 2019.

We encourage you to review the current standards and provide feedback, either through written comments or in person testimony at a public hearing in Augusta, Maine. Scot McFarlane, researcher at the American Historical Association, will testify on behalf of the AHA; the text of his remarks is available on our website.

According to the DOE, the hearing “is intended to give anyone the opportunity to weigh-in on the direction of future social studies standards in Maine. Anyone may speak at the public hearing. People wishing to speak will be asked to sign in and it will be helpful, but not mandatory, to provide a written copy of their comments.” 

• The public hearing will take place on April 29 from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Burton Cross Building, 111 Sewall St., Augusta, Room 500.
• Written comments can be submitted until 5 p.m. on April 29. Comments may be submitted via a form on the DOE website; emailed to sis.doe@maine.gov with the subject “Social Studies Standards Review”; or mailed to Maine Department of Education, attn: Beth Lambert, 23 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333.

If you have any questions about this proposed legislation or would like to request updates about its status, please feel free to contact Brendan Gillis, the AHA's director of teaching and learning (bgillis@historians.org).

The AHA’s advocacy work at the state level is more critical and more vigorous now than ever before. If you believe in the importance of honest and professional history education, please donate to the AHA's Advocacy Fund to support our advocacy work. But, more important, please write that letter or demonstrate your commitment to high quality history education in person in Augusta on April 29.