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UMaine Farmington outlines Maine Inclusive Education Project and model-school cohorts

University of Maine System Board of Trustees · November 17, 2025

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Summary

UMF faculty presented the Maine Inclusive Education Project to the trustees, describing statewide gaps in special education outcomes, a five-year model-school cohort approach, and plans for teacher-preparation pathways and a new inclusive postsecondary program pilot.

University of Maine at Farmington faculty, led by Dr. Kate MacLeod, presented an overview of UMF—s special education work and the Maine Inclusive Education Project to the Board of Trustees. MacLeod said Maine has high special-education identification rates (about 21% of PK-12 students versus a national figure near 14%) and one of the highest special-education teacher vacancy rates in the nation; she said UMF is responding through a set of coordinated teacher-preparation initiatives, an Inclusive Education Framework and a model-school cohort program.

MacLeod described a multi-pronged approach: a statewide Inclusive Education Framework co-developed with the Department of Education, a professional-development conference and a first model-school cohort of three elementary schools that will receive five years of systems-change support and summer leadership symposia. UMF reported current enrollees (about 104 undergraduates in special education and 175 graduate students in related programs) and said it is piloting a postsecondary program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities in collaboration with other campuses and national partners.

Trustee questions focused on scale, sustainability and data: Trustee McMahon asked how many special-education teachers there are in Maine; presenters cited census-based estimates of over 15,000 teachers statewide with about 5,000 special-education teachers and reported roughly 1,300 immediate vacancies in 2023. Presenters said they would return to the board with longitudinal data on outcomes tied to cohort work and pledged to include measures for general-education outcomes, retention and attendance when available.

"Inclusive education is really a win win," MacLeod said, summarizing research showing improved academic and social outcomes when students with and without disabilities learn together. Trustees praised the program—s applied focus and asked administration about scaling the model across the system.