Regional School Unit 24 in Maine did not write its own bathroom and sports policies. According to 900 pages of internal records obtained through a public records request by the citizens group 24 Allies, those policies were shaped behind closed doors by two outside political organizations: Maine First, founded by a former state lawmaker known for anti-trans advocacy, and the Maine Policy Institute.

The influence didn't stop at policy advice. After Maine First helped elect a new school board member in 2025, the district fired its longtime general counsel and replaced him with Maine First's own attorney. That same board then pushed through a narrow vote restricting transgender girls from girls' sports and rescinded a policy that let transgender students use restrooms matching their gender identity, reportedly while coordinating enforcement details, like checking birth certificates, with the Maine Policy Institute directly.

Whatever anyone believes about the underlying policy debate, a school board shouldn't be taking direction from outside political groups, and it certainly shouldn't be represented by the same lawyer those groups use. That's not local governance. That's outsourcing a public school's decisions to a private political agenda, and it puts vulnerable students in the middle of it.

RSU 24 needs to release the remaining records, hire legal counsel with no ties to Maine First or the Maine Policy Institute, and commit to writing future policy in the open, not in private email threads with political operatives.

Sign the petition to demand RSU 24 cut ties with outside political groups and put students, not politics, back at the center of school policy.