Senator Collins has a strong record of supporting education at all levels, including promoting early childhood education; improving our public school system for kindergarten through 12th grade; and working to increase the affordability of higher education. As a member of the Senate Appropriations and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committees, Senator Collins will continue to work to ensure that Congress provides robust funding and targeted legislation for the most effective educational programs aimed at helping teachers and students.
Senator Collins has made engaging with Maine’s students and faculty a top priority, visiting nearly 200 schools during her time as a Senator.
Washington, D.C.—On behalf of the more than 82,000 students in Maine who qualify to participate in the National School Lunch Program, Maine’s Congressional Delegation wrote to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, urging him to immediately use new authorities Congress has granted him to increase low-income students’ access to meals.
Washington, D.C.—More than 100 Maine school districts were expected to lose a total of $1.2 million due to a misguided new policy at the Department of Education. Senator Collins strongly opposed this change and led a successful, bipartisan effort to reverse it.
Education Dept. Reverses Plan to Cut Rural School Funding
Washington, D.C. — Following the Department of Education’s announcement to halt a change to the methodology that determines which rural schools are eligible for funding through the Rural Low-Income Schools (RLIS) program, U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) released a statement on this major win for more than 800 rural, low-income schools nationwide:
Washington, D.C. — U.S.
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jack Reed (D-RI) renewed their commitment to encouraging healthy reading habits among young Americans by introducing a bipartisan resolution designating today, March 2, 2020, as “Read Across America Day.” The resolution was unanimously passed by the Senate.
Washington, D.C. —U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jon Tester (D-MT) are joining students, teachers, and administrators from across the country to celebrate Public Schools Week, a nationwide initiative to highlight the importance of America’s public education system. Senators Collins and Tester are leading the Senate resolution designating this week (February 24 – 28) as Public Schools Week.
Click HERE to read the full letter.
Maine is the most rural state in the country. Two out of three Maine schools are in rural communities, and more than half of Maine students attend those schools. While nearly 90 percent of the students in our State graduate from high school, only 62 percent enroll in higher education right away. According to a recent report by the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, only 30 percent of Maine students go on to earn a two-year or four-year degree.
Senator Collins coauthored the law directing this funding to rural schools
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced that Midcoast Maine Community Action Program and Aroostook Micmac Council have received a total of $1,657,710 for their Head Start programs.
“Head Start programs are instrumental in ensuring that children cultivate new skills and receive educational opportunities that prepare them for a lifetime of success,” said Senators Collins and King in a joint statement. “We welcome this important investment in Maine families.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Angus King (I-Maine) announced that the Town of Kittery has received $500,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The federal funding will support the renovation and expansion of Rice Public Library.
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced that Goodwill Industries of Northern New England in Gorham and LearningWorks in Portland have been awarded a total of $2,307,101 to support and expand the organizations’ YouthBuild programs. YouthBuild provides at-risk youth, ages 16 to 24, with education and occupational skill development to obtain employment in construction and other in-demand industries.
Washington, D.C. — Seeking to make higher education more affordable and accessible for students and to help make postsecondary education achievable for more Americans, U.S.
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today announced their nominees to the United States Military Academies. To be considered for an appointment to a service academy, applicants must be nominated by an authorized nominating source, which includes Members of Congress. Admission to the United States Coast Guard Academy, also a federal service academy, does not require a congressional nomination.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Angus King (I-Maine) joined a bipartisan group of Senate colleagues in sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Education urging the Department’s Acting Inspector General, Sandra Bruce, to investigate the federal student loan discharge process for Americans with total and permanent disabilities (TPD).
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Angus King (I-Maine) announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Children and Families has awarded $1,398,216 to York County Community Action Corporation in Sanford, and $1,113,626 to Downeast Community Partners in Ellsworth for Head Start and Early Head Start programs. The programs provide free early childhood education and childcare to low-income families.
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), along with Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), sent a letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos calling for an immediate mid-cycle patch to the current FAFSA form so that students’ access to financial aid is not disrupted.
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