This Maine school district passed trans-inclusive policies. Online comments forced it to up security

A school district in Maine has been forced to amp up security after receiving "unsettling and concerning" comments in response to its transgender-inclusive policies.

The Maine School Administrative District 60 (MSAD 60) board voted in December to approve several measures supporting trans students, such as allowing them to use bathrooms based on their gender identities and treating intentional misgendering as bullying. When students noticed an increased police presence as they returned from winter break, district officials clarified it was due to threatening messages made online.

"During a Board meeting prior to the December break, there was a discussion regarding Policy AC (Nondiscrimination/Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action)," Superintendent Audra Beauvais said in a statement. "Recently, the district became aware of social media posts and comments on local town/community pages, as well as broader social media platforms, that some have found unsettling and concerning. For this reason, we want to notify parents, teachers, and staff that on Monday, January 5, 2026, there will be an increased police presence in and around district schools."

"While we recognize that community members hold and express differing viewpoints, we remain committed to fostering a safe, respectful, and welcoming environment for all who learn and work in our schools," Beauvais added.

Beauvais did not elaborate on the comments that were made, but board member Alison Herlihy told News Center Maine that she had received some threatening messages after voting in favor of the policies and speaking in defense of trans students at the meeting.

"I had received a message stating that somebody wanted to throw my children into a bathroom that they don't identify with and, quote, 'see what would happen,’” Herlihy said.

Related: Trump vs. Maine: State refuses anti-trans sports policies as federal agencies push to cut funding

The backlash to the district's affirming policies reflects an ongoing battle in the state over the rights of trans students following Donald Trump's so-called “No Men in Women’s Sports” executive order. Signed in February, the policy directed federal agencies, public schools, colleges, and even the U.S. Olympic Committee to ban trans women and girls from competing in women’s sports, with Trump threatening to withhold federal funding from schools and athletic organizations that did not comply.

Maine's Democratic Gov. Janet Mills did not agree to obey the ban, prompting Trump's Department of Education — which he is attempting to completely dismantle through an executive order — to launch an investigation into the state. The office concluded after just four days and without interviewing any state officials that Maine violated Title IX by allowing trans athletes to compete. Such investigations usually take months.

Trump then instructed the Department of Education to revoke $250 million in broader education for the state, and the Department of Agriculture to freeze more than $3 million in funding for programs that feed over 170,000 children and vulnerable adults. The USDA backed down in May after a federal court intervened, and a separate injunction was issued in October preventing the Trump administration from withholding funding from the 16 states that refused to comply with his order.

Trans-inclusive policies like those of MSAD 60 are in line with state and federal law. Discrimination against trans individuals is illegal in Maine under the Maine Human Rights Act, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that federal laws protecting against sex discrimination in employment, including Title VII, encompass gender identity. Trump's executive orders, which are being challenged in courts, are not law.

Herlihy cited the act in voting to approve the policies, noting that the school board does not have the authority to go against state law.

"It is my job, despite any of my feelings, to support that statute," she said.