Millions of dollars in pandemic recovery money initially frozen by the Trump administration in March could begin flowing again to Vermont schools as soon as next week.
U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon abruptly announced earlier this year that K-12 schools would no longer be able to access $2.5 billion in unspent relief money, arguing that schools should have already exhausted the funds. Congress had initially given schools until January to spend the cash, but the Biden administration later extended that deadline to March 2026.
The money could be used on a wide variety of initiatives. In Vermont, that included everything from HVAC projects to literacy tutoring.
A coalition of 16 states and the District of Columbia sued the U.S. Department of Education when McMahon canceled outstanding requests for the money. In May, they won preliminary injunctions, requiring the federal government to release money to schools in states that were party to the lawsuit. Late Thursday evening, McMahon announced that all states — not just those that had sued — could continue to draw down the funding. Vermont had not sued.
“The original intent of the policy announced on March 28 was to treat all states consistently with regards to safeguarding and refocusing their remaining COVID-era grant funding on students,” she wrote. “The ongoing litigation has created basic fairness and uniformity problems.”
It was not immediately clear how much money McMahon’s latest announcement would unlock for the state’s K-12 schools. The Vermont Agency of Education said Friday that it knew of about $11.6 million that could now be claimed. A statement released by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., estimated $17 million was now available.
Sanders, the ranking member on the influential Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, had advocated for McMahon to release funding to states that hadn’t sued.
“At a time when so many of our school districts are suffering and struggling economically, this is an important step forward,” he said in a video message Thursday.
The federal government’s latest reversal comes with caveats. It left open the possibility that the Trump administration could cut off access to unclaimed funds if it prevails in the lawsuit. It also made clear that not all reimbursement requests would necessarily be granted, even if the aid program’s original deadlines were back in effect for now.
“We will carefully review requests in order to ensure they continue to adhere to governmentwide grant cost principles and that, broadly, expenditures are intended to ‘prepare, prevent, and respond to coronavirus,’” McMahon wrote.
The news underscores the profound uncertainty that schools are contending with under the Trump administration. Even as education leaders cautiously celebrate the release of the pandemic aid, they are wringing their hands about yet another pot of money.
Vermont Education Secretary Zoie Saunders warned superintendents in mid-June that another $11 million in federal funds, which would primarily pay for teacher training, appeared to be in limbo.
Congress has greenlit the money, but the U.S. Department of Education hasn’t communicated to states about their allocations within the usual timelines. It’s possible that the federal government does intend to disburse the funds to states, Toren Ballard, a spokesperson for the Vermont Agency of Education, said Friday.
But it’s the radio silence that has educators worried.
“There’s a lot that’s up in the air right now,” he said.
