Agency of Education

Vermont’s reply is not quite as defiant as the response issued by New York, which bluntly refused to provide any certification. But the legal analysis included in Vermont’s letter to federal officials echoes what several blue states have used in their replies to the Trump administration’s directive.

With millions of dollars under threat, Vermont Education Secretary Zoie Saunders instructed the state’s superintendents on Friday evening to individually certify compliance with a new directive from the Trump administration purporting to ban “illegal D.E.I.” But by Monday evening, after concerted pushback, Saunders had reversed course.

A state official told lawmakers Wednesday they estimated school districts statewide had about $16.7 million in collective exposure.

The state began scrutinizing the school last spring, after former educators went to the state — and the press — with allegations that the school’s leaders had fired them for raising concerns internally about I.N.S.P.I.R.E.’s practices.

The effect of the Trump administration's cuts to The Department of Education is causing a lot of uncertainty among educators.

Thursday’s vote was 22 to 8 in favor of her confirmation. All 13 Republicans and nine of 16 Democrats voted for Saunders.

Superior Court Judge Robert Mello agreed with the lawmakers that their suit raised legitimate constitutional questions. But he still ruled in Gov. Phil Scott's favor. The case could be appealed to the Vermont Supreme Court.

Vermont’s highest ranking education official takes listener questions about funding, teacher shortages, and more.

The agency is a holding a series of listening sessions this summer to gather input on the state’s new school safety law.

The Vermont Agency of Education is keeping close tabs on a southern Vermont supervisory union after a string of top administrators were put on leave or resigned.