Agreement Protects Federal Education Assistance for Vermont, Including Funding to Support Students with Disabilities

Attorney General Charity Clark today joined a coalition of 19 attorneys general in securing an agreement with the Trump Administration to prevent it from withholding federal funding from state and local education agencies that refuse to abandon lawful programs and policies related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA), which promote equal access to education in K-12 classrooms across the nation.

On April 3, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) informed state and local agencies that they must sign a document setting forth the Trump Administration's new interpretation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in relation to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts - or else risk immediate and catastrophic loss of federal education funds.

Vermont , like many other states, acknowledged that it does and will comply with federal nondiscrimination statutes, regulations, and case law, but refused to certify its compliance with the Department's new requirements, as there is no lawful or practical way to do so given the Department's vague, contradictory, and unsupported interpretation of Title VI.

On April 25, 2025, Vermontand a multistate coalition filed a lawsuit asserting that the Department's attempt to terminate federal education funding based on its misinterpretation of Title VI violates the Spending Clause, the Appropriations Clause, the separation of powers, and the Administrative Procedure Act. A complementary lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, American Federation of Teachers, et al. v. United States Department of Education, obtained an important victory vacating the April 3 certification request. That decision recently became final when the parties filed an agreement dismissing the Administration's appeal.

Today's agreement resolves this lawsuit and secures the critical commitment from the Administration to apply the relief obtained in the American Federation of Teachers lawsuit to schools in Vermont. It prevents the Administration from withholding any funding based on these unlawful conditions.

The agreement protects congressionally mandated financial support that the Department provides to Vermonteach year for a wide variety of needs related to children and education, including funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This funding further includes financial support to ensure that students from low-income families have the same access to high-quality education as their peers; recruit and train highly skilled and dedicated teachers; fund programming for non-native speakers to learn English; and provide support to vulnerable children in foster care and without housing.

Joining Attorney General Clarkin signing this agreement are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai'i, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin.

A copy of the agreement is available on our website.

CONTACT: Amelia Vath, Senior Advisor to the Attorney General, 802-828-3171