US Department of Education Approves Waiver Request

Montpelier, VT - The US Department of Education approved a waiver to allow the Vermont Agency of Education to consolidate its state-level activities funds across a series of federal funding allocations for the next four fiscal years.

State-level activities funds are the small percentages of certain federal Title programs that state agencies may set aside to provide professional learning, curricular resources, and other supports at no cost to schools and districts across the state, in alignment with statewide priorities. They may also be used to support salaries for Agency staff implementing these federal programs.

The waiver will enable the Agency to better support schools by combining separate buckets of federal funding to scale investment in statewide priorities such as strengthening literacy instruction and addressing chronic absenteeism.

"As a small state, Vermont must pursue every opportunity to maximize available resources," said Secretary of Education Zoie Saunders. "This waiver will enable Vermont to make the most of federal education dollars by targeting resources to advance statewide priorities. By consolidating state-level activities funds, Vermont can take a more coordinated approach to investing in evidence-based practices that support districts in improving literacy and math achievement, increasing attendance, and strengthening student engagement. The flexibility afforded through the waiver will allow Vermont to align resources more strategically and achieve greater impact with existing federal funds."

Under the waiver, the Agency will consolidate state-level activities funds for Title IIA, IVA, and IVB. Title IIA is the primary federal program supporting professional learning for educators. Title IVA is focused on promoting safe, healthy, and well-rounded educational opportunities for students. IVB (also known as 21 Century Learning Centers) is the primary source of funding for summer and afterschool programming, including tutoring.

In FY26, Vermont is estimated to receive a total of $24 million in federal Title funds across the three programs. Under federal law, the Agency sets aside the allowable 4-5% of these allocations (about $1.02 million in FY26) to spend on professional learning, other contracted supports, and salaries. However, because each allocation represents a distinct Title program with distinct allowable uses and limits on eligible participants, there are restrictions on which educators can participate in professional learning opportunities.

With the flexibility granted by the waiver, the Agency intends to take the following actions:

• Support the participation of cohorts of teachers and administrators in the State's signature instructional improvement initiatives: Read Vermont (strengthening literacy instruction), Count on Vermont (strengthening math instruction), and Everyday Counts (reducing chronic absenteeism);
• Provide comprehensive professional learning which incorporates teams of educators across settings (e.g., school day and afterschool) and roles (e.g., teachers and administrators);
• Avoid duplication of professional learning efforts between the Agency and SUs/SDs; and
• Reduce the administrative burden associated with tracking the roles of individual participants back to separate funding sources and apportioning costs.

This waiver will not change the amounts the Agency sets aside from these three programs, which are limited by federal law. Supervisory unions and districts will continue to receive 95% of these dollars, and they will continue to have substantial discretion over use of those funds.