Attorney General Charity Clark has announced that Vermont, along with 18 other states, has reached an agreement with the Trump Administration to protect federal education funding. The agreement prevents the federal government from withholding funds from state and local education agencies that choose to maintain programs related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA).
The issue began on April 3, 2025, when the U.S. Department of Education required agencies to sign a document adopting the Trump Administration’s new interpretation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in connection with DEIA efforts. Agencies were told that failure to comply could result in an immediate loss of federal funding.
Vermont stated it would follow all existing federal nondiscrimination laws but refused to certify compliance with what it described as “vague, contradictory, and unsupported” new requirements from the Department of Education. Attorney General Clark and a coalition responded by filing a lawsuit on April 25, 2025. The lawsuit argued that the Department’s attempt to cut off funding violated several constitutional provisions and federal statutes.
A parallel case brought by the American Federation of Teachers in Maryland led to a court ruling that vacated the certification requirement introduced by the Department on April 3. That decision became final after both parties agreed to dismiss an appeal.
“This 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,” said Attorney General Clark.
The attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin joined Clark in signing this agreement.
A copy of the agreement is available on their website.
