Education Agency Will Respond to Trump’s Anti-DEI Order

Clark said that her office would “continue to protect Vermonters against any unlawful actions by the federal government.” She noted that Vermont law offers strong protections for students, employees and the public, and that “a change in administration in Washington doesn’t change Vermont’s sovereign right to educate its children consistent with the laws.” 

By about 5 p.m. on Monday, Saunders sent another email directly to superintendents, saying that “in no way, did the AOE direct schools to ban DEI.” She wrote that her agency had “received feedback throughout the day regarding the need for clarity on the intent of the certification and the state’s specific response.”

Instead of asking every superintendent to sign a certification form, Saunders said, the agency, in consultation with the AG’s Office, had decided to send a letter to the U.S. Department of Education that would “certify Vermont’s compliance with applicable current law” and “reject conditions or assurances that are not supported by current law.” She said that the agency would hold office hours for administrators on Tuesday and Wednesday “to review our statewide position” and answer questions.

The message was a stark contrast from Saunders’ original directive, which was included in a weekly memo to superintendents that went out on Friday evening. It gave school districts until the end of the day on Thursday to return a signed certification form acknowledging that their entitlement to federal funds was contingent upon complying with the Trump administration’s interpretation of Title VI, as well as a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned affirmative action in the college admissions process.

According to an explanation provided on the federal certification form, if schools use “illegal DEI practices” — which were not defined — they may be subject to “serious consequences,” including the loss of federal funds, litigation or financial penalties.

In its Friday email to superintendents, the Vermont Agency of Education wrote that based on its initial legal review, the federal form was simply asking states to “reaffirm” their compliance with “existing law that AOE has always followed in our administration of federal funds.”

But not every superintendent was convinced that signing the compliance form was no big deal. Winooski superintendent Wilmer Chavarria told Seven Days on Monday morning that he had told Saunders he would not sign it.

Chavarria, an immigrant from Nicaragua who helms the most diverse school district in the state, said that he was concerned about the implications of signing a certification form that does not define what kinds of diversity, equity and inclusion practices the Trump administration believes are illegal.

Chavarria pointed to neighboring New York’s forceful response to the Trump administration’s request as a more admirable approach. Officials in that state’s education agency fired off a letter to the feds saying they would not return the federal certification form.

Instead, the letter said, the department was unaware of the federal government’s authority to demand a state “agree to its interpretation of a judicial decision or change the terms and conditions” of federal funding “without formal administrative process.”

Vermont hasn’t released its version of its response letter, but Chavarria said he sees the reversal as a victory. He believes the Agency of Education put undue stress on local school districts in initially asking them to sign the certification form.

More education-related directives are likely to come from the federal government in the coming weeks and months, Chavarria said, and he hopes this experience teaches Saunders and her agency “how to handle the next situation.”