Sen. Bernie Sanders announced that the Department of Education has released approximately $11.58 million in remaining federal K-12 COVID-19 relief funding for 20 Vermont school districts and the Agency of Education.

The funds will reimburse schools for activities including summer and afterschool programs, school renovations, teacher training, literacy and math coaches, and mental health programs.

“Vermont school districts will finally receive federal funding for summer and afterschool programs, school renovations and other critical services. At a time when so many of our school districts are suffering and struggling economically, this is an important step forward,” Sanders said.

Background: In March 2025, the Trump administration canceled or froze an estimated $2.5 billion in unspent nationwide K-12 funding originally provided under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP), including roughly $17 million allocated for Vermont. The administration argued that schools had sufficient time to spend the funds and implemented an appeals/reapplication process for states and districts.

The White House explained in May: “The Budget continues the process of shutting down the Department of Education. The Budget maintains full funding for Title I, that provides Federal financial assistance to school districts for children from low-income families, and special education funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). To limit the Federal role in education, and provide States with more flexibility, the Budget creates a new K-12 Simplified Funding Program that consolidates 18 competitive and formula grant programs into a new formula grant, and a Special Education Simplified Funding Program that consolidates seven IDEA programs into a single grant. The Budget also invests $500 million, a $60 million increase, to expand the number of high-quality charter schools, that have a proven track record of improving students’ academic achievement and giving parents more choice in the education of their children.”

Sanders and others urged Education Secretary Linda McMahon to release the Vermont portion. The Department of Education later agreed to make funds available, though Vermont schools had to navigate an appeals process that took additional months. Some related legal challenges to the administration’s actions on education funding were filed by states, with mixed court outcomes depending on the specific program and issue.

This month, Sanders received confirmation that $11.58 million has been disbursed to reimburse Vermont schools for previously approved expenditures.

Funding breakdown:

• Burlington School District: $3,884,414
• Caledonia Central Supervisory Union: $149,375
• Central Vermont Career Center School: $70,605
• Central Vermont Supervisory Union: $287,677
• Essex North Supervisory Union: $81,777
• Franklin Northeast Supervisory Union: $1,220
• Hartford Town School District: $32,410
• Harwood Unified Union School District: $502,261
• Kingdom East Unified Union: $461,707
• Lamoille North Supervisory Union: $30,961
• Milton Town School District: $1,031,840
• Mount Mansfield Unified Union: $74,370
• Orange East Supervisory Union: $26,475
• Orange Southwest Unified Union: $154,246
• Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union: $232,834
• Rutland City School District: $420,371
• Springfield Town School District: $1,314,475
• Two Rivers Supervisory Union: $13,575
• Washington County Mental Health: $10,357
• Windham Northeast Supervisory Union: $606,769
• Windham Southwest Supervisory Union: $556,979
• Agency of Education: $1,630,836

Total: $11,575,536