Building for the Future: Vermont's Plan for Education Recovery and Beyond, Revised August 11, 2023
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The cover and contents of Building for the Future: Vermont's Plan for Education Recovery and Beyond, a 71-page ARP ESSER plan revised August 11, 2023, with ARP ESSER PR Award Number S425U210011. The page carries a signature date of 8/14/2023 and a table of contents that begins with the introduction and an organizational section. It is an updated version of the plan the Vermont Agency of Education prepared under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
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Cite this document
“Building for the Future: Vermont's Plan for Education Recovery and Beyond, Revised August 11, 2023.”
Original at www.ed.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/department-of-education-pdf-www-ed-gov-99bfb118b9/
, SHA-256 9a3b2fba080a738548474b937619eb2535b0476fd50b41b9d0175745f4ab5e39.Full text
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DocuSign Envelope ID: 0931C85A-C60B-4402-8B68-B16192F3108C
ARP ESSER PR Award Number (e.g., S425U2100XX): S425U210011
SEA Contact: Jill Briggs Campbell
Telephone: (619) 787-5421
Email address: jill.briggscampbell@vermont.gov
By signing this document, I agree to each of the assurances listed in Appendix C and
further assure that:
To the best of my knowledge and belief, all information and data included in this
plan are true and correct.
Chief State School Officer or Authorized Representative
(Printed Name)
8/14/2023
Signature of Authorized SEA Representative
8/14/2023
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Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 6
Organizational Note .............................................................................................................................. 7
A. Describing the State’s Current Status and Needs ............................................................................. 8
1. Progress and Promising Practices .................................................................................................... 8
Overview of Vermont’s Response to the Pandemic ...................................................................... 8
2. Overall Priorities ................................................................................................................................ 9
Summary of Education Recovery Planning ................................................................................. 10
3. Identifying Needs of Underserved Students ............................................................................... 12
Table A1 – Priority Needs by Student Group .............................................................................. 12
4. Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic ............................................................. 15
5. School Operating Status .................................................................................................................. 16
Data on Instructional Modalities for School Year 2020-21 ......................................................... 17
Planned Operational Status and Mode of Instruction for Summer 2021 and SY 2021-22 ..... 17
B. Safely Reopening Schools and Sustaining their Safe Operations ................................................. 18
1. Support for Local Education Agencies ......................................................................................... 18
Implementing Mitigation Strategies .............................................................................................. 18
Statewide Plans and Policies .......................................................................................................... 19
Consultation with Federal, State and Local Health Officials ..................................................... 20
Guidance, Professional Learning and Technical Assistance ...................................................... 20
2. Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plans ................................... 20
C. Planning for Use and Coordination of ARP ESSER Funds ........................................................... 21
1. SEA Consultation ............................................................................................................................. 21
Summary of Input ............................................................................................................................ 23
Incorporation of Stakeholder Feedback into State Plan.............................................................. 23
2. Coordinating Funds ......................................................................................................................... 25
Use of CARES Act and CRRSA Act Funds ................................................................................... 25
Award of ESSER I and ESSER II funds to LEAs .......................................................................... 29
Supporting LEA Planning for Return to In-Person Instruction and Education Recovery .... 30
D. Maximizing State-Level Funds to Support Students ..................................................................... 31
1. Academic Impact of Lost Instructional Time ............................................................................... 31
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Description of the Evidence-based Interventions........................................................................ 31
(2) Building infrastructure for efficient instruction and student supports ............................................ 34
How the Interventions will Address Impacts to Certain Groups of Students ........................ 39
Engaging Students Who Missed In-person Instruction .............................................................. 40
2. Evidence-Based Summer Learning and Enrichment Programs ................................................ 40
Description of Programs ................................................................................................................. 40
Addressing Impact to Students ...................................................................................................... 42
Engaging Students Who Missed In-person Instruction .............................................................. 43
3. Evidence-Based Comprehensive Afterschool Programs ............................................................ 43
Description of Programs ................................................................................................................. 43
Addressing Impact to Students ...................................................................................................... 45
Engaging Students Who Missed In-person Instruction .............................................................. 45
4. Emergency Needs ............................................................................................................................ 45
Description of Programs ................................................................................................................. 45
E. Supporting LEAs in Planning for and Meeting Students’ Needs ................................................. 47
1. LEA Plans for the Use of ARP ESSER Funds ............................................................................... 47
Prevention and Mitigation Strategies Aligned with CDC Guidance........................................ 47
Addressing Impact of Lost Instructional time ............................................................................. 48
Use of Remaining Funds ................................................................................................................. 48
Addressing Impacts of Students Disproportionately Impacted by COVID-19....................... 48
2. LEA Consultation ............................................................................................................................. 48
3. Support and Monitoring for LEAs ................................................................................................ 49
Monitoring Implementation of Interventions .............................................................................. 49
Addressing Impacts and Engaging Most Impacted Students ................................................... 49
4. Additional Strategies for Educational Equity .............................................................................. 50
F. Supporting the Educator Workforce ................................................................................................. 51
1.Supporting and Stabilizing the Educator Workforce: .................................................................. 51
Identifying Shortages and Potential Shortages ............................................................................ 56
Filling Gaps in Certified Teachers ................................................................................................. 56
2. Staffing to Support Student Needs ................................................................................................ 57
G. Monitoring and Measuring Progress ............................................................................................... 58
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1. Capacity for Data Collection and Reporting: ............................................................................... 58
2. Monitoring and Internal Controls ................................................................................................. 58
Appendix A: School Operating Status and Instructional Mode Data Template............................. 60
Purpose .............................................................................................................................................. 60
Description of Information ............................................................................................................. 60
Students from Low-Income Families ............................................................................................ 61
Students from Each Racial or Ethnic Background Used by the State for Reporting Purposes
............................................................................................................................................................ 62
Students by Gender ......................................................................................................................... 63
English Learners ............................................................................................................................... 63
Children with Disabilities ............................................................................................................... 63
Students Experiencing Homelessness ........................................................................................... 63
Children and Youth in Foster Care................................................................................................ 64
Migratory Students .......................................................................................................................... 64
Other Groups of Students Identified by the State ....................................................................... 64
Instruction Modalities by Schools.................................................................................................. 65
Students by Instruction Modalities ............................................................................................... 65
Appendix B: Reporting Language Included in the Grant Award Notification (“GAN”) ............. 66
Appendix C: Assurances ......................................................................................................................... 67
Appendix D: US Department of Education Notice to All Applicants .............................................. 69
Vermont Agency of Education Statement regarding Section 427 of the General Education
Provisions Act (GEPA) ........................................................................................................................ 69
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Introduction
Vermont Education’s journey to recovery and the world beyond the COVID-19 pandemic began
in January of 2021. Aided by good epidemiological conditions overall due to the efforts of
Vermonters to prevent and contain transmission of the virus, Vermont schools were open for
school year 2020-21 and operating under a robust set of health and safety guidelines developed
by the State with the input of medical and educational professionals during the summer of 2020.
With additional support from a school staff polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing effort
administered by the State, a robust contact tracing effort run by the Vermont Department of
Health, and through the tireless efforts of Vermont’s educators and administrators, our schools
were open and educating students in a combination of in-person, remote and hybrid
instructional models throughout the school year.
In this context, Vermont was in a better position than many of our peer states around the nation
and had time and space to begin the process of envisioning the world beyond COVID-19. Our
school communities and the Vermont Agency of Education (AOE) have had the opportunity to
consider and plan for not only what students need immediately to remediate the impacts of the
pandemic, but also in the months and years ahead.
By engaging with Vermont’s education stakeholders, the AOE identified three critical focus
areas for education recovery: academic success, mental health and social emotional learning,
and student engagement. With these focus areas, we could begin the work of education
recovery, as well as start planning for the strategic use of Federal COVID-19 emergency funds
for education, most predominantly for the use of Elementary and Secondary Schools
Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds.
While Vermont’s favorable conditions gave us more time to plan and engage with stakeholders
on education recovery, it also put us in a place to be able to see farther, beyond reopening
classrooms and the immediate impacts of COVID-19 on students and staff. The favorable
position means that Vermont’s State Plan can look beyond returning students to the classroom.
We can turn the corner to not only address the impact of the pandemic on students, but
strategically advance learning and improve the quality and integration of social services needed
to make sure students across Vermont have an opportunity to succeed. Vermont is a small, rural
state; it is becoming increasingly clear that regional approaches that integrate and scale both
learning opportunities and services availability, such as the community schools model, are
likely to achieve long-term success for our education system. For instance, Vermont’s plan to
focus on community schools that integrate academic learning with robust social and community
services under one roof will deliver on the promise of a high-quality education in all of our
communities.
Vermont’s special context provided one additional unique aspect to the planning process. Early
in the 2021 Session, the General Assembly (GA) identified priorities for COVID-19 response and
recovery and resolved to appropriate ESSER state-level set aside dollars for those priorities.
Once it was confirmed that this was an allowable process under the federal law, the AOE
collaborated with the GA to build a plan, outlined in the pages that follow, that address both
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the needs of education recovery and the legislature’s strategic priorities for education.
Accordingly, this plan is developed to meet the needs and serve the interests of all Vermont’s
residents in ensuring that student learning and achievement are advanced, not only during the
period of education recovery, but into the future as well. It reflects the interests and strategic
priorities identified in the 2021 Session and in previous years, with the collaboration of the
Governor and the AOE, and with robust input, engagement and advocacy by a diverse range of
stakeholders.
Organizational Note
The U.S. Department of Education (hereinafter US ED) specified a template with specific
questions for State Education Agencies (SEAs) to answer. In the interest of clarity and
readability these prompts have been summarized at the beginning of each section. The full
questions can be found at the US ED’s State Plan Template. More information can be found on
the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE)’s ARP ESSER website.
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A. Describing the State’s Current Status and Needs
In this section, the US ED requires states to outline the progress they have made in supporting students
during the COVID-19 pandemic and describe the priorities and student needs guiding their American
Rescue Plan (ARP) ESSER funding decisions, and their current and projected operating status. Section
A State Plan Template Questions (page 4)
1. Progress and Promising Practices
States are required to provide their assessment of the most effective strategies in supporting the needs of
students during the pandemic.
Overview of Vermont’s Response to the Pandemic
After an initial school closure period in March 2020 due to the pandemic and mandated fully
remote operations during the rest of the 2019-2020 school year, Vermont successfully reopened
its schools for full-time instruction in September 2020. To do so, Vermont promulgated stringent
public health requirements for schools through its mandatory guidance. Vermont also enabled
operational flexibility for schools to shift to remote learning as local conditions for COVID-19
warranted, or for logistical considerations such as staff and student availability for in-person
instruction.
Since September 2020, we estimate about 85% of our students were in some form of hybrid
learning during the 2020-2021 school year. The most common model of hybrid learning was
four days a week of in-person instruction and one day of remote learning. About 50% of our
elementary schools made the shift to full in-person instruction by November 2020 and sustained
that level of in-person instruction throughout the year. Approximately 10% of our students
received instruction through full remote learning during the 2020-2021 year.
Our schools were able to maintain continuous instructional operations during the pandemic by
working closely with the Vermont Department of Health (VDOH) to enact a disciplined
program of public health mitigation strategies and contact tracing. We also implemented a
weekly statewide program of PCR surveillance testing for school staff from November 2020
through April 2021.
The surveillance testing program consistently yielded a very low positivity rate among school
staff, generally lower than 1%, and demonstrated that the stringent health protocols
implemented by local education agencies (LEAs) were effective in keeping positivity rates well
below the state's already low average. This built confidence in our ability to return to in-person
learning. This surveillance testing program was ended in April when it became clear that our
vaccination program for school staff was sufficiently complete.
The close coordination of communications between state and local leaders also contributed to
our ability to maintain operations statewide. School superintendents received daily emails with
the latest information and state guidance on COVID-19. The AOE leadership team held weekly
statewide calls with superintendents to review the conditions for the virus, state guidance and
the need to develop additional frequently asked questions (FAQ) documents, and other
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emergency response concerns such as the management of federal and state relief funding. This
allowed school system leaders to understand the broader strategic context while simultaneously
providing insight into the more immediate decisions they would need to make at moments of
key transition in the state’s emergency response.
In preparation for Vermont’s April 2020 reopening within fully remote operations, the AOE
provided resources and supports to the field through the provision of a Continuity of Learning
(COL) template and mandatory COL plan submitted by each district. The template required
districts to identify the strategies they would employ to assure that students were learning and
able to access supports during the pandemic, including fully remote, in-person, and hybrid
school operations paradigms. These planning documents were useful to districts as they
subsequently moved into the more long-term, largely hybrid operational paradigm during the
2020-2021 school year. Most recently, Vermont’s education system has turned toward a
statewide focus on “education recovery,” explained in further detail in subsequent sections of
the plan.
2. Overall Priorities
States are required to provide their assessment of the top issues facing students and schools across their
state as a result of or in response to the pandemic, and if possible, provide data illustrating why these are
the most critical or most widespread issues.
The state strategy most effective in supporting our students throughout the pandemic has been
intentional, regular planning and coordination across several key stakeholders and decision-
makers involved in the pandemic response. As noted above, the strong partnership among state
agencies and key departments was a significant factor in Vermont’s largely successful handling
of the crisis. From day one of the pandemic, Vermont’s small size allowed for close working
relationships among key state partners, including the Department of Health, State Emergency
Operations Committee (SEOC), AOE, Agency of Human Services (including Departments of
Mental Health and Children and Families), Department of Public Safety, and the Governor’s
Office. AOE embedded staff directly within the SEOC, providing the SEA and the field with a
bird’s eye view of current virus activity, key decision-making, and any rapid changes needed to
optimize the state response. This robust structure and effective work together set the stage for
Vermont to both manage the next steps in the pandemic response and enact strategic solutions
to meet more immediate needs as they emerge.
A second effective strategy in supporting student need during the pandemic, particularly
during the past school year, was rapid expansion of Vermont’s ability to provide hybrid and
remote learning opportunities that were flexibly deployed to maintain student learning even
when viral activity or workforce challenges forced a school’s closure. To enhance the state’s
virtual capacity, the AOE contracted with an existing virtual learning collaborative, Vermont
Virtual Learning Cooperative (VTVLC), to massively expand its course offerings, offer full-time
virtual programs in partnership with districts at younger grades than had previously been
available, and create a collaborative schools option (CSO) that allowed teachers who needed to
work remotely due to the pandemic to offer fully remote courses and programs for students
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throughout the school year. Although this system was not perfect, and required substantial
effort by AOE and VTVLC, it was a significant accomplishment that enhanced both student and
educator safety during a time of immense operational instability due to the pandemic.
A third strategy that Vermont deployed to ensure that the needs of our most vulnerable
students and populations were addressed was requiring a formal recovery planning process of
each LEA (i.e., district). The planning process consisted of:
(1) Assessing need at the local level, using readily available information and data (April
2021);
(2) Creating an action plan to meet that local need (June 2021);
(3) Executing initial implementation of the action plan (June - December 2021); and,
(4) Tuning and refining the plan over time (June 2021-beyond).
Districts were required to complete a mandatory Needs Assessment (NA), across three separate
but interrelated arenas of student functioning. First, students’ social emotional health, mental
health, and well-being were assessed, including students’ internalizing and externalizing
challenges, both inside and outside the classroom, as well as nutrition, physical health, and
family functioning. Next, taking stock of student engagement, including the extent to which
students were fully engaged in learning and academic progress, coupled with the extent to
which they experienced remote or in-person learning during the pandemic, in addition to
identifying when and how students were disengaged was required. Finally, districts were
charged with assessing academic achievement and success, including identifying the extent to
which any students had fallen behind due to the pandemic. In conducting their Needs
Assessment and finalizing their reports, districts were strongly encouraged to attend to the
needs of historically marginalized students, as defined in Vermont’s ESSA plan.
For this section, we have intentionally highlighted the most effective state-level aspects of
Vermont’s pandemic response and recovery planning. However, each LEA has specific areas
they can be proud of having accomplished throughout the pandemic, including ensuring that
students were well-nourished, maintained some level of continuity in their learning and had
continued access to key relationships at school and educational supports. We will encourage
Vermont LEAs to submit their success stories to our Agency Communications team and will
share these both publicly and with US ED.
Summary of Education Recovery Planning
Shortly after January 1, 2021, the AOE began to plan for Vermont’s last phase of the COVID-19
emergency response, termed the “education recovery phase.” In guidance published February
2021, the AOE outlined a recovery planning process establishing three focus areas:
socioemotional functioning, mental health, and well-being; student engagement; and academic
achievement and success. The first part of the recovery planning process required school
districts (LEAs) to conduct a needs assessment in each of these three focus areas. The AOE then
engaged with LEAs to determine planning priorities and to establish a plan for recovery
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strategies by June 1st. The results of these local needs assessments and the resulting priorities
are described in more detail below.
Although Vermont’s education recovery planning process was developed and established well
before the required federal planning process under ARP ESSER, our state now benefits from
significant synergy in both state and federal requirements. As the state recovery planning
efforts emerged and were refined during the past several weeks, we intended for districts to
utilize the required state recovery planning process to inform their local use of federal relief
funds. In addition, the AOE leveraged the local NAs to help establish state-level priorities for
education recovery.
Recovery planning efforts quickly identified “student engagement” as an immediate priority.
We reasoned it would be difficult to make progress in the other focus areas if robust
engagement with students was not restored. This led to the prioritization of summer
engagement activities. Governor Scott gave direction to this work by establishing Vermont’s
Summer Matters initiative for the summer of 2021, developing a new public-private partnership
to expand engagement activities for all Vermont’s students.
Engagement with students will remain a priority for the fall. AOE conducted an initial thematic
analysis of districts’ submitted NA documentation and discovered that 30% of districts reported
a decline in student attendance and 30% reported a decline in student engagement as a result of
the pandemic. We expect local activities to involve re-engaging students on a continuum from
re-focusing attendance and ensuring timely assignment completion to successfully reconnecting
with truant students and their families, so they return to the education system. Local efforts will
inform statewide work in areas such as truancy policy reform and the deployment of state
services such as mental health and youth services.
A second pressing issue facing Vermont’s students and schools as a result of the pandemic,
consistent with national patterns, is a significant rise in anxiety and stress, and a need for
additional supports to address this. AOE’s thematic analysis revealed that 47% of districts
reported an increase in students’ anxiety, stress, or internalizing behavior, and 49% reported an
increase in the need for school counseling, mental health counseling and/or family supports.
Interestingly, 32% of districts reported a decline in behavioral referrals, typically those within
the classroom. To assist in addressing these challenges, the AOE is providing tailored state
support teams including AOE personnel, and both Department of Mental Health and Division
of Child and Families personnel, to each LEA. Our goal with state-level recovery work will be to
develop more robust, integrated service delivery models and structures between education and
other social services, and to see those integrated models well established in all regions of the
state.
Academic slippage was also an area identified as a key concern in LEAs’ NAs, with 40%
reporting a decline in students’ academic performance or growth in math, due to the pandemic.
Thirty percent of districts reported similar declines in English Language Arts (ELA). Our
recovery planning process requires districts to utilize their Education Support Teams (ESTs) to
assess student needs broadly, but to also focus on academic interventions. We are anticipating
that ESTs will identify the need for academic supports such as tutoring services, after school
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programming, and the utilization of online learning resources to augment the regular
curriculum and instructional program. As noted, AOE support teams will interface with the
recovery planning efforts in each district (districts are required to designate a Recovery
Coordinator) and convene communities of practice to identify and share best practices in this
work as they emerge.
In addition to the three focus areas outlined in the state’s recovery planning process, a fourth
recovery priority emerged—improving the overall health and safety of Vermont’s school
facilities. Due to our extensive experience continuously operating schools safely throughout the
pandemic, we have come to better understand the needs of our schools in this area. The AOE
will be providing coordinating support for schools in the area of facilities improvement,
including heating/ventilation upgrades, and will continue to focus on the safe operations of
schools in the coming months.
3. Identifying Needs of Underserved Students
States are prompted to describe the highest priority academic, social, emotional and/or mental health
needs for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year and the 2021-2022 school year, related to the impact of
COVID-19 on each of the following student groups:
• Students from low-income families • Students experiencing homelessness
• Students from each racial or ethnic • Children and youth in foster care
group • Migratory students
• Gender • Other groups disproportionately
• English learners impacted by the pandemic
• Children with disabilities
Table A1 – Priority Needs by Student Group
Based on both local Needs Assessment (NA) information, as described above, as well as
feedback obtained through regular interactions among AOE staff and key education
stakeholders during the pandemic, the following table represents Vermont’s most pressing
needs for the successful post-pandemic recovery of unique student groups.
Student Group Highest Priority Needs
Students from low-income • Reducing achievement gaps, particularly in math and ELA,
families between low-income students and their peers.
• Increasing mental health and wrap-around supports for
students who have experienced trauma, new or continued
family economic stress, and/or family dysfunction as a result
of COVID-19.
• Ensuring students from families with less resources have
sufficient access to school, healthy nutritional options, and
internet access/materials to fully participate in learning
opportunities.
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Student Group Highest Priority Needs
• Reducing stigma related to low-income populations.
Notes:
• 11% of districts reported disparity by free and reduced lunch
(FRL) status with respect to social emotional learning (SEL),
mental health, and well-being, as a result of COVID-19 (i.e.,
via Agency’s thematic review of LEA recovery NAs).
• 13% of districts reported disparity by historically
marginalized group status for student attendance and
engagement, as well as academic performance, during
COVID-19.
• 11% of districts reported gaps in academic performance for
students qualifying for FRL, as a result of COVID-19.
Students from each racial or • Reducing achievement gaps, particularly in math and ELA,
ethnic background used by the between underserved black, Indigenous, and people of color
State for reporting purposes (BIPOC) students and their peers.
• Increasing mental health and wrap-around supports for
BIPOC students who have experienced trauma, new or
continued family economic stress, and/or family dysfunction
as a result of COVID-19 or other national events.
• Deploying equity supports that were delayed due to the
pandemic, consistent with ESSA state plan.
Note:
Due to small population sizes, it is difficult to break down trends for
Vermont by specific racial or ethnic groups. This is particularly true
for information that is narratively reported to the AOE, such as that
garnered from recovery NAs.
Students by gender – please Recovery themes related to gender and/or gender differences have
add a row for each gender not yet emerged in our work to date. However, we will be
monitoring local and statewide trends in the coming months to
prepare and offer targeted supports as needed.
English Learners (EL) • Ensuring ELs have opportunities to attain proficiency and
achieve content standards through access to high-quality
Language Instruction Educational Programs (LIEPs) and
differentiated supports.
• Embedded professional learning, collaboration and co-
teaching opportunities to provide effective educational
services to ELs across learning environments and optimize
resources for coordinated programs and instructional
contexts.
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Student Group Highest Priority Needs
• Ensuring sufficient staffing ratios of qualified EL and
Multilingual educators to provide effective evidence-based
language and academic programs/services for ELs with
diverse needs and backgrounds.
Students with disabilities In their NAs, 11% of districts reported specific gaps in academic
performance for students qualifying for special education as a result
of COVID-19.
Based on both AOE’s assessment and recommendations from the
Vermont Special Education Advisory Panel, the following unmet
needs are deemed highest priority:
• Ensuring all general and special education educators, and
administrators, understand and can effectively implement
Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS); ensuring all parents
understand key features of MTSS.
• Assisting LEAs in developing processes to effectively solicit
parents’ suggestions, opinions, and concerns, and uniformly
integrate this information into student plans for assuring a
free appropriate public education (FAPE).
• Ensuring that articulated processes and policies for
effectively addressing students’ unique academic and
behavioral needs align with actual education practice.
• Proactive planning to ensure physical and emotional safety,
and dignity, of BIPOC and other marginalized students
qualifying for special education services, including
protection against bullying and harassment.
• Elementary level strengthening of the comprehensive
assessment system by providing dyslexia identification
resources, training and professional development to all
general educators, as well as special education and reading
specialists.
Students experiencing • SEL and mental health supports, including adequate
homelessness counseling and expertise in issues specific to homeless
students and populations.
• Wrap-around services and supports, including sufficient
access (including transportation) to all available resources.
• Increased outreach and improved awareness about
educational rights to youth/families experiencing
homelessness.
Children and youth in foster We will be monitoring trends for our children and youth in foster
care care, via partnership with the Vermont Department of Children and
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Student Group Highest Priority Needs
Families (DCF), as well as local and statewide education trends in the
coming months. We will deploy targeted supports as needed.
Migratory students • Expanded access to extended learning and early educational
programs, including prekindergarten (PreK), after school,
and summer programs.
• Intensive academic supports to ensure that migrant students
achieve at levels comparable to like peers.
• Support to facilitate and improve communication between
migrant families and schools.
• Greater access to educational resources including necessary
materials and supplies.
Other groups of students • To be determined.
identified by the State
4. Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic
States are asked to describe how they will support their LEAs identification of the extent of the impact of
COVID-19 on student learning and well-being, and the student groups most impacted.
As outlined above, AOE mandated an education recovery planning process of each LEA in
Vermont. Districts were required to conduct a NA across three key areas of student functioning,
as well as delineate specific plans for addressing these identified needs. In the required
template, LEAs were instructed to “Pay particular attention to the status of historically
marginalized students (students in different racial/ethnic groups, English learners, students
with disabilities, students in poverty, migrant students, military-affiliated students, homeless
students, students in foster care).”
AOE provided a comprehensive list of suggested key indicators for districts to draw from in
developing their NAs, including metrics such as the number of students demonstrating a
decline in mental health and/or well-being, the number of students requiring mental health
supports, the number of student absences, percent of students fully engaged/not engaged with
schoolwork, number of students qualifying for an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or
504 plan, and data from local comprehensive assessment systems that addressed student
performance and growth in core academic proficiencies. Districts were instructed to compare
current data to the 2018-2019 school year whenever possible. Potential data sources identified
for districts to draw from included: formative assessment measures, curriculum-based
measures, mental health and well-being screening measures, other student self-reports (e.g.,
referrals regarding mental health/well-being), grades and proficiencies, graduation rates,
dropout rates, attendance/truancy data, student portfolio measures, college and career
readiness measures, physical education data, nurse and school counselor referrals, teacher
absences, parental requests for services, kindergarten readiness results, data from local EST
work, and exclusionary discipline practices and outcomes. Districts were also instructed to
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“Draw on your learning from the data literacy professional development series to consider new
and existing data sources for understanding needs.” The data literacy series is an ongoing
professional training opportunity, initiated by AOE during the pandemic, to assist district
personnel with selecting optimal data and using it to make decisions for education systems
improvement.
5. School Operating Status
States are asked to describe the data collection on school operational status and modes of instruction for
all schools in the State.
Throughout SY 20-21, the AOE has conducted survey activity that played an active and ongoing
role in Vermont’s COVID-19 response. The Strong and Healthy Schools Survey (SHS), first
deployed in September 2020, is a monthly collection of Continuity of Operations questions and
a twice-yearly extended collection comprised of both Continuity of Operations and COL
questions (see complete list of questions). The SHS was deployed the last Friday of each month
to LEA Superintendents and was due the following Friday (i.e., a one-week timeframe to
complete the response).
The collection tool provided a means by which Superintendents could decide how supervisory
district/union questions were answered, typically through coordinating with their principals to
answer school-specific questions. LEAs were asked to answer questions to the best of their
ability and in a manner that best reflects, when appropriate, a monthly average. This survey is a
required activity, designed to ensure that Vermont can maintain a strong, coordinated,
statewide response to the ongoing emergency. It is currently built using a lightweight, web-
based tool called Cognito to gather these data. Data are recorded in a SharePoint list where
AOE Data Management and Analysis Division (DMAD) staff retrieve them and execute Python
scripts to process them for reporting.
Monthly data collection questions about instructional mode have provided insight into
districts’:
(1) mode of instruction (in-person, fully remote, hybrid) across grade spans (elementary,
middle, and high school),
(2) school-level percent of students in each instructional mode across grade levels,
(3) split of in-person/remote days for students in a hybrid learning model,
(4) activities that occur in hybrid 1-day remote models, and
(5) options for students/families to choose a mode of instruction. These district-level data, in
turn, allowed the AOE and partners to determine state-level trends and regional
patterns in instructional disposition across the state.
Survey results have informed current and future state guidance, enabled coordinated support
efforts across the state, and met federal reporting expectations for assessments such as National
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). These data are shared with the Vermont
Department of Financial Regulation, which has led the Vermont COVID-19 data modeling
effort, the Vermont Department of Health, and the general public via an interactive dashboard.
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To disaggregate the data based on the required demographic groups, the AOE cross-referenced
available demographic data for each supervisory union/supervisory district (SU/SD) with the
information collected through the Strong and Healthy Schools Survey.
While there are efficiencies the Data Management and Analysis Division (DMAD) is building
into this system at present, it is not a feasible long-term solution if this collection is required for
longer than SY21. The current setup requires a monthly workflow with human execution at
both the LEA and the SEA level, taking valuable time that otherwise might be invested in
operational and/or recovery work.
Data on Instructional Modalities for School Year 2020-21
States are asked to provide the data described in the question above for the most recent time period
available.
The AOE published this data on our website as the ARP ESSER Summary of Instructional
Modalities for School Year 2020-21.
Planned Operational Status and Mode of Instruction for Summer 2021 and SY
2021-22
States are asked to describe, to the extent they are able, plans for operation and mode of instruction during
the Summer of 2021 and School Year 2021-22.
In May 2021, the AOE published guidance indicating that LEAs should expect a return to full
in-person instruction for the 2021-2022 school year with nominal, if any, recommended
mitigation strategies. Summer programs operated under normal operations with a general
recommendation that unvaccinated individuals wear masks when indoors.
On August 5, the AOE and Vermont Department of Health released a joint advisory memo,
COVID-19 Prevention Measures for Fall 2021. This document is a much streamlined and
simplified approach from the extensive health guidance published in Fall 2020 and places
emphasis on masking, contact tracing, COVID-19 testing and, ultimately vaccination as the
most important strategies to maintain in-person instruction for the 2021-2022 school year.
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B. Safely Reopening Schools and Sustaining their Safe Operations
In this section, the US ED requires states to outline how they will support LEAs to safely reopen schools
and sustain their safe operations.
Section B State Plan Template Questions (page 6)
1. Support for Local Education Agencies
States are required to describe how they will support LEAs to safely return to in-person instruction and
safe operation, including the following subsections:
Implementing Mitigation Strategies
States are required to outline how they will support the LEAs in implementing prevention and
mitigation policies in line with the most up-to-date guidance from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC).
Vermont successfully reopened its schools in September 2020. Schools were able to toggle
between full in-person, remote, and hybrid learning to adjust for local operational conditions.
The mitigation strategies outlined below proved to be very successful in allowing schools to
maintain continuous operations throughout the school year. In May 2021, the AOE and the
Vermont Department of Health announced schools would return to full in-person in the fall of
2021 with minimal mitigation measures being recommended.
In preparation for the full return to in-person instruction in Fall 2021, the Agency has been
working with our state partners to implement a statewide COVID-19 PCR testing program. In
light of concerns around the Delta variant, all students older than five, staff and educators are
eligible to participate in the testing program, regardless of vaccination status. This program will
be augmented by the same robust contact tracing program that supported our schools in 2020-
2021.
The state is also greatly expanding opportunities for students, aged 12-18, to receive a vaccine,
by standing up clinics at school sites across the state with a particular emphasis on reaching
students in rural areas with limited access to health care providers. This program will be
enlarged to include younger-aged students as eligibility is expanded.
Mitigation Strategy SEA Response
Universal and correct wearing Required of Vermont schools through mandatory state guidance as of
of masks August 2020
Physical distancing (e.g., Required of Vermont schools through mandatory state guidance as of
including use of August 2020. Three (3) foot was the minimal distancing requirement
cohorts/podding) for students in grades PreK-6, and six (6) foot was the minimal
distancing requirement for students in grades 7-12. In April 2021, the
minimal distancing requirement was modified to three (3) feet for all
students PreK-12.
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Mitigation Strategy SEA Response
Handwashing and respiratory Required of Vermont schools through mandatory state guidance as of
etiquette August 2020
Cleaning and maintaining Required of Vermont schools through mandatory state guidance as of
healthy facilities, including August 2020
improving ventilation
Contact tracing in combination Implemented by the Vermont Department of Health throughout the
with isolation and quarantine, 2020-2021 school year
in collaboration with the State,
local, territorial, or Tribal
health departments
Diagnostic and screening Voluntary, weekly PCR surveillance testing for school staff
testing implemented in Vermont schools from November 2020 through April
2021. A pilot PCR testing program for all students and staff launched
in May 2021 to be continued through the summer for schools and
community-based summer programs. AOE will offer testing for both
vaccinated and unvaccinated students and staff to schools in Fall
2021.
Efforts to provide vaccinations Staff were vaccinated at schools, pharmacies and community clinics
to educators, other staff, and in March and April of 2021. Statewide efforts are underway to
students, if eligible vaccinate all eligible Vermonters, including eligible students, with
the highest vaccination uptake rate (over 80% with at least one dose)
of any state.
In August and the fall 2021 a statewide push to increase vaccination
rates in students ages 12-18 was initiated and will be expanded if
eligibility is extended to younger students.
Appropriate accommodations Required of Vermont schools through mandatory state guidance as of
for children with disabilities August 2020
with respect to the health and
safety policies
Statewide Plans and Policies
States are required to outline plans, policies, timelines and milestones related to reopening and
operations of school facilities, including mechanisms to track and monitor implementation.
Vermont successfully opened all its schools in September 2020. We implemented a monthly
survey to collect information on learning modalities (e.g. in-person, hybrid and remote), and
weekly PCR surveillance testing. In May 2021, the AOE, in conjunction with the Vermont
Department of Health, advised districts that all schools would return to full in-person
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instruction in the fall of 2021 with nominal mitigation measures, if any. Shortly after this
announcement, Governor Scott ended the state of emergency in Vermont.
Consultation with Federal, State and Local Health Officials
States are required to outline how they will consult with federal, state and local health officials.
The AOE worked closely with the Vermont Department of Health throughout the emergency.
With the conclusion of our PCR surveillance testing program, we are now implementing a pilot
testing program for unvaccinated students and staff that started as a pilot in May 2021 and will
continue through the summer and fall. This program is paid for by the Vermont Department of
Health and funded via a federal grant.
Guidance, Professional Learning and Technical Assistance
States are required to outline any guidance, professional learning, and technical assistances they
will provide to LEAs.
The AOE holds weekly calls with education stakeholder groups and continues to respond to
inquiries through its helpdesk.
2. Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plans
In this section states are required to describe how the SEA will ensure that LEAs that receive the ARP
ESSER funds meet the requirements of the ARP to either within 30 days of the act have a plan for safe
return to in-person instruction and continuity of services, or have developed and made publicly available
on the LEA’s website a plan that meets the requirements of the ARP.
Because of the strategies and requirements highlighted above, Vermont’s schools have had
plans for in-person and hybrid learning in place since September 2020 and, as of June 2021, all
Vermont schools have returned to in-person instruction. In May 2021, the AOE reviewed LEA
websites to determine if they had developed plans that met the Interim Final Rule requirements
of the Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services and, in consultation with
our partners at the OESE office, determined that LEAs did not need to create separate
documents if all elements of the required plan were present, available and accessible to the
public and families on the LEA website.
To ensure that LEAs had met the IFR requirements, in June 2021, the AOE created the ARP
ESSER LEA Plan for Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Checklist.
In their ARP ESSER Phase II application, LEAs must attest that they have completed a self-audit
of all the required plan elements using the Checklist and attest that they are available to families
and open for public comment and input; that they are updated in light of new guidance from
the CDC and the advisory memo, COVID-19 Prevention Measures for Fall 2021 from the AOE
and Vermont Department of Health; and that it will be reviewed every 6 months.
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C. Planning for Use and Coordination of ARP ESSER Funds
US ED requires SEAs to seek input from diverse stakeholders to ensure plans are responsive to the needs
of students, families and educators. In this section, states are required to describe their plans for
consultation and for coordinating the use of APR ESSER funds.
Section C State Plan Template Questions (page 8)
1. SEA Consultation
States are required to describe how the SEA engaged in meaningful consultation with stakeholders.
AOE’s state plan reflects a broader “education recovery” planning initiative launched in
January 2021. Meaningful consultation with stakeholders occurred in three ways: (1) targeted
meetings with those representing students from low-income families, students from BIPOC
communities, English learners, children with disabilities, students experiencing homelessness,
and/or migratory students; (2) public engagement and input to the Vermont legislature that
captured concerns related to youth with disabilities, issues for students from low-income,
disadvantaged, and BIPOC backgrounds, and other vulnerable youth including those in foster
care and (3) wide dissemination of the state plan for public feedback.
Some examples of this consultation process include, but are not limited to:
(1) AOE’s McKinney-Vento state coordinator held several office hour opportunities for local
homeless liaisons. These meetings, along with technical assistance phone calls, presented
an opportunity for liaisons to discuss the specific challenges and needs of homeless
children and youth in their communities. The state coordinator also attended meetings
with the Vermont Agency of Human Services Office of Economic Opportunity, the
Vermont Coalition to End Homelessness, and the Vermont Council on Homelessness.
These groups presented information on the current housing situation as a result of the
pandemic, as well as corresponding support needs for affected students and families.
These numerous meetings and calls provided important information about the unique
needs of homeless youth that framed AOE’s plan development (see Table A1).
(2) (AOE’s subgrantee, UVM Agricultural Extension, operates Vermont’s Migrant
Education Program (MEP). Program staff work directly with migrant students and their
families, spend time on farms doing recruitment, and connect regularly with educators
and tutors on student progress and struggles. MEP provided important information to
AOE’s state migrant program coordinator about the unique needs of migrant students
and their families that was used in state plan development (see Table A1).
(3) AOE’s state EL coordinator connected regularly through phone calls, virtual meetings
and email with EL district coordinators, EL teachers, and multicultural liaisons directly
responsible for administering programs supporting EL students and their families. In
addition, the EL coordinator communicated regularly with the State Refugee
Coordinator and other community-based organizations about the significant challenges
faced by EL students and their families, as well as the potential supports available or
needed. This consultation activity provided important information about the unique
needs of EL students that framed AOE’s plan development (see Table A1).
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(4) A special education advisory group, formed originally to implement changes to
Vermont’s special education funding system, was consulted monthly about the ongoing
impact of COVID-19 on students with disabilities. Vermont’s state director for Special
Education also provided updates and discussed key aspects of ongoing state plan
development. This consultation and communication activity resulted in formal feedback
on the plan from chief disability advocacy organizations in the state.
(5) During testimony on Vermont’s decision to use ARP ESSER funds for community school
expansion, Vermont’s Senate Education committee heard from Voices for Vermont’s
Children, an advocacy organization representing the needs of low-income, BIPOC, and
all other vulnerable Vermont children and youth. According to VVC, the final bill
funding community schools was one of their “top education policy priorities” last
session.
(6) Vermont’s House Education committee took hours of testimony from professionals both
practicing and teaching literacy instruction, as well as parents who were advocating for
better literacy instruction and learning opportunities for their children with disabilities.
The latter testimony was directly related to the ultimate creation of a statewide Literacy
Council as well as the use of ARP ESSER funds to foster universal evidence-based
literacy instruction across Vermont.
In addition, the AOE consulted regularly with superintendents and its Secretary’s Advisory
Group, comprised of representatives for superintendents, principals, school board members,
teachers, nurses, principals, business managers, and CTE directors, through weekly meetings.
The AOE also reviewed the state plan with the Vermont State Board of Education through its
open meeting process.
Additional testimony to the Vermont legislature on how students were faring as a result of
COVID-19, as well as provision of specific feedback concerning ARP ESSER-funded initiatives,
came from Vermont After School, Vermont School Counselors Association, district Directors of
Student Support Services, Vermont Special Education Administrators Association, and
Vermont’s Racial Equity Task Force. Each of these organizations and individuals brought
specialized knowledge about and advocacy on behalf of Vermont’s most vulnerable students
and families including the groups referenced in Table A.1.
Finally, the AOE posted the plan on its website and actively solicited statewide public
comment. The initial draft of this plan was shared with the General Assembly (GA) and the
education policy committees received testimony on it. This resulted in the passage of a Vermont
law which requires the AOE to submit the plan to the education policy committees of the
legislature for their approval.
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Summary of input
Significant themes arising from meaningful stakeholder consultation and feedback, across all
methods described above, focused on addressing the specific needs of Vermont’s most
vulnerable youth, as identified by the student categories and information presented in Table
A.1. For instance, as demonstrated in Table A.1, addressing literacy and gaps in achievement
linked to the pandemic emerged as a strong theme, showing up in discussions and stakeholder
feedback regarding students from low-income families, students from BIPOC populations,
students with disabilities, and migratory students. Focusing on addressing gaps in literacy
and/or reading was also a salient theme in the public comment received on the state plan, with
about 29% of respondents indicating the state plan should address literacy and related topics.
A second theme regarding improving supports and wraparound services for Vermont’s most
vulnerable students also emerged. As summarized in Table A.1, this topic was noted as a salient
issue to address for students from low-income backgrounds, BIPOC populations, and both
homeless and migrant youth. In addition, this theme was a core focus of numerous discussions
held by Vermont’s General Assembly, particularly concerning the use of ESSER funds for
summer programming and overall recovery efforts, statewide improvement in literacy
performance, and expansion of community schools to provide robust, integrated services for
vulnerable youth and families.
Additional topics that emerged from a review of the public feedback received include
addressing CTE funding, ensuring the plan includes a focus on PreK students in addition to K-
12, and improving building facilities such as air quality and ventilation.
Incorporation of Stakeholder Feedback into State Plan
Stakeholder feedback was an important aspect of how Vermont’s plan was developed and
finalized. As noted previously, a widely shared recommendation was to use ARP ESSER dollars
to address literacy and integrated supports for students. This was directly borne out by
Vermont’s plan to fund evidence-based literacy professional development and associated
activities, including family literacy supports (total = $3.38M), as noted in section D.1. Parental
requests for a standing statewide Literacy Council were also heeded; the council was formed in
2021. In addition, the Vermont General Assembly’s decision to use part of the ARP ESSER state
set-aside to fund a limited services literacy coordinator position at the SEA illustrates how the
state responded to stakeholder feedback.
In addition, section D.1 describes in further detail Vermont’s investment in expanding
community schools through ARP funding ($3.39M). This grant program was developed in
direct response to the multiple examples of stakeholder feedback urging greater wrap-around
services and supports for students due to COVID-19. Similarly, Act 112 was developed with
input from the Department of Mental Health and mental health professional using $3M of ARP
ESSER state set-aside funds to support integrated service delivery models to better ensure each
region of the state has a well-articulated service delivery system working to address students’
social emotional and mental health challenges due to their experience of the pandemic (see
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section D.1). This approach was endorsed by the General Assembly (GA), who allocated these
funds for LEA and partner entity grants to address students’ social, emotional and mental
health needs, as well as contracted services to address educator’s acute mental health needs.
One important theme that arose in the latter part of the pandemic response is the challenging
and even unacceptable physical condition of some LEA facilities throughout the state. Through
a variety of feedback channels including:
(a) regular feedback from LEAs to the Secretary during planned meeting times;
(b) formal testimony provided to the General Assembly;
(c) parent complaints received via email, and;
(d) a number of media stories depicting conditions in schools,
these facility weaknesses, such as inadequate HVAC systems; unusable space due to rot, mold
or other health hazards; and antiquated or non-existent outdoor instructional facilities affected
the capacity of some LEAs to sufficiently or effectively address pandemic response
requirements. Accordingly, the GA and AOE agreed to use state set-aside funds to engage in an
assessment and implementation planning exercise to ensure that all facilities in which students
must learn, grow, and thrive in the state meet minimum standards of quality. This program
includes the hiring of a consultant to support LEAs in Heating, Ventilation and Air
Conditioning (HVAC) and other projects to address safety and health needs in school facilities,
completion of a statewide school facilities inventory that includes information related to indoor
air quality and other facilities safety concerns, and additional investments in school safety as
detailed in D.4. These investments are all aimed to “level the playing field” for our most
underserved LEAs, those who serve our largest populations of historically marginalized
students.Investments in activities to improve access to high quality instruction for all students,
particularly our historically marginalized youth, and infrastructural improvements to assist in
data-based decision-making, curricular re-design, etc. (see D.1) are all in response to
stakeholder feedback through on-going conversations with the field in our Student Pathways
Division and testimony in the General Assembly from state superintendents, principals, school
boards, school counselors, school librarians, and parent advocacy organizations, indicating the
need for greater attention to equity statewide in the resources, infrastructure, and capacity of
LEAs to best meet student need.
Advocates for improving after school and summer programming were successful in convincing
the General Assembly and Governor’s office that this arena was critical for students’ recovery
from the pandemic. Accordingly, the Summer Matters program, funded by ESSER II state set-
aside dollars (see D.2) was launched successfully in Summer 2021. In addition, by Executive
Order, Governor Scott formed in November 2021 the Interagency Work Group for Youth After
School and Summer Program, charged with building a sustainable statewide private-public
model for both after school and summer programming post-pandemic. Stakeholder feedback
was also strongly considered in Vermont’s decision to use and additional $4M of ESSER II
funds to continue investments in after school and summer programming through grants
available beginning in Winter/Spring 2022. This work dovetailed with the federal requirement
that AOE invest at least $2.8M in ARP ESSER state set aside funds in evidence-based summer
programming and a separate $2.8M allocation for addressing pandemic effects via expanded
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after school programming. These investments, although required, directly addressed and
supported many stakeholders’ and advocates’ calls for investments in summer and after school
supports.
Additional suggestions from public comment were also addressed in the ARP ESSER state plan
submitted in 2021, including the use of PreK-12 (instead of K-12) throughout the plan. CTE
funding was a salient theme, but Governor Scott elected to use GEER II dollars for CTE
supports, just as he did with GEER I funding.
2. Coordinating Funds
States are required to describe how they have and will coordinate Federal COVID-19 pandemic funding
and other federal funding.
Use of CARES Act and CRRSA Act Funds
States are required to outline how SEAs and LEAs have used, are using and plan to use Federal
COVID-19 funds under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) and
the Coronavirus Response & Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSA) to support
safe return to and maximized in-person instruction, and address the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic on individual student groups.
Emergency Response
As part of the Agency’s emergency response, which began in March 2020 and lasted through
January 2021, AOE used ESSER I and II funds to create an improved communication
infrastructure, provide new platforms to facilitate remote learning and responded to emergency
needs in the field as LEAs worked to meet pandemic health guidance for safe operations and
took steps to make their schools safe for in-person learning. Governor’s Emergency Education
Relief funds (GEER) were used to support the state’s Career and Technical Education (CTE)
centers by providing funding for supplies, equipment and staffing to rapidly build out remote
learning opportunities and, starting in the Fall 2020, safely return to in-person learning and the
hands-on opportunities that are central to CTE curriculum.
Fund Project Name Short Description Emergency Response Cost
ESSER I Salesforce Customer Relationship In the initial months of the $251,584
CRM Management (CRM) tool pandemic, AOE was inundated
to respond to queries with questions from schools,
from the public and the families, and members of the
field related to COVID- public, but the AOE’s
19 response. decentralized communication
structure was challenged to
respond in a consistent and timely
manner. This tool was created to
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Fund Project Name Short Description Emergency Response Cost
facilitate consistent, rapid
communication.
ESSER I Salesforce The addition of a public As part of AOE’s ongoing priority $294,025
(Knowledge knowledge base to improve the consistency and
Base) and component to the timeliness of communication, this
Helpdesk existing helpdesk tool to addition to the existing Helpdesk
Expansion provide knowledge provides an accessible resource for
articles to users. public and partners during the
response to the COVID-19
pandemic.
ESSER I Salesforce Framework for COVID- To assist schools in following $407,412
(Symptom 19 related symptom Department of Health guidance
Tracker) checking and tracking upon return to in-person learning
for schools. in Fall 2020.
ESSER I School Incentive program to To support in-person instruction, $176,535
Vaccine increase the COVID-19 funds were awarded to schools
Incentive vaccination rate in that achieved high rates of
Program schools COVID-19 vaccination (+85%)
from November 2021 to April 2022
ESSER II Burlington Costs associated with During their pandemic response $3,500,000
High School the retrofitting of the as part of air quality testing, BHS,
Macy’s former Macy’s retail the largest high school in the state,
Retrofit space to accommodate discovered high and unsafe levels
in-person learning for of PCBs that necessitated the
Burlington High School closure of the school. To ensure
(BHS) students. that BHS students could access in-
person learning, the AOE
committed its ESSER II funds
(with US ED approval) to the costs
associated with retrofitting an
existing, defunct Macy’s retail
space. Vermont’s General
Assembly also approved this
funding decision.
GEER Grants for Grant program for the Allowable costs included supplies $4,268,801
CTE Centers state’s Career and and equipment to address student
Technical Education needs during closure and costs
(CTE) centers associated with returning to safe
in-person or hybrid learning.
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Future Supports for Recovery
During the winter and spring of 2021, as the state and education system moved from the urgent
and immediate COVID-19 response to a sustained operations modality, AOE developed a
Recovery Planning strategy centered on three main foci: social emotional health, mental health,
and well-being; student engagement; and academic success. These three priorities are central to
the work and planning that is being done currently at both Agency and LEA levels, and will
inform the use of both SEA and LEA ESSER funds for the next 2-3 years.
Fund Project Name Short Description Recovery Supports Cost
ESSER I Edmodo Professional Network New state-wide platform to $322,432
and K-5 Learning support remote learning for K-5
Management System and create virtual space for
educators and school
administrators to communicate best
practices. A second stage included
the addition of Zoom capabilities.
ESSER I PBS Learning Learning kits created The goal of AOE’s partnership with $50,000
Kits by Vermont PBS, in Vermont PBS is to provide access to
partnership with AOE free educational programming,
staff, and distributed curricular connections, and in-
in summer 2021 to person and distance learning
young learners tutorials that are publicly available
attending 21C to families. These kits were
programs. distributed summer 2021 to young
children attending 21C programs
and include:
• Directions for educational and
enrichment activities students
can do at home;
• Materials needed for activities;
• Books related to topic of kit; and
• Connections to PBS
programming and resources.
ESSER I Social Development and In anticipation of a greater need for $378,000
emotional support of a website social, emotional, and mental
and Mental containing curated health supports for students, AOE
Health materials on best will contract with an outside
practice for educators vendor. Even prior to COVID-19,
to ensure students’ inequities have existed in access to
social emotional, and services available. Initial data from
Recovery Plan needs assessments
indicate a widespread need across
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Fund Project Name Short Description Recovery Supports Cost
mental health/well- LEAs for new approaches to
being supporting students in these areas.
Prior to the pandemic, there existed
limited attention to and integration
of social, emotional and mental
health into everyday curricula, as
well as regional inequities in
service availability.
ESSER I Educator Summer passes to VT Partnership with VT Agency of $737,124
Summer state parks to support Natural Resources to provide VT
Recess Park educator wellbeing educators with passes to all of VT’s
Pass Program and mental health state parks.
ESSER I Afghan Grants to statewide Summer programming and $200,000
Refugee refugee support mentorship activities to engage
Grant organizations to newly arrived Afghan students and
support engagement families and prepare them for 2022-
with Afghan refugee 23 school year.
community
ESSER I Federal Public facing LEA dashboard highlighting the $57,645
Emergency dashboards to support planned uses of ESSER and GEER
Funds transparency on use of funds, along with an SEA-level
Dashboard LEA and SEA funds dashboard to support transparent
use of funds and support
stakeholder engagement around
VT AOE priorities.
ESSER Construction Consultant to support AOE will contract with an $ 127,500
II Consultant LEAs in facilities and experienced consultant to conduct (through
construction projects an inventory of facilities in 9/30/23)
Vermont schools centered on
identifying needs to address health
and safety concerns. (approved by
the Vermont GA)
ESSER Summer Subgrant to Vermont AOE sub-granted to Vermont $ 4,095,838
II Learning 2021 Afterschool Afterschool to provide grants to
summer programs to expand access
to summer opportunities for all
Vermont students as part of
Governor Scott’s priority to
increase student engagement and
improve social emotional and
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Fund Project Name Short Description Recovery Supports Cost
mental health. (approved by the
Vermont GA)
ESSER Summer To be determined Amount allocated by the Vermont $4,339,131
II Learning and GA to conduct summer and
Afterschool afterschool programming.
2021-2023
ESSER Expanding Grants to Vermont AOE has partnered with Vermont $4,339,131
II Access Afterschool Afterschool to support the
Afterschool expansion of summer and
and Summer afterschool programming with an
Grants emphasis on underserved student
populations and increasing
geographic equity.
GEER II Electric Grants to CTEs to As part of the larger investment in $530,818
transportation support the Cradle to Career workforce
grants development or development, the Governor used
expansion of GEER II funds to support several
innovative programs development grants to CTEs to
in electric create partnerships in local
transportation industries.
GEER II CTE Contract to increase As part of the larger investment in $195,000
Marketing awareness of and Cradle to Career workforce
and enrollment in CTE development, the Governor used
Recruitment centers GEER II funds for a marketing and
Campaign recruitment campaign for VT’s CTE
centers.
Award of ESSER I and ESSER II funds to LEAs
States are required to outline to what extent ESSER I and ESSER II funds have been awarded to LEAs,
with a timeline for award if not already available, as well as information on dollar amounts already
obligated but not expended.
All ESSER I funds have been awarded and AOE has reimbursed LEAs for $7,150,863. The
application for ESSER II funds was opened on March 22, 2021 and closed on November 1, 2021.
LEAs must fully budget their allocations in the ESSER II application due November 1, 2021 and
the AOE will award all ESSER II funds by December 26, 2021. To date, AOE has awarded
$39,498,440.82 in ESSER II funds and has made $1,086,389 in reimbursements. AOE is unable to
track LEA obligations.
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Supporting LEA Planning for Return to In-Person Instruction and Education
Recovery
States are required to outline how they will support LEAs planning for the safe return to and
continuity of in-person instruction, and meeting the academic, social, emotional and mental
health needs of students.
AOE leveraged state-level Title I School Improvement and Title IIA School Leadership funds to
offer state-wide training and professional development on data literacy through a contracted
vendor. The vendor offered targeted training sessions for LEAs as they completed their
Recovery Plan needs assessment in the spring of 2021, which has informed the development of
their plans for education recovery and their use of ESSER funds. Vermont also used state-level
Title IIA and Title IVA funds to offer LEAs free Youth and Teen Mental Health First Aid
training in support of their education recovery efforts. We deployed federally funded grant
activity to expand outreach and service delivery for migrant students and worked with human
services agency partners, school districts, and school food authorities to identify all students
who might qualify for Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) benefits and better ensure
their family completes required paperwork to be eligible. Our state Child Nutrition program
drew down substantial additional U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding by availing
themselves of all USDA waiver options for nutrition programs during COVID-19 and recovery.
In addition, AOE provided substantial additional support to the Vermont Foodbank through
the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) funds. Perkins funds were used to assist CTE
centers in identifying core learning proficiencies that can be aligned to schools’ local graduation
requirements. In addition, Governor Scott deployed 4,488,802 of GEER funds to assist the CTE
system, ensuring continuity of high-quality CTE programs of study and instruction during
COVID-19.
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D. Maximizing State-Level Funds to Support Students
This section addresses the “extraordinary opportunity” States have to address the disproportionate
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on underserved students through the American Rescue Plan Act’s
required State Set-asides. SEAs are required to describe their evidence-based strategies for these resources.
Vermont finds it useful to conceptualize and organize our multiple ESSER and ARP state-
funded initiatives in service to ameliorating the impact of COVID-19 in the following manner:
(1) Expanding access to high quality educational opportunities.
(2) Building infrastructure for efficient instruction and student supports.
(3) Supporting student and educator mental health and well-being.
(4) Fostering and ensuring safe and healthy schools.
Accordingly, we use this organizational framework when appropriate within the required
elements of the state plan template.
Vermont state law passed in 2021 (Act 74) required the AOE to secure approval from the
General Assembly for the activities funded by the ARP ESSER state set-aside. Accordingly, for
the balance of ARP ESSER funds (approximately 1/3) not already appropriated as of Vermont’s
initial ESSER plan submission in 2021, during the 2022 legislative session, the AOE worked with
the General Assembly (GA) to make final appropriations to address the impacts of the
pandemic. By June 30, 2022 all ARP ESSER state set aside funds were appropriated by the GA.
Discussed and integrated below are the additions to our state plan activities, now that we have
worked with Vermont’s GA to fully identify all evidence-based interventions to be deployed.
• Through our work with the GA, the Governor’s office and engagement with
stakeholders, the AOE is investing ARP ESSER state set aside funds in four major areas,
that align with our Education Recovery priorities. Expanding access to high quality
educational opportunities;
• Building infrastructure for efficient instruction and student supports
• Supporting student and educator mental health and well-being; and
• Supporting safe and healthy schools
1. Academic Impact of Lost Instructional Time
States are required to describe how the SEA will use its set aside funds (reserved under section 2001(f)(1)
of the American Rescue Plan Act) on evidence-based interventions t2o address the academic impact of lost
instructional time.
Description of the Evidence-based Interventions
States must describe the interventions they have selected.
(1) Expanding access to high quality educational opportunities
A shared area of concern across multiple education stakeholders (i.e., AOE, General Assembly
(GA), public input comments, and districts’ Needs Assessment (NA) summaries) is ensuring
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that all Vermont students can read, preferably by third grade. Concern about the negative
impact of COVID-19 on students’ literacy was often discussed during the 2021 legislative
session and declines in ELA performance corresponding with the COVID-19 timeframe were
reported by districts across the state. In addition, the stakeholder engagement process revealed
a salient focus on improving literacy for Vermont’s students. Using ESSER funds to assist in
efforts to ensure universal literacy was clearly a shared priority across many stakeholder groups
in Vermont.
Literacy Supports. Through Act 28 of 2021, the GA allocated $3.06M of ARP ESSER Section
2001(f)1state set-aside funds to provide professional learning modules for teachers focused on
evidence-based practice for literacy instruction and assist districts in implementing evidence-
based systems of literacy instruction in their schools. These modules and technical assistance
include five key areas of literacy instruction as identified by the National Reading Panel—
phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, fluency, and reading comprehension. In Act 28 of
2021 the GA also allocated $450,000 of Emergency Reserve funds (ARPA Section 2001(f)4) for
the AOE to retain contracted services or a limited service position to:
(1) recommend how federal funds can be used to improve literacy outcomes;
(2) recommend evidence-based best practices in teaching literacy instruction to students in
prekindergarten through grade 3;
(3) recommend how to provide professional development for teachers and school leaders in
methods of teaching literacy; and
(4) recommend policies, procedures, and other methods to ensure that improvements in
literacy outcomes are sustained.
In addition, using funds from ARPA Section 2001(f)1 authorized under Act 74 of 2021 the AOE
will contract with an entity to provide professional development for educators and/or a
program to significantly improve family literacy engagement. Decades of research demonstrate
the importance of family literacy, reading, provision of home reading materials, etc. to
children’s own literacy and reading development. This contracted work will be targeted to sites
that already engage in community engagement efforts (i.e., 21C sites, new Community School
sites [see below]). Because the districts that qualify for 21C and Community School grants
include some of our most historically marginalized students, it is critical that we direct family
literacy supports to these areas. ($325,000)
The GA also appropriated $24,000 of Emergency Reserve funds (ARPA Section 2001(f)4) to
support the work of the Literacy Council described in Section C above.
In all contract procurement processes, the AOE reviewed proposals closely to ensure that the
selected vendor(s) are experts in evidence-based literacy interventions.
Expansion of Virtual Learning Opportunities. In the Act 83 of 2022, the GA directed the AOE to
leverage its partnership with the Vermont Virtual Learning Cooperative (VTVLC) by granting
expansion funds to expand remote learning access for supervisory unions and districts, CTE
centers, and AEL centers to support online and blended learning during and beyond school
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closure. In addition, during the transition phase of this opportunity, educators have access to
professional learning through VTVLC and, through a variety of partnership models, online and
blended learning opportunities for middle and secondary level students. Throughout the
pandemic, educators have learned about the promise (and pitfalls) of well-designed virtual
learning opportunities. VTVLC, a longstanding and well-respected entity within Vermont, uses
Vermont licensed teachers for delivering its content.
Investment in this state-level service will provide a necessary asset for our PreK-12 education
system to address and prevent learning loss now and into the future for all students, including
those who may be most challenged to re-engage and/or serve in the pandemic ecosystem (e.g.,
historically marginalized students, home study students, state-placed students, and students in
non-operating districts to name a few). The GA allocated $1.9M of ARP state set-aside for this
set of activities.
High Quality Instructional Materials and Coordinated Curriculum. One of the challenges in a
highly decentralized state such as Vermont is that curricular and instructional materials are
decided at the local level. Our state Board of Education sets curriculum standards, but it is up to
the LEA to determine how students will master those standards. Although this paradigm has
worked well in honoring Vermont’s strong New England history of local governance, one could
argue it has not worked to improve students’ academic performance outcomes statewide. In
addition, this decentralization has almost certainly played a role in student subgroup
differences in performance and inequities throughout the state. Accordingly, we plan to use the
opportunity of ARP ESSER funds to better ensure that all students have access to high quality
instruction and, at minimum, a robust curriculum that is coordinated both within and across
grade levels. This investment is intended to substantially reduce further gaps in learning,
particularly for our most underserved students, resulting from the pandemic.
The AOE will engage in a contract to develop and offer a state-level coordinated curriculum or
develop an implementation plan for those LEAs who choose to adopt a model curriculum. This
initiative will involve strong coordination with our LEAs and state partners, as it is likely that
“one size” will not fit all. By facilitating the adoption and implementation of a model
coordinated curriculum, the AOE looks to create additional stability within our educational
system that is still addressing the daily impact of COVID-19 on students. By investing in a
model coordinated curriculum, we can better ensure that any Vermont student, regardless of
learning modality, district resources, family background, or geographic location, will have the
same access to high quality instructional materials, supporting an equitable education system in
a 21st century learning environment (authorized under Act 74, $1.276M).
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(2) Building infrastructure for efficient instruction and student supports
Cybersecurity Investments. The pandemic forced schools to rely heavily on their IT networks
to ensure accessibility to and communication with students, teachers, and staff, enabling daily
work to continue as systems moved flexibly between remote, hybrid and in-person learning.
This novel instructional paradigm prompted many districts to assess and identify
vulnerabilities in their networks that could be exploited. Nationwide, the Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency reports an increase in malicious cyber activity, including attacks
directed at schools. With the increased reliance on school IT networks to ensure student
instructional continuity via technology, the AOE is supporting individual Vermont school
districts and supervisory unions in establishing a cybersecurity framework and data breach
response plan, so that educators, students and other users maintain access to education
platforms, tools, etc.
ARP ESSER funds ($250,000) appropriated in Act 74 of 2021 from ARPA Section 2001(f)1 are
available as grants to LEAs to carry out these critical investments. The AOE made available
one-time funds for competitive grants to assist districts in developing comprehensive data
breach protocols and response plans, and for purchasing needed equipment and software to
support this cybersecurity planning and response. Ensuring safe and effective continuity of
local IT services will support ongoing academic and mental health recovery efforts, including
both instruction and support services, as well as the fidelity of student educational work.
In order to receive an ARP ESSER Cybersecurity grant award, an LEA must demonstrate that
they meet the following criteria:
• Applicants must be able to describe how the pandemic and the resulting remote, hybrid,
to in-person learning made the SU/SD aware of the need to conduct cybersecurity
planning and strengthen technology to prevent a cyber-attack and to ensure a
continuous learning environment is maintained to remediate the academic impact of the
pandemic on student learning.
• Planning activities must incorporate the National Institute of Science and Technology
(NIST) Cybersecurity Framework planning process.
• Planning work must directly result in an update to or an original composition of a data
security and cybersecurity policy for the SU/SD and an update to or composition of a
data breach response plan for the SU/SD.
• Applicants required to include a communication process for implementing the plan
within all SU/SD schools.
• Successful applicants are expected to share the data security and cybersecurity policies
and data breach response plans at the end of the grant period with AOE for use in
professional learning for all districts.
• Plans must include measures for sustaining this work beyond the grant period.
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In addition, AOE will support LEAs to send staff to the VITA cybersecurity conference as part
of this effort, to support robust systems that protect student information and LEAs from
financial risk or other data breaches. ($4,000; authorized under Act 74).
Virtual Library of Streaming Videos. Given the need for flexible instruction, including
multiple modalities and online options during and after the pandemic, AOE partnered with the
VT Department of Libraries to provide free learning content to school libraries throughout the
state. A two-year contract for $220,000 was procured with Swank Motion Picture, Inc to support
student learning by allowing classroom teachers to deploy free viewing, streaming, and
download options for the full catalog of the company’s educational videos. In addition, an
option to allow students themselves to stream assigned videos at home on their own devices is
important for fully ensuring that all students, even those quarantining at home, can access
course content. The funding for this contract was authorized under Act 74 of 2021 from ARPA
Section 2001(f)1.
Early Warning Systems. Several studies demonstrate the power of school- and district-level
early warning systems, mapped onto existing student information systems and other relevant
student data, in alerting teachers, education support teams, and/or administrators when a
student is at risk of poor academic performance, failing to complete requirements for high
school graduation, etc. Using such systems is not all that common in Vermont to date. We plan
to leverage state set aside funds to provide both direct support and professional learning so that
LEAs can identify gaps or disconnects in their local SIS that hamper efforts to stand up a viable
early warning system. Importantly, we aim to procure this support so that LEAs do not require
new data collections or significant manual work to set up such a system. The AOE and the
procured supports will leverage the federal EdFi program. This work uses $350,000 in funds
appropriated from APRA Section 2001(f)1 under Act 185 of 2022.
Local Benchmark Assessment Improvement and Professional Learning. The AOE will offer
two-year grants to LEAs who wish to improve their local benchmark assessment system, one
component of the state’s required Local Comprehensive Assessment System (LCAS). This
activity is authorized through $500,000 in funds appropriated from ARPA Section
2001(f)1under Act 185 of 2022 and will be used to provide SU/SDs, their schools, and CTE
centers with competitive grant funding. Consistent with the State’s primary education recovery
strategy and goals, this funding opportunity focuses on both addressing the learning loss
caused by the COVID-19 emergency and on improving the core functions of our schools and
communities into the future by supporting LEAs in improving their LCAS, one of four system
levers required by Vermont’s state Education Quality Standards.
This grant opportunity will focus on academics, specifically English Language Arts and
Mathematics, by providing funding to SU/SDs to improve their benchmark assessment(s) in one
or both of the following:
(1) Purchase a new benchmark assessment system(s) that includes Lexile and Quantile
measures;
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(2) Extend the grade levels assessed in the current benchmark assessment system that
provides Lexile and Quantile measures throughout K - 8 with the possibility of
including high school; and/or
(3) Fund participation in the Educator Academy for Lexile and/or Quantile Frameworks.
Grant applications will be reviewed by AOE staff after January 17, 2023 and grants will be
awarded no later than February 3.
Applicants will be evaluated on how well their Project Description and Justification addresses
the following criteria.
1) A description of how the project will meet the Vermont Agency of Education Priorities:
• Improving Local Comprehensive Assessment Systems (LCAS) and outcomes for
students through the inclusion of SU/SD benchmark assessments.
Leadership teams may decide to:
o Purchase a new benchmark assessment system(s) that includes Lexile and
Quantile measures; and/or
o Extend the grade levels assessed in the current benchmark assessment system
that provides Lexile and Quantile measures throughout K - 8 with the possibility
of including high school.
o Fund participation in the Educator Academy for Lexile and/or Quantile
Frameworks.
• Ensuring that all students are provided equitable educational opportunities.
Leadership teams will explain how they will:
o Refine assessment systems to be responsive to the needs of all students.
o Use assessments to collect evidence of learning that informs the selection of
evidence-based practices to meet students’ needs.
o Review assessment data to determine if all students are receiving necessary
supports.
2) Connections to Recovery and Continuous Improvement Plans that explain how
leadership teams will review, select, and use benchmark assessment data.
3) Assurance that the SY22-23 Universal Screener, Interim or Benchmark Census has been
completed
Applications will also be evaluated on whether the proposed Benchmark Assessment elected
assessments are aligned to Common Core State Standards and report Lexile or Quantile
Measures and whether the application makes project outcomes and plans for sustainability
evident.
In addition, authorized under Act 74, the AOE will procure a state contract to provide LEAs
with professional learning related to the use of benchmark assessments. Simply deploying an
assessment is insufficient for fully realizing its potential. Teachers and support staff, as well as
district-level personnel, should have a robust understanding of how to use benchmark data to
improve teaching, inform fiscal investments in appropriate supports, and develop leadership at
the local level in the use of assessments. Ultimately, this work is aimed to improve all students’
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outcomes and performance, addressing learning gaps due to the pandemic emergency
response. AOE anticipates that the $500,000 for this state contract will serve 33 SU/SDs (66% of
Vermont’s total) with each LEA having 6 staff, including administrators, receive training and
supports for through September 2024.
(3) Supporting student and educator mental health and well-being
Community Schools. Consistent with broader national calls for investing in community school
models, the Vermont GA allocated $3.4M of ARP ESSER state set-aside to be used for a multi-
year grant program for districts to engage in planning for and implementation of community
schools models throughout the state. Community schools promise to address learning loss and
other deleterious student outcomes resulting from the pandemic, particularly in our most rural
areas where services are scant or difficult for struggling families to access. The vision is that
embedding medical, mental health, social services, and other relevant supports within the
school setting will not only assist students and parents with securing these services but will
bring about improved academic performance and growth through receiving the non-academic
supports needed because of COVID-19. ARP ESSER state set-aside funds will also be used to
evaluate the effectiveness of this community schools program. Community schools and related
initiatives such as “whole school, whole community, whole child” approaches have been shown
empirically to improve academic success, and both physical and mental health/well-being for
students and families.
Five Vermont SU/SDs were awarded grants from the state level ARP ESSER funds appropriated
from APRA Section 2001(f)1 through Act 67 in Fall 2021 for developing and establishing
community schools in their region. Applicants were required to either: (1) have at least 40% of
students at the district or school level eligible for FRL or (2) currently qualify for comprehensive
or targeted Title I supports under ESSA. These were the selection criteria established by
Vermont’s legislature in Act 67.
Mental Health Supports. The impact of COVID-19 on students’ (and educators’) mental health,
socioemotional functioning, and well-being has continued to draw attention in Vermont. Initial
LEA Needs Assessments (NAs) conducted in winter 2021 indicated that students’ anxiety,
depression, and related behaviors were on the rise during and right after the pandemic;
unfortunately, reports indicate that this trend continues in Vermont. Act 112 directed the AOE
to operate a $2.5M grant program to address the impact of COVID-19 on students’ mental
health, social emotional learning, and general wellness. Specifically:
“…the Agency of Education shall work collaboratively with the Department of
Mental Health to establish and administer a two-year program utilizing a tiered-
support approach to ensure continuous support to children and youth in a variety of
settings, including supervisory union and district-wide, in-school, community
technical education centers, and afterschool, by providing grants to: (1) expand
existing school-based counseling services in underserved districts of the State; or (2)
develop either school-based or community-based afterschool programs, operating in a
variety of settings outside the school day and over the summer, including before and
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after school, in-service days, and school vacation week, that support the mental health
and wellness needs of students…”
The AOE partnered with Vermont’s Department of Mental Health (DMH) to review grants
applications from 13 SU/SDs and non-LEA entities across the state. Seven districts propose to
use the funds to establish new mental health supports and programs during and after school
hours. Six of the grant applications propose to use funds to expand their current offerings.
A mandatory eligibility criterion, set in statute, was that “The applicant uses evidence-based
strategies to address students’ social, emotional, mental health, and wellness needs. As used in
this subdivision, “evidence-based” means the same as in the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965, 20 U.S.C. § 8101.” This assured that only evidence-based proposals and
activities would be funded; applicants were required to provide materials documenting the
levels of evidence that supported their proposed activities.
We note that Act 112 was a further specification on the part of the GA regarding how AOE
should spend the $3M of ARP ESSER funds previously allocated in Act 74 (and reported in
Vermont’s initial plan, see original language below):
$3M of state set-aside ARP ESSER funds will be used to support integrated service
delivery models statewide to ensure each region of the state has a well-articulated
service system between and among social services and education services. This
approach was endorsed by the General Assembly (GA), who allocated these funds for
regional capacity grants to address students’ social, emotional, and mental health
needs.
To address educators’ acute mental health needs due to COVID-19, Act 112 also directed AOE
and DMH to secure contracted services (up to $500,000) providing statewide recovery supports
for school educators and staff through mental health clinicians. Specifically, the selected vendor
must provide mental health services through multiple modalities to Vermont educators, to
support their recovery from the effects of COVID-19. The effects of the pandemic have changed
the needs of many students, and thereby impacted the demands on educators and school staff.
It is essential that Vermont’s educators and school staff are strong and healthy so that they can
best assist students in their recovery processes across social and emotional, mental health,
academic, and student engagement domains.
An RFP for these contracted services is currently posted on Vermont’s state procurement
website. Proposals are due by January 31, 2023, with an anticipated service start date of March
3, 2023. Bidders are asked to respond to the scope of work requirements including best practices
for accomplishing the deliverables based on their specific knowledge and experience. In
addition, successful bidders must document “experience using evidence-based practices to
provide mental health support in educational settings.” They are also required to document the
success of project objectives (e.g., number of participants, number and type of forum or group,
and geographical region), improvement of educators’ reported stress levels, or related
indicators.
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In total, the AOE has allocated the entire Section 2001(f)1 mandated reserve ($14,261,170) and is
using additional funds from Section (f)4 for evidence-based investments to address learning
loss. These investments total $14,784,000.
How the Interventions will Address Impacts to Certain Groups of Students
States must describe how the evidence-based interventions will address the impact of the
pandemic on certain groups of students.
As noted in the descriptions of evidence-based activities above, nearly all of our state-level
strategies are designed to address gaps in outcomes for Vermont’s historically marginalized
students, consistent with our state ESSA plan under ESEA. Due to Vermont’s small size, we use
a “supergroup” of students comprised of those qualifying for FRL, BIPOC students, students
with disabilities, English learners, and homeless students to encapsulate “historically
marginalized.” As noted above, nearly every strategy we are investing in is predicated on the
goal to reduce inequities in access to high-quality instruction, reduce gaps in student
performance by subgroup, or address underlying infrastructural challenges that typically
unfairly affect our most vulnerable students. Data will be collected for all strategies when
possible, including new data collections to ensure we track initiative progress. A key indicator
of progress for each strategy will examine its impact on historically marginalized students. We
will deploy this analysis (when possible) throughout our entire set of ARP ESSER strategies.
As specific examples of this approach, consider our state plans for the following strategies:
Because reading, particularly early reading, is fundamental to students’ ultimate educational
progress and success in both the classroom and life, supporting teachers to use evidence-based
practices aimed to assist the most vulnerable populations in learning to read are of critical
import for Vermont. If all literacy teaching is of high-quality, is based in science and evidence,
and is regularly practiced throughout each district and school across the state, we will see
reduction in the literacy gaps that became wider due to the pandemic. This is the model and
vision adopted in Vermont’s plan. Existing literacy gaps to be addressed involve students from
low-income backgrounds, BIPOC students, EL students, students with disabilities and the other
vulnerable student groups as identified in Table A.1.
With respect to community schools, they are inherently designed to meet the needs of our most
vulnerable youth, including those without ready access to healthcare, social supports and
community interventions. By facilitating and fostering the development of community schools
throughout the state, Vermont is helping create structures that will bring more direct supports
to exactly those students who need them. The unique needs of these community school systems
and focus were delineated at the local level. Strategies included will improve supports for all of
the student groups indicated in Table A.1, depending on each school and district’s unique
population makeup.
In providing technical assistance to districts and schools, as well as in all grant application
requirements, the AOE prioritizes an equity lens. In this context, we are requiring districts who
receive grant funds to monitor outcomes broken down by historically marginalized student
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populations, to the best of their ability. This requirement tracks well with a recent AOE-
sponsored initiative focused on ensuring data literacy across all districts in Vermont. Much of
the work in that sphere is training local educator teams how to effectively discern patterns
across different groups of students to best tailor subsequent interventions. Similarly, we will be
working with grantees to not only report on the impact of their interventions for certain groups
of students, but also on how this information will inform the subsequent phases of their work.
In addition, the AOE is requiring LEAs to implement a systems approach to Education Support
Teams (ESTs), a long-standing policy requirement in Vermont, to guide local and state decision
making on intervention priorities. Through a consistent EST data collection process, patterns of
impact will be identified, and strategies will be developed locally, regionally and at the state
level as necessary. Such an approach is intentionally designed so that any student who is
identified in need of education supports will be able to receive the interventions they need.
Engaging Students Who Missed In-person Instruction
States must outline the extent to which the SEA will use its funds to identify and engage
students who missed the most in-person instruction or who did not consistently participate in
remote instruction.
Almost all schools in Vermont were able to offer some in-person instruction during the 2020-
2021 school year, and all schools operated fully in-person during the 2021-2022 school year.
Most districts used the state-supported Vermont Virtual Learning Cooperative to provision
remote learning, and that allowed schools to ensure a certain level of quality in remote learning
activities.
2. Evidence-Based Summer Learning and Enrichment Programs
States are required to describe how the SEA will use its funds (reserved under section 2001(f)(2) of the
American Rescue Plan Act) for evidence-based summer learning and enrichment programs.
Description of Programs
States are required to describe the evidence-based programs that address the academic, social,
emotional and mental health needs of students.
ESSER II state set-aside funds were used to fund a significant expansion of summer enrichment
activities during 2021 as part of Vermont’s education recovery framework. This initiative was
called “Summer Matters for All” Our Education Recovery framework includes three focus
areas. One of those focus areas is student engagement, and Summer Matters for All was
accordingly designed to improve geographic equity and bring all students back into the
supportive context of high-quality expanded learning and enrichment experiences. $4.1M of
SEA ESSER II set-aside funds were used to contract with Vermont Afterschool (VAS) to expand
student summer engagement activities statewide. Funds were used at the state level, not
allocated directly to LEAs.
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In addition, the Interagency Task Force for After School and Summer Youth programs (via
Governor’s Executive Order) is developing a system-focused proposal for universal afterschool
services, based on a public-private partnership model, to continue the expansion efforts begun
summer 2021. Through Act 9 of 2021 the GA allocated an additional $4M of ESSER II state set-
aside funds for expansion of summer and afterschool programs and VAS began granting funds
to summer and afterschool programs in Spring 2022.
Under ARP ESSER Section 2001(f)(2), the AOE must reserve $2,852,234 of its total allocation,
''to carry out, directly or through grants or contracts, the implementation of
evidence-based summer enrichment programs, and ensure such programs respond to
students' academic, social, and emotional needs and address the disproportionate
impact of the coronavirus on the student populations described in section
1111(b)(2)(B)(xi) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
6311(b)(2)(B)(xi)) [each major racial and ethnic group, children from low-income
families, children with disabilities, English learners, gender, migrant students,
students experiencing homelessness, and children and youth in foster care]''
The GA appropriated these funds in Act 185 of 2022.
Accordingly, AOE invited school districts and their schools and CTE centers, in partnership
where possible with community-based organizations, to apply for ARP ESSER SEA Summer
grant funding for the purpose of providing a variety of high-quality, evidence-based summer
learning opportunities for Vermont students for grades K-12. Policy guidance advises:
''Effective summer programming can address students' social, emotional, mental health, and
academic needs through a combination of activities that include strong partnerships with
community-based organizations and other summer providers, including summer camps. These
partnerships can help to sustain these programs and can also support programs in rural and
remote communities.''
In line with the statutory language above, competitive grants will be awarded to applicants that
show the greatest promise of supporting the following overarching goal adopted by the
Vermont State Board of Education to, ''Ensure that Vermont's public education system operates
within the framework of high expectations for every learner and ensure that there is equity in
opportunity for all.''
Use of funds towards these objectives was considered within Vermont's Education Recovery
and Revitalization Framework , in concert with other local strategies, and aligned with these
three recovery areas:
1. Social emotional functioning, mental health, and well-being
2. Student engagement, and reengagement
3. Academic achievement and success
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Importantly, these strategies align explicitly with federal and state afterschool and community
school models and associated funding streams being used in Vermont that can be further
leveraged where capacity exists during pandemic recovery. As such, intentional integration
and/or expansion with local ARP ESSER funds, ESSA Title IVB (the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century
Community Learning Centers Programs (21st CCLC)), and Act 67 (Vermont's Community
School legislation), among others, is carefully considered. In addition, there is coherence
between this initiative and these other funding streams and initiatives, as all can support a
broad menu of expanded learning approaches using out of school time, including evidence-
based high-dosage tutoring activities.
The AOE has received applications for twelve SU/SDs with an average request of $204,000. The
average program proposed supports for 170 students and 26 days of program per year. The
AOE is evaluating applications based on the following priorities:
• The applying district has greater than 40% free or reduced lunch participation.
• Students in the applying district do not currently have access to afterschool programing
through the school or a local organization.
• The proposed program includes an academic component such as evidence-based high-
dosage tutoring.
• The proposed program includes 25 days of full-day summer program in the first year.
Addressing Impact to Students
States must describe how the evidence-based summer programs will address the impact of the
pandemic on certain groups of students.
A core feature of the Summer Matters for All program of 2021 was to expand both the number
of slots and the number of weeks summer programming was available to students and families.
The initiative provided training to non-school entities so that they could better serve students
with disabilities, providing an important opportunity for such students to have an enriching
and engaging experience that had previously been unavailable to them. In addition, by
adopting a strong equity lens in its review of grant proposals, the subgrantee Vermont After
School (VAS) awarded grants to communities most in need of summer resources, including
those in Chittenden County where the bulk of Vermont’s EL, BIPOC, and homeless students
reside. Because Vermont is predominantly rural, by also focusing on summer program
expansion across the entire state, and particularly in some of our most rural underserved
regions, VAS and partners were also able to bring summer programming opportunities to
students in other groups listed in Table A.1, including students from low-income backgrounds
and migratory students. Summer program providers who received grants under the Summer
Matters initiative were required to assure their programs were accessible to all students, with an
emphasis on ensuring access to those students who were disproportionately impacted by
COVID-19. AOE and partners provided training to the field, including new summer programs
staff, on how to best work with families of students with disabilities to ensure programs were
accessible and high-quality for even our most under-served students.
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In addition, Vermont Afterschool, the organization that administered the Summer Matters
program, must provide a report on a variety of programmatic indicators to the AOE as a
condition of their award. With this summer program under our collective belts, the state work
group is now designing a robust program evaluation paradigm as we move forward with
expanded universal afterschool and summer programs, per the Governor’s directive. A key
component of this evaluation paradigm is testing whether historically marginalized students
such as those who qualify for special education services, are English learners, experience
poverty, or are members of the BIPOC population were able to fully access and participate in
the programs. This logic informed the VAS Expanding Access grants for summer and
afterschool programs through September 2023 and the development of the ARP ESSER Summer
Programming grants described above.
As noted above, ARP ESSER funded summer grants, will be targeted to sites that already
participate in community engagement efforts (i.e., 21C sites, Community Schools grant sites).
Because the districts that qualify for 21C and Community School grants include some of our
most historically marginalized students, we are ensuring that summer funding is leveraged to
address learning loss and pandemic-related challenges for our most vulnerable students.
Total budget: $2.8M
Engaging Students Who Missed In-person Instruction
States must outline the extent to which the SEA will use its funds to identify and engage
students who missed the most in-person instruction or who did not consistently participate in
remote instruction.
Almost all schools in Vermont were able to offer some in-person instruction during the 2020-
2021 school year, and all schools operated fully in-person during the 2021-2022 school year.
Most districts used the state-supported Vermont Virtual Learning Cooperative to provision
remote learning, and that allowed schools to ensure a certain level of quality in remote learning
activities.
3. Evidence-Based Comprehensive Afterschool Programs
States are required to describe how the SEA will use its funds (reserved under section 2001(f)(3) of the
American Rescue Plan Act) for evidence-based comprehensive afterschool programs.
Description of Programs
States are required to describe the evidence-based programs that address the academic, social,
emotional and mental health needs of students.
In addition to Vermont’s integrated approach for afterschool and summer programming that
we recently adopted to ensure universal out-of-school opportunities for all students (detailed in
Section D.2), AOE recognizes the requirement to keep separate ARP ESSER funding streams for
summer learning and enrichment (D.2) and developing comprehensive afterschool
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programming (D.3). Below we describe our strategy for the required state set aside regarding
afterschool.
Under ARP ESSER Section 2001(f)(3), the AOE must reserve $2,852,234 of its total allocation:
“to carry out, directly or through grants and contracts, the implementation of
evidence-based comprehensive afterschool programs, and ensure such programs
respond to students’ academic, social, and emotional needs and address the
disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on student subgroups (each major racial and
ethnic group, children from low-income families, children with disabilities, English
learners, gender, migrant students, students experiencing homelessness, and children
and youth in foster care).”
The GA appropriated these funds in Act 185 of 2022.
For the purposes of ARP ESSER, Vermont is using the US DOE ESSA levels of evidence. In line
with this legal framework, competitive grants will be awarded to applicants showing the
greatest promise of supporting the following overarching goal adopted by the Vermont State
Board of Education to, “Ensure that Vermont’s public education system operates within the framework
of high expectations for every learner and ensure that there is equity in opportunity for all.”
Use of funds towards these objectives will be considered within Vermont’s Education Recovery
and Revitalization Framework, in concert with other local strategies, and aligned with these
three recovery areas:
1. Social emotional functioning, mental health, and well-being
2. Student engagement, and reengagement
3. Academic achievement and success
Importantly, these strategies align explicitly with federal and state afterschool and community
school models and associated funding streams being used in Vermont that can be further
leveraged where capacity exists during the Recovery phase of the pandemic. As such,
intentional integration and/or expansion with local ARP ESSER funds, ESSA Title IVB (the Nita
M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers Programs (21st CCLC)), and Act 67
(Vermont’s Community School legislation), among others, is carefully considered. In addition,
there is coherence between this initiative and these other funding streams and initiatives as all
can support a broad menu of expanded learning approaches using out of school time.
There have been two rounds of applications for the ARP ESSER Afterschool grant program.In
Round I, 13 SU/SDs were awarded an average of $145,000 based around the following funding
priorities:
• The applying district has greater than 40% free or reduced lunch participation.
• Students in the applying district do not currently have access to afterschool programing
through the school or a local organization.
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• The proposed program will be offering supports to secondary students.
• The applying districts applied for, but did not receive, 21C funding in the last round of
grant applications.
The second round of applications is now under review with eleven applicants requesting an
average of $96,000 and will be awarded based on the following funding priorities:
• The applying district has greater than 40% free or reduced lunch participation.
• Students in the applying district do not currently have access to afterschool programing
through the school or a local organization.
• The proposed program includes an academic component such as evidence-based high-
dosage tutoring.
• The proposed program will be offering supports to secondary students.
Total budget: $2.8M
Addressing Impact to Students
States must describe how the evidence-based summer programs will address the impact of the
pandemic on certain groups of students.
As noted above, ARP ESSER funded afterschool grants, are targeted to align with other
community engagement programs (i.e., 21C sites, Community Schools grant sites). Because the
districts that qualify for 21C and Community School grants include some of our most
historically marginalized students, we are ensuring that afterschool funding is leveraged to
address learning loss and pandemic-related challenges for our most vulnerable students.
Engaging Students Who Missed In-person Instruction
States must outline the extent to which the SEA will use its funds to identify and engage
students who missed the most in person instruction or who did not consistently participate in
remote instruction
Almost all schools in Vermont were able to offer some in-person instruction during the 2020-
2021 school year, and all schools operated fully in-person during the 2021-2022 school year.
Most districts used the state-supported Vermont Virtual Learning Cooperative to provision
remote learning, and that allowed schools to ensure a certain level of quality in remote learning
activities.
4. Emergency Needs
Description of Programs
States are required to describe how the SEA anticipates it will use its funds (reserved under section
2001(f)(4) of the American Rescue Plan Act) for emergency needs, if applicable, including the extent to
which these funds will build SEA and LEA capacity to ensure students’ and staff health and safety, meet
academic, social, emotional and mental health needs, and implement evidence-based interventions.
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School Safety and Facilities Improvement. Through Act 72, the Vermont General Assembly
has appropriated $4,000,000 in ARPA Section 2001(f)4 funds for a school facilities improvement
program. This program includes the hiring of a consultant to support LEAs in Heating,
Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and other projects to address safety and health needs
in school facilities and the completion of a school facilities inventory and assessment that
includes a comprehensive evaluation of major school facilities systems, including HVAC and
other systems related to indoor air quality.
Educator Workforce Supports. In Act 74, the GA appropriated $1,000,000 in ARPA Section
2001(f)4 funds for Educator Workforce development. The AOE is using these funds, along with
the remainder of the Section 2001(f)4 reserve to conduct an analysis of Vermont’s educator
workforce landscape ($69,200) and support educator wellness and mental health through a
partnership with the Vermont Education Health Initiative (VEHI).
The VEHI PATH forward program uses a total of $1,395,000 appropriated by the GA in Acts 74
and 83 to expand district wellness programs for employees and provide direct service supports
while strengthening the foundation of this critical program so that more Vermont educators
have access to safe, healthy and supportive work environments. These funds are intended to
stabilize the workforce and retain staff in a tight labor market.
Supports for LEAs. Finally, the AOE has dedicated $149,560 of ARPA Section 2001(f)4 funds
appropriated through Act 185 of 2022 to fund a programmatic and fiscal analysis of LEA
ESSER-funded activities. This study will identify best practices nationally that are well-aligned
with Vermont’s small, rural state context. In addition the consultants will work closely with
LEAs to identify their most important student outcomes and provide an opportunity for LEAs
to share impactful activities. Finally, this study will result in a district by district analysis of
areas where ESSER investments may lead to fiscal exposure in the Fiscal Year 2025 budget and
identify ways that other federal funding sources could be leveraged to support programs that
are leading to better student outcomes.
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E. Supporting LEAs in Planning for and Meeting Students’ Needs
This section addresses the need for safe return to in-person instruction to be accompanied by a focus on
meeting academic, social, emotional and mental health needs, and by addressing opportunity gaps. States
are required to outline how the SEAs will support LEA development of high quality plans for use of ARP
ESSER funds.
Section E State Plan Template Questions (page 13)
1. LEA Plans for the Use of ARP ESSER Funds
States are required to describe what the SEA will require its LEAs to include in LEA plans consistent
with ARP ESSER requirements, how each plan will be made available to the public, and the deadline for
submission.
In advance of the passage of ARP, Vermont has already required all LEAs to create and submit
a Recovery Plan. In their Recovery Plans, each LEA needs to identify a need under three
different recovery areas—social and emotional health, mental health, and well-being; student
engagement, and academic achievement/success. Vermont will be leveraging these Recovery
Plans to demonstrate how schools have prepared for reopening. In addition, to ensure that
LEAs meet the IFR requirements for the ARP ESSER LEA Plan, in August 2021, the AOE created
a template that contains all of the required elements of the IFR.
Prepared with these tools, LEAs will be required to submit the URL link to their public ARP
ESSER LEA Plan using a webform within 90 days of receiving the final one third of the ARP
ESSER funds.. In addition, Vermont is using its Grants Management System ARP ESSER Phase
II application to address the requirements outlined in the IFR.
In the ARP ESSER Phase II application, LEAs are required to upload this template or a similar
document, which must include evidence of stakeholder engagement and any other required IFR
elements and the URL for their ARP ESSER LEA Plan.
Prevention and Mitigation Strategies Aligned with CDC Guidance
LEA plans must include information on whether and how the funds will be used to implement
prevention and mitigation strategies in line with current CDC guidance, in order to
continuously and safely operate schools for in-person learning.
Unlike many parts of the country, all Vermont schools reopened to at least partial in-person
instruction in September 2020 following the Vermont Department of Health and Agency of
Education’s Strong and Healthy Start guidance. The ARP ESSER LEA application will include
an assurance that the LEA continues to operate safely and in line with CDC guidance. In
addition, the LEA will be required to post its Recovery Plan on its website and make it available
for public comment. Any changes to the LEA’s Recovery Plan will need to be reflected in that
posting. Reopening guidance to LEAs can be found as part of the Strong and Healthy Start
Guidance outlined above.
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Addressing Impact of Lost Instructional time
LEA plans must include information on how the LEA will use funds (reserved under section
2001(e)(1) of the American Rescue Plan Act) to address the academic impact of lost instructional
time.
In the ARP ESSER LEA application, LEAs will need to identify which investments specifically
address lost instructional time and the amount and nature of those investments. AOE approval
of applications is contingent upon meeting the 20% threshold. LEA Recovery Plans will allow
LEAs to identify both broad needs and specific investments. Many, but not all, needs identified
in their required Needs Assessments will be funded through ESSER funds. The ARP ESSER
LEA application will include funding details addressing the 20% threshold.
Use of Remaining Funds
LEA plans must include information on how the LEA will spend its remaining funds consistent
with section 2001(e)(2) of the American Rescue Plan Act.
In the ARP ESSER LEA application, LEAs will need to identify how they will spend the
remainder of their ARP ESSER funds. AOE will review the proposed investments to ensure that
they reflect allowable uses.
Addressing Impacts of Students Disproportionately Impacted by COVID-19
LEA plans must include information on how it will ensure the interventions it implements
address the academic, social, emotional and mental health needs of all students, and particularly
those disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
AOE will review the investments detailed in the ARP ESSER LEA plan to ensure that the
proposed investments meet the intent of the law regarding response to and as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic and ensure that the investments specifically support historically
marginalized students in areas of academic, social, emotional, and mental health.
2. LEA Consultation
In this section, States are required to describe how the SEA will ensure that LEAs engage in meaningful
consultation with a wide range of stakeholders; specifically students, families, school and district
administrators, and educators. LEAs must also meaningfully consult with Tribes, civil rights
organizations, and stakeholder representing the interests of children with disabilities, English learners,
children experiencing homelessness, in foster care, and other underserved student groups, if represented
in the district.
The ARP ESSER LEA application will include assurances from the LEA that they have
conducted meaningful consultation with identified stakeholders and evidence of the outreach to
stakeholders, the content of feedback, and how plans have been altered as a result of that
feedback.
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Vermont’s LEAs, through their Education Recovery planning process, have already begun to
engage stakeholder groups. In addition, many LEAs are conducting communications outreach
through websites, informational sessions and direct contact with families. The AOE requires
that the LEAs document these stakeholder engagement efforts and will require evidence of this
engagement in the ARP ESER LEA application.
3. Support and Monitoring for LEAs
In this section, States are required to describe how they will support and monitor LEAs in using ARP
ESSER funds.
Monitoring Implementation of Interventions
States are required to outline how they will support and monitor LEA implementation of
evidence-based interventions that respond to students’ academic, social, emotional and mental
health needs.
After final Recovery Plans have been submitted, AOE will identify the most frequent support
themes from LEA plans. For each identified theme, AOE will develop networking opportunities
pulling together LEAs with similar needs, along with external subject area experts, for intense
and iterative professional development and coaching aligned with research-based best practice.
AOE staff recently invested in Networked Improvement Communities (NIC) training and will
leverage this model as appropriate. AOE plans to select the 4-6 most pressing needs to shape
development of these professional learning opportunities.
AOE will monitor LEAs to ensure programmatic and fiscal compliance with federal and state
performance goals (see Section G on Fiscal Monitoring Plan). Programmatic monitoring will
mirror our current SI7 monitoring process, where AOE tracks individual investments, the data
that the district and school will use to measure the impact of that investment, and the actual
data showing the impact of the investment.
Addressing Impacts and Engaging Most Impacted Students
States are required to report how the SEA will support and monitor LEAs in addressing the
disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on certain groups of students, and
reengaging and supporting students most likely to be impacted by lost instructional time.
VT AOE is working with its national and regional partners, including Council of Chief State
School Officers (CCSSO), American Institutes for Research (AIR), Center on Great Teachers and
Leaders, Comprehensive Center Network, Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and
Islands (REL-NEI) and others to develop a comprehensive and strategic plan for investments
and data collection to support both immediate and long-term improvements, and a
corresponding and robust monitoring plan for LEA use of ARP funds. It will be essential that
the State takes a considered approach to identifying the data elements needed both to comply
with ARP requirements and to promote the AOE’s and LEAs’ strategic use of the ARP funds.
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4. Additional Strategies for Educational Equity
In this section, States are required to describe the extent to which the SEA will support LEAs in
implementing additional strategies to address educational equity when expending ARP ESSER funds.
As all Vermont schools have been open to at least partial in-person instruction since September
2020, LEAs have been continuing to address inclusivity in school access. That said, LEA
Recovery Plans need to identify goals addressing lingering student engagement challenges.
Those goals are reviewed by AOE.
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F. Supporting the Educator Workforce
This Section address the toll that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on educators as well as students.
SEAs are required to describe strategies for supporting and stabilizing the educator workforce and for
making staffing decisions that will support students’ academic, social, emotional, and mental health
needs.
Section F State Plan Template Questions (page 15)
1.Supporting and Stabilizing the Educator Workforce:
States are required to describe the extent to which the State is facing shortages of educators, education
administration personnel, and other school personnel involved in safely reopening schools, and the extent
to which that varies by region or type of educators.
Area Data on shortages and needs Narrative description
Special educators and related 10% of special educators Data from our FY20 Educator
service personnel and working on a provisional license Shortage Report suggests that
paraprofessionals
(FY20 Educator Shortage approximately 10% of all special
Report); Approximately 6% of educators in the state are
Early Childhood Special working on a provisional
Educators are working under a teaching license. This indicates a
provisional license. The SEA shortage as defined by the
does not currently offer Educator Shortage report.
certification for paraeducators. Anecdotal data from LEAs
suggest that the recruitment and
retention of special educators is
a persistent challenge.
Bilingual educators No educators working on a We do not have any indication
provisional or emergency that educators with a bilingual
license. endorsement are a shortage in
Vermont.
English as a second language One educator out of 88 teaching Data suggest that there is not a
educators English Learners in Vermont are shortage of educators with the
employed on a provisional English Language Learner
license according to the FY20 endorsement in Vermont.
Educator Shortage Report. Six
educators in the state hold a
provisional license out of a total
of 314 educators who hold the
endorsement.
STEM educators 8% of educators teaching math Data from our FY20 Educator
were doing so on a temporary Shortage Report identifies only
secondary math teachers
teaching under their math
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Area Data on shortages and needs Narrative description
license (FY20 Educator Shortage endorsement as constituting a
Report). shortage. Broader indicators
suggest that middle grades
5.5% of all endorsed (not
STEM educators are more likely
necessarily teaching under that
to be working under a
endorsement) STEM teachers
provisional license than their
held a temporary license.
secondary peers. This is not a
Middle grades STEM
surprise, as middle grades
provisional endorsements
educators often are adding an
accounted for 8% of all STEM
endorsement in response to
endorsed educators. Secondary
changing staffing and
STEM provisional endorsements
enrollment needs at a particular
accounted for 3% of all STEM
school. Therefore, it would
endorsed educators.
follow that provisional licenses
are requested at a greater rate in
middle grades. It appears,
however, that many educators
holding middle grades STEM
endorsements are either not
teaching under those
endorsements or are teaching
under them for a limited
number of classes.
CTE educators Six out of 385 licensed CTE Neither CTE endorsements
educators are working on a taken as a whole nor any
temporary license. subendorsement under the CTE
umbrella was identified as a
shortage area in the FY20
Educator Shortage Report.
Early childhood educators Early childhood education is not We do not have evidence that
identified as a shortage area recruitment of early childhood
(FY20 Educator Shortage educators is a persistent
Report); About 4% of all problem in the public sector.
educators who hold an early Due to a PreK funding plan in
childhood license have a Vermont, private PreK
temporary license. providers can be reimbursed by
the state for a set amount per
student in attendance, provided
that a licensed early childhood
educator is employed at the site.
Private providers do report
challenges in recruiting and
retaining licensed educators.
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Area Data on shortages and needs Narrative description
Further analysis suggests that
this can be largely explained by
lower pay structures at private
providers when compared to
public settings. Due to an
initiative to support provisional
licenses for Early Childhood
Educators in private settings, we
anticipate an increase in
provisional licenses over the
course of the next couple of
years.
School counselors 9% of school counselors are The Educator Shortage Report
currently working on a shows that about 9% of all
temporary license (FY20 school counselors are working
Educator Shortage Report). under a temporary license. As
LEAs have not contacted the
SEA suggesting that recruitment
and retention of school
counselors is a persistent
challenge, our assumption is
that many of those on a
temporary license are internal
hires working toward
completing requirements for full
endorsement.
Social workers Social workers are not identified While the school social worker
as a shortage area (FY20 endorsement is not identified as
Educator Shortage Report). a shortage area in the FY20
Educator Shortage Report,
approximately 8% of licensed
school social workers are
working under a provisional
license. Licensed school social
workers do not account for all
social workers in schools.
Vermont only has 60 licensed
school social workers. Many
licensed social workers are
providing services without the
education endorsement. We
continue to monitor LEA needs
described in their Recovery
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Area Data on shortages and needs Narrative description
Plans to see if there is a growing
need for school social workers
or other mental health
professionals to respond to
heightened student Social-
Emotional Learning needs.
Nurses School nurses are not identified We do not have evidence of a
as a shortage area (FY20 past workforce shortage for
Educator Shortage Report); 5.5% school nurses based on our
of licensed school nurses hold a licensure data; however, we are
provisional license. monitoring potential changes in
LEA needs in response to the
pandemic.
School psychologists School psychologists are not We do not have evidence of a
identified as a shortage area past workforce shortage for
(FY20 Educator Shortage school psychologists based on
Report); 2% of licensed school our licensure data; however, we
psychologists hold a provisional are monitoring LEA needs
license. described in their Recovery
Plans to see if there is a growing
need for school social
psychologists to respond to
heightened student Social-
Emotional Learning needs.
These data reflect multiple data collection initiatives, not all of which have routinely consistent
findings across sources.
According to U.S. ED’s Teacher Shortage Areas report, the following shortage areas were
reported statewide for 2020-2021 due to at least 5% of FTEs for these endorsements being served
by an educator with a temporary license:
• Administrative—Assistant Director for Adult Education
• Administrative—Career Technical Center Director
• Administrative--Superintendent
• School Librarian: PK-12
• Family and Consumer Sciences: 5-12
• Special Educator: PK-21
• School Counselor: PK-12
• Health & Physical Fitness – Physical Education: PK-12
• Health & Physical Fitness – Health Science: PK-12
• World Languages – Spanish: PK-12
• Mathematics – Basic & Advanced Mathematics: 7-12
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• Driver Education: 9-12
Whereas the Educator Shortage Report reflects larger scale data on educators employed with
temporary licensure, we also have more anecdotal data suggesting that LEAs are increasingly
concerned about potential shortages. For example, the Vermont Virtual Learning Cooperative
(VTVLC) struggled to hire educators to meet their staffing needs. In September 2020, the SEA
put a call out to education networks around the state and to our New England SEA partners
looking to recruit math, science, social studies, and foreign language teachers (especially at the
middle level) in support of VTVLC.
The Vermont Department of Labor’s 2018-2028 Long-Term Occupational Projections report
indicates that Education, Training and Library Occupations ranks sixth out of all Major
Occupation Clusters in number of annual openings in the state. Teacher assistants, registered
nurses and nurse assistants, and childcare workers rank in the top 25 occupations with greatest
number of annual openings. Finally, of the top twenty-five occupations at each level of
educational attainment typical for entry, ranked by the number of openings and by rate of
growth, the following school-related positions rank in the top ten:
• Educational guidance, school, and vocational counselors
• Clinical, Counseling and School Psychologists
• Education Administration, Elementary and Secondary School
• Librarians
• Instructional Coordinators
According to the monthly Strong and Healthy Schools survey data collected by the SEA since
September, initial substitute shortage data suggests that filling openings, in the near term and
potentially long-term, may prove challenging for LEAs statewide, with pockets of greater/lesser
intensity. Since September, on average 60% or more of our responding public schools have
reported not having adequate substitute coverage for absences every month. Broken out by five
state regions, the lowest reporting region, at 48%, was in February. In April, our most recent
data collection, 67.52% of schools reported the inability to find substitute coverage. Of note, our
survey data suggests that both populous regions of the state and extremely rural parts of the
state have consistently struggled to find substitute coverage, and while there has been some
regional variability in the data at times, no region has reported below 50%. This data is
supported by an increased demand for waivers for long-term substitutes over the last portion of
the school year and numerous appeals to the Vermont Standards Board for Professional
Educators to waive endorsement requirements.
In an effort to understand building leaders’ perceptions of potential shortages and workforce
issues they will be confronting next year, the Vermont Principals’ Association surveyed
Vermont principals and found that 50% of respondents reported that it was likely to very likely
that positions in their schools would go unfilled, 28% reported that 5-10% of their positions
might go unfilled, and 21% reported that they were anticipating more retirements than usual
this year.
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Finally, Vermont is ranked the third oldest state in the nation, with a median age of 42.8 years.
The government sector, including public PK-12 schools, is the largest employer in Vermont.
Though our current licensing data as described by the Educator Shortage Report has not
uncovered broader shortages, additional data points to a growing concern about adequately
staffing our schools to meet the needs of Vermont students now and in the future.
Identifying Shortages and Potential Shortages
In this section, SEAs are required to describe how they will assist LEAs in identifying the most urgent
areas of educator shortages or potential shortages, with particular plans for individual LEAs facing the
most significant needs.
At this point, we do not have evidence of layoffs related to the pandemic. Each LEA has
submitted a Recovery Plan in which they identify specific needs related to Social Emotional
health and well-being, Academic Achievement, and Student Engagement. Many of these plans
identify hiring additional staff to meet perceived needs. The SEA is aggregating these needs to
understand emerging staffing trends in response to recovery efforts.
Broader indicators suggest that the SEA will need to take a leadership role in supporting LEAs
in long-term strategic planning, including fostering a statewide approach that can both support
the unique regional needs of LEAs while guarding against an overly competitive marketplace
that could further exacerbate regional disparities in staffing. This might include regional
approaches to shared staffing and local educator pipeline programs, leveraging online and
hybrid models to provide access to qualified staff despite geographic challenges, creating
greater flexibility for new educators and out-of-state educators, and recruiting more teachers of
color.
Filling Gaps in Certified Teachers
SEAs are required to describe the actions they will take to fill anticipated gaps in certified teachers for the
start of the 2021-2022 school year and to what extent the SEA will further support its LEAs in
expanding the educator pipeline and educator diversity.
In the near term, the SEA will work with LEAs to address gaps in certified teachers for the 2021-
2022 school year by expediting access to provisional teacher licenses under existing Vermont
regulations. The SEA will also partner with the Vermont Department of Public Safety to
expedite the required background check process.
Additionally, the SEA will explore several strategies to expand the teacher pipeline and the
diversity of its educator workforce:
• Create an annual scholarship fund of approximately $25,000 to support educators
seeking initial licensure through Peer Review.
• Hire a 0.5 FTE to work throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states to recruit
educators to come to Vermont. This recruiter would represent Vermont schools at job
fairs, develop relationships with education departments in schools throughout the
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region, with particular attention to historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs)
and other schools who graduate substantial numbers of historically marginalized
candidates.
• Develop a pathway to licensure for educators working in regions of the state where
there is specific need. This model would support paraeducators currently working in
school settings who are interested in becoming fully licensed educators. Educators
would complete a four-course sequence over 16 months (one course each Summer, Fall,
Spring, Summer semesters) in the Core Teaching Competencies through the University
of Vermont (UVM), Vermont State Colleges (VSC) and the Higher Education
Collaborative (HEC) while working under a temporary license; acceptance into and
enrollment in the preparation sequence would confer the temporary license.
To inform long-term policy in this area, the SEA will contract for a study of Vermont’s educator
pipeline to identify policy recommendations in the following areas:
• Licensing reciprocity with other states;
• Identifying regulatory policies from other states that could be adopted in Vermont;
• An examination of the New England educator pipeline dynamics since Vermont’s labor
market needs to be considered in the context of the region;
• A policy approach to licensing for designated shortage areas;
• How remote learning could be utilized to address teacher shortage areas and to enable
the sharing of staff on a statewide basis; and
• An analysis of Vermont’s higher education system relative to its teacher preparation
capacity.
2. Staffing to Support Student Needs
States are required to describe the extent to which the SEA has developed or will develop strategies and
will support its LEAs in increasing student access to key support staff within school buildings, including
school counselors, special education personnel, nurses, social workers, and psychologists.
The SEA will adopt the following strategies to support its LEAs in increasing student access to
key support staff:
• Continue to explore and support online access to support staff such as social workers
and clinicians;
• Support community-based and interdisciplinary regional teams;
• Explore regional support staff shared between schools/districts as state level hires;
• Pursue “grow your own” options to incentivize leadership growth from within the
school and district including expansion of the nurse leadership model;
• Support state campaign to “add an endorsement”;
• Explore secondary version of “adjuncts” in specific areas such as clinicians, social
workers, nurses, etc.; and
• Develop statewide platform to attract/recruit educators and staff for key shortage areas.
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G. Monitoring and Measuring Progress
Transparency on how ARP ESSER funds are used and their impact on the Nation’s education system is a
fundamental responsibility of Federal, State, and local government. In this section, SEAs are required
describe how they are building capacity at the SEA and LEA levels to ensure high-quality data collection
and reporting and to safeguard funds for their intended purposes.
Section G State Plan Template Questions (page 16)
1. Capacity for Data Collection and Reporting:
In this section, States are required to describe how the SEA will ensure its capacity and the capacity of its
LEAs to collect data on reporting requirements of ARP ESSER, including academic achievement data,
fiscal data, engagement, program participation, etc.
The Safe and Healthy Schools (SHS) survey will remain a required collection through the end of
SY21. If data such as these are required on an ongoing basis as a part of annual, required data
reporting and/or at the verifiable student level, the AOE hopes to leverage stimulus dollars to
build out data collection, management, and reporting infrastructure and staff training supports
to accommodate a more durable, lower burden, closer to real-time, and long term means of
gathering, managing, and reporting these data. In terms of recovery efforts, this means that both
AOE and LEAs would benefit from: (1) staff augmentation to support needed adjustments to
data and IT infrastructure for data collection, management, reporting, and use; (2) investment in
staff professional development opportunities for LEA and school staff on effective data
management and use of their Student Information System (SIS), as well as processes for
submitting required data to the AOE; (3) investment in staff professional development
opportunities for LEA and school staff on building a culture of data quality to support data
literacy and data use.
Enrollment: Student enrollment for all students and disaggregated for each of the student groups
described in A.3.i- viii for each mode of instruction; and Attendance: Student attendance for all students
and disaggregated for each of the student groups described in A.3.i- viii for each mode of instruction.
The AOE collects data on attendance once per school year through an end-of-year, student-level
data collection process called “DC04 Year End Official,” details about which are available via
AOE’s fully searchable online data collection knowledge base. This means that while AOE does
not have access to student-level attendance data by mode of instruction at this time, we can
reasonably estimate that the SHS data show student participation in each type of learning
modality throughout SY21.
2. Monitoring and Internal Controls
In this section SEAs are required to describe how they will implement appropriate fiscal monitoring of
and internal controls for the ARP ESSER funds.
The Vermont Agency of Education (AOE) divides the monitoring responsibilities of 2 CFR
§200.332 into two components: (1) Programmatic monitoring and (2) Fiscal monitoring. The
Regulatory Compliance Team conducts fiscal monitoring per the established plan on file with
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the Vermont Department of Finance & Management. Fiscal monitoring covers all Federal and
state grants during one review. ESSER I, ESSER II, and ARP-ESSER III will be included in the
fiscal monitoring activities beginning in FY22. Below are the major steps of fiscal monitoring.
Single Audit Review: The first phase of fiscal monitoring includes the review of the single
audits in accordance with 2 CFR §200.500 Subpart F and Vermont Bulletin 5. Single audits are
reviewed using a checklist to insure a compliant and consistent review. The AOE follows up
with subgrantees on all federal findings and the resulting corrective actions. The results of the
single audit review are incorporated into the monitoring risk assessment (detailed below).
Desk or onsite review of subgrantees: Selection of subgrantees is based on an annual assessment
of risk per 2 CFR §200.332(b). In certain instances, a subgrantee may be selected for fiscal
monitoring due to special circumstances. Fiscal monitoring follows a consistent protocol to be
sure all required areas of compliance are consistently reviewed. The documentation of the
review is maintained in our files for five (5)+ years as appropriate. The scope of monitoring
focuses on confirming the subgrantee’s compliance with EDGAR, 2 CFR Part 200, Vermont
Statute, and local policies and procedures. Reviews result in a report to the subgrantee that
details any findings of non-compliance. Subgrantees are required to respond to any findings of
non-compliance with corrective action plans that detail the corrective action, the position
responsible for action and the implementation date of the action as well as evidence of
implementation. The results of prior fiscal monitoring activities are used to inform the AOE’s
pre-award risk assessment of subgrantees and in the determination if additional requirements
should be placed on the award. Fiscal monitoring data is also used to develop trainings and
technical assistance for future years based on areas of non-compliance discovered during fiscal
monitoring.
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Appendix A: School Operating Status and Instructional Mode Data Template
These data were published as a standalone document: ARP ESSER: Summary of Instructional
Modalities for School Year 2020-21. The full document is enclosed below:
American Rescue Plan Act Elementary and Secondary School
Emergency Relief Fund: Summary of Instructional Modalities for
School Year 2020-21
Purpose
Per the requirements of the American Rescue Plan Act Elementary and Secondary School
Emergency Relief Fund:
“To facilitate consultation on an SEA's ARP ESSER plan and ongoing communication with the
public, under the requirement, an SEA must also make information publicly available on its
website as soon as possible but no later than June 21, 2021, and regularly provide updated
available information on its website, on the numbers of schools in the State providing each
mode of instruction (i.e., fully remote or online-only instruction, both remote/online instruction
and in-person instruction (hybrid model), and full-time in-person instruction). The SEA must
also make publicly available student enrollment data and, to the extent available, student
attendance data for all students and disaggregated by students from low-income families,
students from each racial and ethnic group, gender, English learners, children with disabilities,
children experiencing homelessness, children in foster care, and migratory students for each
mode of instruction,”
The Vermont Agency of Education (AOE) is submitting the information posted below for public
review and comment. To submit a public comment, email AOE.EdInfo@vermont.gov with the
subject line “Public Comment: ARP ESSER Summary of Instruction Modalities”.
Description of Information
Throughout SY21, the AOE has conducted a survey activity that has played an active and
ongoing role in Vermont’s COVID-19 response. The Strong and Healthy Schools Survey (SHS),
first deployed in September 2020, is a monthly collection of Continuity of Operations questions
and a twice-yearly extended collection comprised of both Continuity of Operations and
Continuity of Learning questions.
The monthly collection questions that have centered on mode of instruction provide insight
into: (1) mode of instruction reported across grade spans (elementary, middle high school), (2)
the percent of students in each mode of instruction across grade levels in each school, (3) if
students are in a hybrid model, the split of in-person/remote days, (4) the activities that occur in
hybrid 1-day remote models, and (5) whether students/families could choose mode of
instruction.
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Survey results have and do inform current and future guidance, enable coordinated support
efforts across the state, and meet federal reporting expectations for assessments such as NAEP.
These data are shared with the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation, who has led the
VT COVID-19 data modeling effort, the Vermont Department of Health, and the general public
via an interactive dashboard. The SHS is deployed the last Friday of each month to LEA
superintendents and is due the following Friday (i.e., a one-week timeframe to complete the
response).
The collection tool provided a means by which superintendents could direct how supervisory
district/union questions were answered, while coordinating with their principals to answer
school-specific questions all within one survey. LEAs were asked to answer questions to the
best of their ability and in a manner that best reflects, when appropriate, a monthly average.
This survey is a required activity, designed to ensure that Vermont can maintain a strong,
coordinated, statewide response to the ongoing emergency.
To disaggregate the data based on the required demographic groups, the AOE cross-referenced
available demographic data for each SU/SD with the information collected through the Strong
and Healthy Schools Survey.
Students from Low-Income Families
Data source as of May 2021: DC06
Table 1: Students Identified as from Low-Income Families
n %
Not from Low-Income Family 51,587 65.36
From Low-Income Family 27,340 34.64
Total 78,927 100.00%
Table 2: Instruction Modality Estimated for Students Identified as from Low-Income
Families
In Person Hybrid Remote
Students from Low-Income Families 9,700 14,723 2,917
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Students from Each Racial or Ethnic Background Used by the State for Reporting
Purposes
Data source as of May 2021: DC06
Table 3: Students by Race/Ethnicity
Race/Ethnicity n %
White 70,023 88.72
Multiple race 2,724 3.45
Hispanic 2,081 2.64
African American, Black 2,005 2.54
Asian 1,755 2.22
American Indian, Alaska Native 238 0.3
Hawaiian, Pacific Islander 101 0.13
Total 78,927 100.00
Table 4: Instruction Modality Estimated by Student Race/Ethnicity
In Person Hybrid Remote
White 24,844 37707 7471
Multiple race 966 1467 291
Hispanic 738 1121 222
African American, Black 711 1080 214
Asian 623 945 187
American Indian, Alaska Native 84 128 25
Hawaiian, Pacific Islander 36 54 11
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Students by Gender
Data source as of May 2021: DC06
Table 5: Students by Gender
n %
Male 41,094 52.07
Female 37,833 47.93
English Learners
Data source as of May 2021: DC04. N=1,803.
Table 6: Instruction Modality by English Learner Status
In Person Hybrid Remote
English Learners 640 971 192
Children with Disabilities
Data source as of May 2021: Child Count Data, December 2020. All ages included. N=16,085.
Table 7: Instruction Modality Estimated for Students with Disability
In Person Hybrid Remote
Students with Disability 5,707 8,662 1,716
Students Experiencing Homelessness
Data source as of May 2021: DC06
Table 8: Students Experiencing Homelessness
n %
Student Experiencing Homelessness 568 0.72
Students Not Experiencing Homelessness 78,359 99.28
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Table 9: Instruction Modality Estimated for Student Experiencing Homelessness
In Person Hybrid Remote Total
Students Experiencing Homelessness 202 306 61 569
Children and Youth in Foster Care
Data source as of May 2021: Students ages 3-19 in Department of Children and Families custody
(aggregate). N=845
Table 10: Instruction Modality Estimated for Students in Foster Care
In Person Hybrid Remote
Students in Foster Care 300 455 90
Migratory Students
Data source as of May 2021: DC04. N=109.
Table 11: Instruction Modality Estimated for Migratory Students
In Person Hybrid Remote
Migratory Students 39 59 12
Other Groups of Students Identified by the State
Youth involved in the criminal justice system, students who have missed the most in-person
instruction during the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years, students who did not consistently
participate in remote instruction when offered during school building closures, LGBTQ+
students
Data source as of May 2021: Criminal Justice System (DOC / IS900) N=360; No data collection
available for students who missed remote instruction or LGBTQ+ students.
Table 12: Instruction Modality Estimated for Students in Department of Corrections
In Person Hybrid Remote
Students in Department of Corrections 128 194 38
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Instruction Modalities by Schools
Data source as of May 2021: Strong and Healthy Schools Survey, March 2021 respondents.
N=261.
Table 13: Learning Modality by School
Learning Modality (Note: Most schools operate more than one n %
modality)
In person 157 60.15
Hybrid 145 55.56
Remote 248 95.02
Students by Instruction Modalities
Data source as of May 2021: Strong and Healthy Schools Survey, March 2021 respondents; these
numbers would vary slightly month to month. N = 58,885.
Table 14: Leaning Modality by School
Learning Modality n %
In person 20,894 35.48
Hybrid 31,707 53.85
Remote 6,284 10.67
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Appendix B: Reporting Language Included in the Grant Award Notification (“GAN”)
As described in the Grant Award Notification (“GAN”), the SEA will comply with, and ensure
that its LEAs comply with, all reporting requirements at such time and in such manner and
containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably require, including on matters such
as:
• How the State is developing strategies and implementing public health protocols
including, to the greatest extent practicable, policies and plans in line with the CDC
guidance related to mitigating COVID-19 in schools;
• Overall plans and policies related to State support for return to in-person instruction
and maximizing in-person instruction time, including how funds will support a return
to and maximize in-person instruction time, and advance equity and inclusivity in
participation in in-person instruction;
• Data on each school’s mode of instruction (fully in-person, hybrid, and fully remote) and
conditions;
• SEA and LEA uses of funds to meet students’ social, emotional, and academic needs,
including through summer enrichment programming and other evidence-based
interventions, and how they advance equity for underserved students;
• SEA and LEA uses of funds to sustain and support access to early childhood education
programs;
• Impacts and outcomes (disaggregated by student subgroup) through use of ARP ESSER
funding (e.g., quantitative and qualitative results of ARP ESSER funding, including on
personnel, student learning, and budgeting at the school and district level);
• Student data (disaggregated by student subgroup) related to how the COVID-19
pandemic has affected instruction and learning;
• Requirements under the Federal Financial Accountability Transparency Act (“FFATA”);
and
• Additional reporting requirements as may be necessary to ensure accountability and
transparency of ARP ESSER funds.
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Appendix C: Assurances
By signing this document, the SEA assures all of the following:
• The SEA will conduct all its operations so that no person shall be excluded from
participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under the ARP
ESSER program or activity based on race, color, national origin, which includes a
person’s limited English proficiency or English learner status and a person’s actual or
perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics; sex; age; or disability. These non-
discrimination obligations arise under Federal civil rights laws, including but not
limited to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments
Act of 1972, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Age Discrimination Act
of 1975. In addition, the SEA must comply with all regulations, guidelines, and
standards issued by the Department under any of these statutes;
• The SEA will comply with all ARP Act and other ARP ESSER requirements and all
requirements of its Grant Award Notification, including but not limited to:
o Complying with the maintenance of effort provision in section 2004(a)(1) of the
ARP Act, absent a waiver by the Secretary pursuant to section 2004(a)(2) of the
ARP Act; and
o Complying with the maintenance of equity provisions in section 2004(b) of the
ARP Act, and ensuring its LEAs comply with the maintenance of equity
provision in section 2004(c) of the ARP Act (please note that the Department will
provide additional guidance on maintenance of equity shortly);
• The SEA will allocate ARP ESSER funds to LEAs in an expedited and timely manner
and, to the extent practicable, not later than 60 days after the SEA receives ARP ESSER
funds (i.e., 60 days from the date the SEA receives each portion of its ARP ESSER funds).
An SEA that is not able to allocate such funds within 60 days because it is not practicable
(e.g., because of pre-existing State board approval requirements) will provide an
explanation to the Department within 30 days of receiving each portion of its ARP
ESSER funds (submitted via email to your Program Officer at [State].OESE@ed.gov (e.g.,
Alabama.OESE@ed.gov)), including a description of specific actions the SEA is taking to
provide ARP ESSER funds to LEAs in an expedited and timely manner and the SEA’s
expected timeline for doing so;
• The SEA will implement evidence-based interventions as required under section 2001(f)
of the ARP Act and ensure its LEAs implement evidence-based interventions, as
required by section 2001(e)(1) of the ARP Act;
• The SEA will address the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on
underserved students (i.e., students from low-income families, students from racial or
ethnic groups (e.g., identifying disparities and focusing on underserved student groups
by race or ethnicity), gender (e.g., identifying disparities and focusing on underserved
student groups by gender), English learners, children with disabilities, students
experiencing homelessness, children and youth in foster care, and migratory students),
as required under section 2001(f) of the ARP Act, and ensure its LEAs address the
disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on underserved students (i.e.,
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students from low-income families, students from racial or ethnic groups, gender,
English learners, children with disabilities, students experiencing homelessness,
children and youth in foster care, and migratory students), as required by section
2001(e)(1) of the ARP Act; and
• The SEA will provide to the Department: (1) the URL(s) where the public can readily
find data on school operating status and (2) the URL(s) for the SEA and/or LEA websites
where the public can find the LEA plans for a) the safe return to in-person instruction
and continuity of services required under section 2001(i) of the ARP Act, and b) use of
ARP ESSER funds. SEAs should consider ensuring a standardized URL format in all
cases (e.g., xxx.gov/COVIDplan).
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Appendix D: US Department of Education Notice to All Applicants
Vermont Agency of Education Statement regarding Section 427 of the General Education
Provisions Act (GEPA)
Vermont remains committed to providing students equitable access to and participation in
educational programs in accordance with state and federal civil rights protections, including
section 427 of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA). Section 427 of GEPA aligns with
the AOE’s commitment to ensure all students are provided a high-quality education.
In Vermont, all districts that carry out programs related to ESSER must also comply with 9
V.S.A. ง 4502 (2017), Public Accommodations, which provides the following purpose; “(a) An
owner or operator of a place of public accommodation or an agent or employee of such owner
or operator shall not, because of the race, creed, color, national origin, marital status, sex, sexual
orientation, or gender identity of any person, refuse, withhold from, or deny to that person any
of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of the place of public
accommodation.” Under 9 V.S.A § 4501(1), public schools are defined as a place of public
accommodation. The Vermont Attorney General’s Office interprets this statute to include
private schools, as well.
Furthermore, 16 V.S.A § 165 codifies Brigham v. State of Vermont (1997) and requires that all
Vermont children will be afforded equal educational opportunity and that Vermont must
ensure that schools maintain a safe, orderly, civil and positive learning environment that is free
from harassment, hazing, and bullying. Harassment is defined in 16 V.S.A § 11(a)(26) with
reference to sexual harassment, racial harassment and conduct aimed at a student’s (or
student’s family) actual or perceived creed, national origin, marital status, sex, sexual
orientation, gender identity, or disability. Additionally, 16 V.S.A § 165 requires the Secretary to
determine every 2 years whether students in each Vermont public school are provided
educational opportunities substantially equal to those provided in other public schools. If the
Secretary determines that a school is not meeting the education quality standards listed in §165,
s/he must describe in writing what actions the district shall take.
Act 5 (2017) confirmed Vermont’s commitment that Vermont residents be free from
discrimination based on any of these characteristics. Article 1 of the Vermont Constitution
enshrines the fundamental principal that all persons are born equally free and independent. The
AOE will identify whether barriers may prevent students, teachers, etc. from such access or
participation in, federally funded projects or activities and will take the necessary steps to
overcome barriers to equitable access to all federally funded programs included here. Such
steps will include, but are not limited to:
General Education Provisions Act
1. Ensuring LEA compliance with section 427 of the GEPA for all federally funded
programs and with state regulations regarding equity (see above);
2. Ensuring ESSER related educational materials are accessible to individuals with
disabilities and English learners (including translating material, when appropriate);
and
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3. Providing guidance and technical assistance to ensure ARP ESSER project team
members and LEAs elicit stakeholder input on student needs and federally funded
programs to address those needs from traditionally underrepresented populations
including parents and families of students with disabilities, English learners, and
economically disadvantaged students.
In accordance with section 427 of the GEPA, the AOE will continue to ensure compliance with
these regulations as it pertains to all state and locally developed educational programs,
including those under all ESSER programs.
OMB Control No. 1894-0005 (Exp. 06/30/2023)
NOTICE TO ALL APPLICANTS
The purpose of this enclosure is to inform you about a new provision in the Department of
Educations General Education Provisions Act ("GEPA") that applies to applicants for new grant
awards under Department programs. This provision is Section 427 of GEPA, enacted as part of
the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994 (Public Law (P.L.) 103-382).
To Whom Does This Provision Apply?
Section 427 of GEPA affects applicants for new grant awards under this program. ALL
APPLICANTS FOR NEW AWARDS MUST INCLUDE INFORMATION IN THEIR
APPLICATIONS TO ADDRESS THIS NEW PROVISION IN ORDER TO RECEIVE
FUNDING UNDER THIS PROGRAM.
(If this program is a State-formula grant program, a State needs to provide this description only
for projects or activities that it carries out with funds reserved for State-level uses. In addition,
local school districts or other eligible applicants that apply to the State for funding need to provide
this description in their applications to the State for funding. The State would be responsible for
ensuring that the school district or other local entity has submitted a sufficient section 427
statement as described below.)
What Does This Provision Require?
Section 427 requires each applicant for funds (other than an individual person) to include in its
application a description of the steps the applicant proposes to take to ensure equitable access to,
and participation in, its Federally-assisted program for students, teachers, and other program
beneficiaries with special needs. This provision allows applicants discretion in developing the
required description. The statute highlights six types of barriers that can impede equitable access
or participation: gender, race, national origin, color, disability, or age. Based on local
circumstances, you should determine whether these or other barriers may prevent your students,
teachers, etc. from such access to, or participation in, the Federally-funded project or activity. The
description in your application of steps to be taken to overcome these barriers need not be lengthy;
you may provide a clear and succinct description of how you plan to address those barriers that
are applicable to your circumstances. In addition, the information may be provided in a single
narrative, or, if appropriate, may be discussed in connection with related topics in the application.
Section 427 is not intended to duplicate the requirements of civil rights statutes, but rather to ensure
that, in designing their projects, applicants for Federal funds address equity concerns that may
affect the ability of certain potential beneficiaries to fully participate in the project and to achieve
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high standards. Consistent with program requirements and its approved application, an applicant
may use the Federal funds awarded to it to eliminate barriers it identifies.
What are Examples of How an Applicant Might Satisfy the Requirement of This
Provision?
The following examples may help illustrate how an applicant may comply with Section 427.
(1) An applicant that proposes to carry out an adult literacy project serving, among others,
adults with limited English proficiency, might describe in its application how it intends to
distribute a brochure about the proposed project to such potential participants in their native
language.
(2) An applicant that proposes to develop instructional materials for classroom use might
describe how it will make the materials available on audio tape or in braille for students who
are blind.
(3) An applicant that proposes to carry out a model science program for secondary students
and is concerned that girls may be less likely than boys to enroll in the course, might indicate
how it intends to conduct "outreach" efforts to girls, to encourage their enrollment.
(4) An applicant that proposes a project to increase school safety might describe the special
efforts it will take to address concerns of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students, and
efforts to reach out to and involve the families of LGBT students.
We recognize that many applicants may already be implementing effective steps to ensure equity
of access and participation in their grant programs, and we appreciate your cooperation in
responding to the requirements of this provision.
Estimated Burden Statement for GEPA Requirements
According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a
collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. Public
reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 3 hours per
response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources,
gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of
information. The obligation to respond to this collection is required to obtain or retain
benefit (Public Law 103-382). Send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other
aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the
U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20210-4537 or
email ICDocketMgr@ed.gov and reference the OMB Control Number 1894-0005.
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