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In response to the Trump administration’s unwilling to certify they weren’t engaging in “illegal DEI,� the Vermont Agency of Education this week sent federal officials a certification letter � with many caveats.

“No federal or state law prohibits diversity, equity, or inclusion,� Vermont Education Secretary Zoie Saunders wrote in on Monday. And while the U.S. the Department of Education’s certification request had referenced “illegal DEI,� Saunders wrote, federal officials hadn’t actually defined these concepts.

“Similar requests for certification of compliance with undefined concepts have been enjoined by federal courts,� she added.

Vermont’s reply is not quite as defiant as the response issued by New York, which bluntly . But the legal analysis included in Vermont’s letter to federal officials echoes what several blue states have used in their replies to the Trump administration’s directive.

Notably, Vermont’s letter notes that the state has already affirmed this year that it follows federal civil rights laws, and argues that this latest certification requested by federal officials and provided by Vermont did not alter the state’s prior legal commitments.

“Vermont’s response does not reference or adopt any federal executive orders or guidance documents,� Saunders said in a letter to local superintendents Monday explaining the state's letter.

The state’s reply also “does not say that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work is illegal,� Saunders added, and does “not direct Vermont schools to change practices related to diversity, equity and inclusion.�

Under threat is one of the largest streams of federal money that the K-12 system receives: Title I funds, which flow to high-poverty schools. That money totaled nearly $43 million in Vermont this year, Lindsey Hedges, a spokesperson for the Agency of Education, has said previously.

In her initial guidance to school districts, Saunders had attempted to thread a similar needle. Existing diversity, equity and inclusion practices in Vermont could and should continue, she had argued, but Vermont superintendents should respond to Trump's directive with individual certification letters.

The agency’s guidance had alarmed local officials and advocacy groups, who felt that it pushed legal liability downward to the local level and risked sending mixed messages about the state’s commitments to equity work.

In a letter to Saunders last week, the Vermont-NEA, as well as the groups representing the state’s school boards, superintendents and principals had called Saunders request for individual certification “not workable.�

Asking “individual superintendents to certify compliance,� they wrote at the time, “based on a cover letter (that they have not yet seen) that clarifies the legal boundaries of their certification will lead to a patchwork of responses that could put Vermont and local school districts at risk.�

Saunders ultimately retracted her request for local officials to submit individual certifications, and her letter to federal officials this week appeared to largely mollify some of her critics.

“We appreciate the change in course and look forward to a more coordinated approach in the future,â€� the leaders of Vermont’s school board, superintendent and principal associations wrote in a joint email to ¿ªÔÆÌåÓý.

Still, some argued the state should take a more forceful approach.

“While we appreciate the continued support of Vermont’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, the secretary’s letter does not go as far as we had hoped,� Darren Allen, a spokesperson for the Vermont-National Education Association, wrote in a statement. The Vermont teachers union’s national parent has challenging the Trump administration’s anti-DEI directive.

“Along with superintendents, principals, and school boards, we had urged the Scott administration to take the path that New York and other states chose in refusing to certify compliance with Trump’s distorted view of the law and his illegal approach to eradicating programs that ensure that ALL students feel welcomed and supported in their public schools,� Allen added.