Report on Vermont’s Education Reform and Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction: Act 73 and Systemic Reform

The state of Vermont has initiated the first phase of a comprehensive, three-year education reform process following the passage of Act 73. This legislation is designed to implement systemic changes to the state’s education funding and administrative structures. The primary objective, as stated by Governor Phil Scott, is to ensure equitable opportunities for all students across Vermont while maintaining fiscal affordability. The reform aligns directly with several key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those focused on quality education, reduced inequalities, and strong institutions.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 4: Quality Education

The reform’s core components are structured to advance SDG 4, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. Key initiatives include:

• Academic Excellence: A central goal is to elevate academic standards statewide, ensuring every student receives a high-quality education.
• Strengthening Special Education: The Agency of Education is prioritizing the enhancement of special education services by identifying unmet needs and analyzing trends to build a consensus on effective support systems, contributing to inclusive education for all children.
• Standardized Graduation Requirements: The development of statewide graduation requirements is underway to establish a consistent and high-quality benchmark for student achievement across all districts.

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

Act 73 directly addresses SDG 10 by seeking to reduce inequalities within the state’s education system. The legislation targets disparities in educational access and outcomes through structural changes:

• Equitable Funding Formula: A transition to a new funding formula is intended to distribute resources more equitably among school districts, decoupling the quality of education from local wealth.
• District Consolidation: The reform promotes the consolidation of school districts. This measure is designed to equalize the tax base, which in turn increases educational opportunities and flexibility for students in previously under-resourced areas.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

The implementation process of Act 73 reflects the principles of SDG 16, which promotes effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions. The reform focuses on building a more robust and transparent governance framework for the education sector.

• Institutional Leadership: The state’s Agency of Education is tasked with leading the implementation, ensuring a centralized and accountable body oversees the reforms.
• Data-Driven Policy: The agency is providing critical data to a Redistricting Task Force, which is evaluating proposals for new district configurations based on evidence. This enhances the transparency and effectiveness of institutional planning.
• Transparent Legislative Process: Education Secretary Zoie Saunders has outlined that the reform process may require further legislative approval, rulemaking by the state board, or statutory changes, ensuring that the transformation is conducted through established, transparent governmental processes.

Implementation Progress and Next Steps

Phase One Progress Report

The Agency of Education has reported initial progress on several key deliverables mandated by the legislation. The primary areas of focus in this first phase are:

1. Special Education Services: A comprehensive review is underway to identify needs, analyze trends, and establish a path forward for strengthening support for students with special needs.
2. Graduation Requirements: Work has commenced on developing the evaluation rubric that will be used to shape new statewide graduation standards.
3. Data for Redistricting: The agency is actively supplying data to the Redistricting Task Force to inform its evaluation of new district configurations.

Future Outlook

The education reform is a multi-year initiative requiring sustained effort and collaboration. A critical next step will occur during the upcoming legislative session, which convenes on January 6, 2026. The Redistricting Task Force is expected to present its proposed maps for new district configurations at the start of the session, marking a significant milestone in the structural overhaul of Vermont’s education system. The successful implementation of these reforms is contingent upon ongoing legislative support and institutional collaboration.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

   The article on Vermont’s education reform addresses two primary Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

   • SDG 4: Quality Education
     
     This goal is central to the article, which discusses a statewide initiative to reform the education system. The text explicitly mentions goals like achieving “academic excellence,” strengthening “special education services,” and establishing “statewide graduation requirements,” all of which are core components of providing quality education.
   • SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
     
     The reform’s fundamental purpose, as stated by Governor Phil Scott, is to “make sure Vermont students have equal opportunity no matter what school they attend.” This is to be achieved by measures such as consolidating districts to “equalize the tax base,” which directly targets the reduction of economic and social inequalities in access to education.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

   Based on the details provided, the following specific SDG targets can be identified:

   • Target 4.1: Ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education.
     
     The article’s emphasis on providing “equal opportunity” and achieving “academic excellence” for “all students” directly aligns with this target. The reform aims to improve the quality and equity of the entire state education system.
   • Target 4.5: Eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education… for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities.
     
     The specific focus on “strengthening special education services to identify unmet needs” corresponds directly to this target’s call for ensuring equal access for vulnerable populations, including students with disabilities.
   • Target 10.3: Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory… policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation.
     
     The passage and implementation of “Act 73” is a clear example of promoting legislation to ensure equal opportunity. The article describes this act as a measure for “systemic education funding and administrative reform” intended to “increase educational opportunity” for all students, thereby reducing inequalities of outcome.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

   Yes, the article mentions or implies several indicators that can be used to measure progress:

   • Statewide Graduation Requirements and Evaluation Rubric:
     
     The article states that the agency is charged with “recommending statewide graduation requirements” and is working to “shape the rubric we’ll use to evaluate those graduation requirements.” The establishment of this rubric and subsequent graduation rates would serve as a key indicator for Target 4.1, measuring the effectiveness of the quality education being provided.
   • Data on Special Education Needs:
     
     The focus on strengthening special education by “identifying unmet needs” and “analyzing trends” implies the use of data-driven indicators. Progress towards Target 4.5 could be measured by tracking the reduction in the number of students with unmet needs and improvements in the provision of special education services.
   • District Configuration Maps and Tax Base Data:
     
     For Target 10.3, the article mentions that the “Redistricting Task Force” is “evaluating a series of proposals for new district configurations” using data provided by the Agency of Education. The resulting redistricting maps and data on the equalized tax base and per-pupil spending across the new districts would be direct indicators of progress in reducing educational inequality.

4. Create a table with three columns titled ‘SDGs, Targets and Indicators” to present the findings from analyzing the article.

   SDGs	Targets	Indicators
   SDG 4: Quality Education	Target 4.1: Ensure equitable and quality primary and secondary education.	The new “statewide graduation requirements” and the “rubric” used to evaluate them.
   SDG 4: Quality Education	Target 4.5: Ensure equal access to all levels of education for the vulnerable.	Data used to “identify unmet needs” and “analyze trends” in special education services.
   SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities	Target 10.3: Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome.	The “proposals for new district configurations” and data showing an equalized tax base across school districts.

Source: wamc.org