STATE FUNDING GUIDE

Vermont

Act 139 of 2024 is Vermont’s most comprehensive literacy law: it requires universal K-3 screening with state-approved tools, systematic evidence-based reading instruction, and supplemental intervention for students below proficiency. However, the law carries no dedicated purchasing fund, and the state’s Read Vermont initiative (launched 2024 with pandemic relief dollars) was left unfunded in the legislature’s FY27 budget as of mid-2026. No dedicated state literacy fund identified; districts typically fund intervention curriculum with federal Title I/IDEA and local education-fund budgets, using Act 139’s evidence-based requirements to justify the purchase.

Vermont Act 139 of 2024 (literacy instruction; 16 V.S.A. Sec. 2907) and the Read Vermont initiative

How schools fund reading intervention in Vermont

The state-level programs below are the streams Vermont districts most often use for evidence-based reading intervention purchases, alongside the federal streams available everywhere.

Read Vermont (Agency of Education)

Provided state-coordinated science-of-reading professional learning to schools while pandemic-relief funding lasted; ongoing state funding was requested but not included in the FY27 budget, so districts should verify current status with AOE before counting on it.

Federal Title I / IDEA (default pathway)

With no dedicated state stream, Vermont districts typically purchase Tier 2/3 reading intervention curriculum and PD with Title I, Part A and IDEA funds, aligned to Act 139’s requirement to provide evidence-based supplemental intervention.

Approved-list note: Act 139 requires use of Agency of Education-approved universal literacy screeners and evidence-based instruction, but Vermont does not maintain a state-approved purchase list for intervention curricula.

Official state resource →