Tag Archives: Heather Bouchey

What the Hell is Going On with the Agency of Education?

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It’s been kind of a rough year for the Agency of Education, which would have likely warranted the Only In Journalism term “embattled” by now if there was a healthy Vermont political media ecosystem, which there is decidedly not. The Agency occasionally pops up in the press, and the news is always bad, puzzling, or both. But I have yet to see anything like an answer to the question posed in my headline.

It should have, by now. And here’s why.

The search process for a new education secretary has been going on for close to a full year. It was mid-March 2023 when Dan French, dubbed by Yours Truly “the Inspector Clouseau of the Scott Cabinet,” abruptly skedaddled. Gee, I hope it wasn’t something I said.

Specifically, it was March 17, 2023 (you needn’t ask, but yes, it was a Friday newsdump) “state officials” announced that he would, per VTDigger, “take an unspecified ‘senior leadership role’ at the Council of Chief State School Officers, an organization of state education officials.” His first day at the new gig was April 10, a little more than three weeks after the announcement of his departure from AOE. That’s an awfully quick turnaround for someone in the spheres of upper management. (The “unspecified role” turned out to be Chief Operating Officer, which sounds impressive enough. Doubtless working for a D.C.-based nonprofit is a more tee-time-friendly gig than running a short-staffed agency operating in a political minefield.)

Since then, things have meandered in a way reminiscent of a roadside DUI test. It almost makes you pine for the days when French’s hand was on the tiller.

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The Feds Place a Capstone on Dan French’s Tenure

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Well hey, here’s something. The U.S. Department of Education’s Civil Rights Office is investigating the Vermont Agency of Education for violating the rights of students by limiting school districts’ authority to enact public health measures during the Covid-19 epidemic and, in the Office’s words, “discriminating against students with disabilities” who were at heightened risk of serious illness.

Yes, that would be the Agency of Education then helmed by the mask-averse Dan French, labeled in this space as the Inspector Clouseau of the Scott administration. I’d suggest that the feds could have assembled quite the dossier simply by reading this blog, but doubtless their investigation has been more thorough than that. And to judge by the reaction of French’s successor Heather Bouchey, I’m guessing the feds have got the goods. In her reply to the feds’ probe, as reported by VTDigger, she didn’t claim there was no discrimination. She simply said the agency had no intention of discriminating.

“The AOE devoted significant effort throughout its COVID-19 pandemic response to ensure the equal educational access of students with disabilities including students with disabilities who are at an elevated risk of severe illness from COVID-19 exposure. If the AOE erred in its responses, guidance or otherwise, it is eager to address the error and make corrections for the benefit of students.”

That word “if” is the giveaway. Bouchey didn’t defend her agency’s performance; she tried to frame any offense as inadvertent, not intentional. And she laid out a glidepath to future surrender by saying the agency was “eager to address” any errors “and make corrections.” And don’t overlook her emphasis on “equal educational access” rather than, say, the health and safety of students. Gotta keep those disabled kids in class so they get “equal access,” you know.

But in case you needed any more evidence that the agency, under French, went too far in pressuring school districts to moderate their public health measures, let’s take a little walk down Memory Lane.

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