Opportunity Overview
The Vermont Agency of Education is accepting 2026-27 applications for its Building Effective Supports for Teaching (BEST) and Act 230 Individual LEA Grant. The program supports Vermont local education agencies in strengthening school climate, universal social-emotional learning, behavioral supports, MTSS/EST systems, attendance and engagement, and family/community partnerships.
Funding and Deadline
Each Vermont LEA may apply for up to $10,000. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and are due in the Agency’s Grant Management System by September 15, 2026. The public guidance does not state a specific closing clock time, so Atlas does not invent one.
Eligibility and Match
All Vermont LEAs are eligible to apply. For a full $10,000 award, the LEA generally must document at least a $5,000 local contribution under the program’s 50% contribution requirement; the Agency also provides a waiver process for qualifying applicants. Eligible local contributions may include aligned staff time, locally funded professional learning, curriculum or program costs, contracted services, and other allowable expenditures.
Allowable Uses
Current Agency guidance identifies allowable uses including multidisciplinary-team stipends, evidence-based universal screening tools, early-warning systems, data dashboards and integrated data-management systems, professional learning, SEL and school-climate frameworks, mental-health literacy, harassment/hazing/bullying prevention, and evidence-based behavioral-support materials.
Atlas Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 78/100. This is a current statewide school mental-health and behavioral-support funding opportunity with broad LEA eligibility and a simple $10,000 annual funding structure, but the award size is modest and the published allowable-use list is centered on school-climate systems, screening/data tools, professional learning, curriculum and behavioral supports rather than clinical telehealth infrastructure.
N9+ Direct Vendor Fit: 5/100. The current guidance does not establish connected physical-exam equipment or telehealth hardware as an allowable grant-funded use, so Atlas should not force an N9+ pathway. QC Healthcare Fit: 20/100 conditional. Mental-health literacy and behavioral-support goals are relevant, and contracted services may count toward the local contribution when aligned, but the current grant guidance does not establish reimbursement for ongoing virtual clinical coverage. This is Path B / LEA applicant-led, not Path A.
Immediate Next Step
Vermont LEAs should review their Safe and Healthy Schools plan, identify a grant-aligned Tier 1/MTSS/SEL or behavioral-support activity, document the required local contribution or waiver basis, and submit through GMS by September 15. Atlas should treat this as a school behavioral-support opportunity rather than a device-funding opportunity unless the Agency issues additional controlling guidance that expressly broadens allowable costs.
Official source: Vermont Agency of Education — BEST and Act 230 Funding, reverified September 11, 2026. Current program contacts: Ashley Riendeau, School Climate Programs Coordinator (Ashley.Riendeau@vermont.gov), and Monica Desrochers, Director of School Climate and Belonging (Monica.Desrochers@vermont.gov).