Gov. Phil Scott enters the House of Representatives chamber to deliver his State of the State address at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger MONTPELIER — In his annual address to Vermont legislators Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Phil Scott ur ged the House and Senate to move forward with the sweeping education reform project lawmakers started last year at his administration’s urging. But as the 2026 legislative session got underway this week, it has seemed far from certain that lawmakers will be able to overcome some key hurdles to make Scott’s plans a reality. Speaking to a joint assembly of legislators for his State of the State address, Scott called education reform “our most critical challenge.”  “This session, we have the opportunity and the obligation to continue this transformation in order to build the best public education system in the nation — at a cost taxpayers can afford,” he said. The governor’s speech, which ran for about half an hour, was notable in that it focused nearly entirely on the goals of the administration’s education reform plans, centered around the 2025 law known as Act 73. Scott framed the need to evolve the state’s education system as important for preserving the public’s trust in state government. “We don’t need to be asked to do the right thing,” he said. “We just need to do it.” Scott also used his speech to preview, albeit briefly, that there would be “hard choices” to make when building the state’s new budget for the 2027 fiscal year, which starts in July 2026 and runs through June 2027. Lawmakers have already been expecting that some existing programs will need to be cut as support from the federal government continues to be uncertain. “This year’s spending package has required difficult decisions,” he said of his administration’s budget proposal, which he will present in another address later this month. This story will be updated. Read the story on VTDigger here: ‘We just need to do it’: In address to lawmakers, Gov. Phil Scott stays bullish on education reform plans. ...read more read less