Education

This bill outlines steps to reorganize Vermont's education system by renaming Boards of Cooperative Education Services to Cooperative Educational Service Areas and assigning each supervisory union to a specific regional area. It requires all school districts to join a study committee to evaluate creating unified union school districts and directs the Joint Finance Officer to hire a contractor to analyze how prekindergarten education should be funded. Additionally, the bill amends previous legislation to adjust its effective dates. These changes aim to improve resource sharing and equalize educational opportunities across different regions of the state.

This bill sets specific property tax rates and funding levels for Vermont's 2027 fiscal year, including a nonhomestead property tax rate of $1.698 per $100 of value and specific dollar yields for homestead and income calculations. It also reserves $52.45 million in the Education Fund to help offset potential property tax rate increases in 2028, while correcting a definition related to statewide education tax calculations. The legislation refunds $150,576 to the City of Barre for overpaid education taxes from 2021-2024 and adjusts special education funding grants for inflation starting in 2027. Additionally, it updates how special education census grants are calculated to account for inflation over time.

This bill makes several changes to Vermont's education laws, including creating an exception to the current moratorium on new independent schools when a therapeutic school changes ownership, and allowing Vermont to join the Interstate Compact for Education to facilitate cooperation among states on education policy. It also renames cooperative educational service areas, temporarily excludes class size violations from counting toward potential state intervention for three years, and requires the Agency of Education to conduct criminal background checks on new employees or contractors who may have unsupervised contact with students. These provisions directly affect school administrators, independent school operators, the State Board of Education, and the Agency of Education.

S.227 requires all Vermont public and approved independent schools to adopt policies preventing the sharing of student information with federal immigration authorities without a judicial warrant. It prohibits schools from collecting immigration status data, designating such information as "directory information" under federal privacy law, or sharing student records with immigration agencies except as legally required. The bill mandates schools to provide immigration resources to staff and students, designate staff as immigration resource officers, and block federal agents from entering nonpublic school areas (like classrooms or cafeterias) without a warrant naming a specific individual. Schools are also barred from entering agreements that aid federal immigration enforcement, with the superintendent as the sole authority to approve any required federal agreements.

This bill (H 657) enables unaccompanied homeless youth aged 16+ to access key services without parental consent. It creates a certification process where youth verified as homeless by school liaisons, shelter directors, or homeless service providers receive a standardized form from the Department for Children and Families. This certification allows youth to obtain medical/dental care, mental health services, driver’s licenses, housing, school enrollment, banking services, and vital records - without needing parental permission. The bill clarifies that parental consent is not required if parents forced the youth out, neglected them, or refused support, with the Department acting in place of a guardian.

H.454 establishes the Commission on the Future of Public Education to study Vermont's education system and develop recommendations for a statewide vision ensuring all students have substantially equal opportunities. The bill mandates creating new, larger school district boundaries effective July 1, 2027, and requires updates to career and technical education governance by 2026. It also plans for a full transition to these new districts by July 1, 2029, with funding and guidance to support the change. This directly affects Vermont’s 119 current school districts, students, teachers, and local communities by restructuring governance and resource allocation. The law, signed by the governor in July 2025, aims to address declining enrollment and unequal educational quality.