Education (Teachers)

This bill is a formal resolution that congratulates Linda Alvarez on being named the 2026 Vermont Teacher of the Year and honors the two finalists, Jason Raymond and Erin Randall. Linda Alvarez, a career and technical education instructor at Windham Regional Career Center, is recognized as the first CTE teacher to receive this award. The resolution highlights her background in business and education, her commitment to student success, and her additional roles advising student organizations and serving on advisory councils. It directs the Secretary of State to send copies of the resolution to the three educators as an official acknowledgment of their achievements.

This bill is a ceremonial resolution that congratulates Terese Black on being named the 2026 Vermont Mother of the Year. It recognizes her extensive community service, including her work as a former teacher and director of a program helping formerly incarcerated individuals reintegrate into society. The text highlights her dedication to various volunteer roles and her faith as reasons for receiving this honor. Finally, it directs the Secretary of State to send a copy of the resolution to Ms. Black.

This bill (H 782) modifies Vermont's requirement for school nurses by eliminating the need to hold both an educator license and a nursing license. It directly affects school nurses employed in Vermont public schools, allowing them to maintain only a valid nursing license. The key provision removes the dual licensure mandate, streamlining the credentialing process for these healthcare professionals. The bill focuses on updating licensing rules to better align with the nursing role in schools.

H 182 proposes to require state licensure for early childhood educators. The bill establishes a new Vermont Board of Early Childhood Educators under the Office of Professional Regulation to oversee this licensing process. It defines the scope of practice for educators working with children from birth through eight years old. The bill also creates three distinct licensure levels (Early Childhood Educator I, II, and III), each with specific responsibilities and supervision requirements. Unless exempt, individuals will be prohibited from identifying as early childhood educators without this license.

H 318 requires all Vermont public schools to offer computer science education starting in the 2025-2026 school year: high schools must provide at least one course for grades 9-12, middle schools must offer exploratory computer science for grades 6-8, and elementary schools must teach foundational computer science and computational thinking. The bill establishes standards for course quality, mandates annual reporting on student participation (disaggregated by gender, race, disability status, etc.) and teacher qualifications, and creates a grant program to fund teacher professional development in computer science. School districts must submit detailed reports to the Agency of Education, which will publicly post aggregated data on course offerings and student demographics. This bill directly affects Vermont's public schools, teachers, and students by integrating computer science into the curriculum while supporting educator training and tracking equity in access.

H.165 proposes creating an Inclusive Schools Protection Fund to replace lost federal funding for inclusive programs in Vermont schools. The bill would directly fund school districts to support LGBTQ+ student programs, antidiscrimination efforts, inclusive curricula, and educator training on equity. It also protects existing resources like student gender/sexuality alliances, school equity coordinators, and mental health programs for marginalized students. The Agency of Education must annually report on the fund's effectiveness, and the bill directs the state to develop new revenue sources to sustain the fund.

S 119 requires early childhood educators in Vermont to obtain state licensure to work with children from birth through age eight. It establishes three license levels (I, II, III) with specific responsibilities, such as Early Childhood Educator I working under supervision, while II and III can serve as lead educators or provide guidance. The bill creates a Vermont Board of Early Childhood Educators to oversee licensing, define practice standards, and enforce rules, excluding teachers already licensed under existing education programs. This directly affects early childhood educators in both public and nonpublic settings who currently do not hold state licenses.

This bill (S 92) allows retired Vermont teachers (Group A or C members) to work as interim school educators for up to one school year while continuing to receive their retirement allowance. To qualify, retirees must have received benefits for at least six months, and their school employer must pay required contributions to the retirement fund. The law requires school districts to certify they exhausted all options for hiring active teachers before hiring a retired educator. The provision expires on June 30, 2031, and does not allow multiple renewals for the same position. It directly affects retired teachers seeking temporary interim roles and their school employers.