Vermont H. 454: An act relating to the Zero Waste Economy Study Committee

Bill Text

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No. 73. An act relating to transforming Vermont’s education governance,
quality, and finance systems.
(H.454)
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
* * * Findings and Intent * * *
Sec. 1. FINDINGS; INTENT; PLAN
(a) The General Assembly finds that:
(1) In 1997, the first piece of law the General Assembly enacted in
response to Brigham v. State, 166 Vt. 246 (1997) stated, “[t]he right to public
education is integral to Vermont’s constitutional form of government and its
guarantees of political and civil rights...[and] fundamental for the success of
Vermont’s children in a rapidly-changing society and global marketplace as
well as the State’s own economic and social prosperity.” 16 V.S.A. § 1.
(2) From the very first attempt at creating a basic frame of government,
Vermont’s founders chose to include a right to public education, the only
governmental service included in Vermont’s first Constitution of 1777.
(3) As the U.S. Supreme Court stated in Brown v. Board of Education,
347 U.S. 483 (1954), “education is perhaps the most important function of
state and local governments...[i]t is required in the performance of our most
basic public responsibilities...[i]t is the very foundation of good citizenship.”
(4) The most enduring legacy of Brigham is the State’s responsibility to
ensure substantially equal educational opportunities for all Vermont students.

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(5) The education system is still reeling from the effects of a global
pandemic, yet the same challenges that have faced Vermont’s education
system remain. Thirty to 40 years ago, Vermont educated more than 110,000
students each year. Today, there are approximately 84,000 students in the
public education system. Many schools have lost a significant number of
students and, with them, the ability to offer robust services and programs at
every school. Vermont’s youth need to be prepared for a rapidly evolving
future.
(6) Vermonters deserve an exceptional educational system that is stable
and predictable and where a student’s home address does not dictate the
quality of education they receive. School district size and boundaries, school
size, and class size are all influential factors in shaping the quality of
instruction and overall student outcomes. The effectiveness of our schools
depends on teacher quality, resource availability, and the unique strengths of
local communities. Change in our educational system is needed. Systems are
made of people, so change must come carefully and thoughtfully, with
meaningful engagement by all Vermonters.
(b) Intent; plan.
(1) To ensure each student is provided substantially equal educational
opportunities that will prepare them to thrive in a 21st-century world, it is the
intent of the General Assembly to work strategically, intentionally, and
thoughtfully to ensure that each incremental change made to Vermont’s public

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education system provides strength and support to its only constitutionally
required governmental service.
(2) It is further the intent of the General Assembly to:
(A) in the 2026 session:
(i) enact new, larger school district boundaries that would be
effective July 1, 2026;
(ii) enact updates to career and technical education governance
systems, both at the local and statewide levels, that are reflective of the larger
public education governance transformation to new, larger school districts;
(iii) create a coordinated and coherent statewide strategy for career
and technical education that is responsive to students and the State’s workforce
needs and that provides opportunities for more integration between career and
technical education and traditional high school work;
(iv) enact student-centered updates to fully fund career and
technical education within a foundation formula that does not create
competition between sending schools and career and technical education
programs for available funds nor exceed current spending levels;
(v) begin the process to create voting wards within each school
district to ensure school board membership is apportioned in such a manner as
to achieve substantially equal weighting of the votes of all voters in the
election of school board members; and

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(vi) establish an appropriate weight for prekindergarten students,
as well as enact changes to the publicly funded prekindergarten program that
ensure costs are borne by the appropriate funding source depending on the age
of the student and the prekindergarten education provider;
(B) provide or enable the provision of the necessary staffing,
resources, and support to the Agency of Education, the Secretary of State’s
Office, town clerks, and other integral parties to the election system to hold the
first school board member elections within the newly created school districts in
a special election in November 2027; and
(C