Vermont H. 297: An act relating to miscellaneous court operations procedures

Bill Text

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H.297 1
Introduced by Representatives Priestley of Bradford, Branagan of Georgia, 2
Burke of Brattleboro, Chapin of East Montpelier, Headrick of 3
Burlington, Howard of Rutland City, Marcotte of Coventry, 4
McCann of Montpelier, McGill of Bridport, Mrowicki of 5
Putney, Satcowitz of Randolph, Sweeney of Shelburne, and 6
White of Waitsfield 7
Referred to Committee on 8
Date: 9
Subject: Education; Community College of Vermont; scholarship 10
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to create the 11
Free Degree Promise Grant Program to provide funding toward a free 12
associate’s degree through the Community College of Vermont (CCV) for 13
eligible individuals. 14
An act relating to the creation of the Free Degree Promise Grant Program 15
for the Community College of Vermont 16
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 17
Sec. 1. FINDINGS 18
The General Assembly finds that: 19

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(1) According to the New England Secondary School Consortium, 1
Vermont’s high school graduates continue on to college at the lowest rates in 2
New England at 45 percent, with students with low income, Black students, 3
students with disabilities, and male students facing the deepest equity gaps in 4
continuation rates. 5
(2) Rapidly declining college aspirations among youth since 2020, as 6
revealed by survey data from the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation 7
(VSAC), signal that continuation rates will sink lower. 8
(3) College degrees, especially associate’s degrees, have enduring value. 9
Associate’s degree graduates in Vermont are the most likely in the country to 10
achieve a positive return on investment at 79 percent, according to Strada 11
Education Foundation. 12
(4) Free accelerated associate’s degree pathways are a high-leverage 13
opportunity to improve Vermont’s college continuation rates among students 14
furthest from opportunity. 15
(5) Vermont’s enabling conditions to improve college attainment 16
through accelerated associate’s degree pathways are strong due to the 17
following factors: 18
(A) Vermont has a single, statewide community college. The 19
Community College of Vermont (CCV) serves the greatest number of 20
Vermonters and of Vermonters with low income of any college in the State via 21

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12 locations and extensive learning options. Over 25 percent of CCV students 1
are high school students. 2
(B) With the enactment of 2013 Acts and Resolves No. 77, 3
Vermont’s flexible pathways bill, Vermont has a 10-plus year history of 4
offering flexible pathways to graduation that include a free year of full-time 5
college in lieu of a traditional 12th grade year. Historically, most participating 6
students enroll at CCV. 7
(i) Act 77 was established to develop and expand high-quality 8
secondary education experiences, to promote opportunities for postsecondary 9
readiness, and to increase high school completion and postsecondary 10
continuation. Act 77 offers Vermont students two free dual enrollment courses 11
plus the opportunity to enroll in Early College their senior year. 12
(ii) Early College in Vermont allows seniors to complete their last 13
year of high school and their first year of college at the same time, earning free 14
college credits that also count toward graduation from high school. 15
(C) Vermont has established cross-sector partnerships. The cross-16
sector Early College Equity Working Group has spent several years analyzing 17
data, building a shared vision, exploring promising practices, and addressing 18
barriers. In 2004, a cross-sector team from Vermont was invited to participate 19
in the national Accelerate ED community to build on this work. 20

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(D) Recent public investments in college affordability. Facing a 1
shrinking workforce and an economy with two job openings for every 2
jobseeker, policymakers have committed to investing in talent, particularly 3
through CCV and with the 802 Opportunity Grant. 4
(E) Since 2022, the McClure Foundation’s Free Degree Promise has 5
built on Vermont’s Early College program at CCV to create a free, fast-tracked 6
associate’s degree pathway available to all Vermont youth in the high school 7
classes of 2023–2026. 8
(F) Two and a half years since its launch, emerging data shows the 9
Free Degree Promise is working to equitably scale accelerated degrees for 10
Vermont youth. Since the Promise was announced in spring 2022, CCV has 11
seen a 150 percent increase in enrollment of students with low income in the 12
State’s Early College program at CCV and triple the number of CCV’s Early 13
College program completers persisting near-full-time at CCV toward a degree. 14
Over half of the 2024–2025 Free Degree Promise student cohort are first-15
generation college student