Education Committee

The House Committee on Education considers matters relating to education, libraries, literary and scientific subjects, and other similar policies.

The House and Senate Education Committees initiated major legislation to transform Vermont’s educational landscape this biennium. H.454/Act 73 (An act relating to transforming Vermont’s education governance, quality, and finance systems) of 2025, and the subsequent H.955/Act 170 (An act relating to next steps in transforming Vermont’s education system) of this session, reflect the work of these committees. 

H.955/Act 170 creates seven mandatory statewide Cooperative Education Service Areas (CESAs), the core function of which is to offer education services and support on a larger, regional scale. CESAs will be an important tool to achieve more immediate efficiencies, regional-service sharing, and cost savings while the voluntary merger process is happening statewide. The formation of a CESA helps member supervisory unions and school districts access specialized programs and technical assistance that individual districts (especially small and rural districts) might otherwise need to purchase at a higher cost. Each of the CESAs is required to offer services in the following areas: special education, business and administrative services, and union school district creation consultation and facilitation. Establishing CESA regions across the state will increase statewide coherence and build regional capacity.

The second major element of this bill addresses school governance consolidation by resourcing seven facilitators - one in each CESA region - to start merger study committees. These regional groupings will be required to work collaboratively to explore the advantages of school-district consolidation. If a study committee concludes that a merger is advisable, the report goes to the Secretary of Education, the State Board of Education, and then the voters of the school districts that will form the new union school district. Merger questions will go to the local voters in the March 2028 Town Meeting elections. The foundation formula, which replaces our current funding mechanism by distributing funds to schools on a statewide per-student basis, is scheduled to take effect in FY2030.

 Other components of the bill include further detail on school construction aid and a study regarding how to account for pre-K education within our education finance system. 

The bill passed the House and Senate, and was signed into law by the Governor on 18 June 2026.

 Critical Dates:

- Within 30 days of passage: CESA board member appointments

- Within 45 days of passage: 1st meeting of the CESA board

- 1 October 2026: merger study committee facilitators hired 

- 15 October 2026: study committee assignments and 1st meeting 

- September 2027: study committees final reports due

- by 7 March 2028: voting to form new districts

H.930/Act 122 is act relating to addressing and preventing chronic absenteeism. Currently, about 25% of Vermont students are chronically absent. The effects of absenteeism are not just on the individual and their loss of learning and connection to the school community. Large numbers of students missing from school affect the entire school community. The more years students are chronically absent in the early years, the more at-risk they are for needing reading interventions by the end of second grade. In fact, research shows, “When assessing significant test score declines nationwide from pre-to post-pandemic, the U.S. council of Economic Advisors quantified in 2023 that absenteeism explained 16% to 45% of the declines in test scores on the NAEP, also known as the ‘nation’s report card,’ after controlling for other variables.” Other obvious impacts of chronic absenteeism are on high school graduation. By high school, regular attendance is a better predictor of graduation than test scores. A student who is chronically absent any year between grades 8 and 12 is more than 7 times more likely to drop out than their peer who was not chronically absent.

This bill represents a shift in mindset. While we may have understood the past need for truant officers, research has shown that punitive measures like fines and court appearances are not effective in getting children back to school. This critical situation has forced examination of the problem and how best to solve it. The Agency of Education has put forth a bill that is ambitious in its paradigm shift to address the root of a student’s chronic absenteeism. This bill outlines state-level strategies which de-center compliance as a primary outcome and more deeply consider the root causes behind absenteeism and the impact of absenteeism on communities rather than individuals. Also important in this bill is the establishment of definitions that can vary from school to school. Namely, what is an excusable absence versus non-excusable. Clear language and procedures will help all Vermont school systems be consistent in how they deal with students and parents. The bill calls for a collaborative approach developing a model policy that includes all major stakeholders. The bill does not completely remove truant officers or the possibility of prosecution for those parents/guardians who refuse to comply with state law. Rather, that process is better defined and consistent, and serves more as a last resort.

The bill passed the House and Senate, and was signed into law by the Governor on 8 June 2026.

S.227/Act 125 (An act relating to creating immigration protocols in Vermont schools) is broadly supported by our own Agency of Education, educators, and administrators. The Vermont Superintendents Association testified that “support, coordinated training, ongoing guidance, vetted resources, and clear leadership” to meet their essential responsibility to their school communities in an “evolving landscape,” was of utmost importance. While the bill respects federal and state law, and the protections that those laws afford, it goes a little bit further for our Vermont students. The legislative intent is to secure the rights of every Vermont child to access their education and schools in a way that is safe from intimidation and fear, regardless of their immigration status. This law will empower our school officials, superintendents, principles, heads of school, and their designees, to be able to protect their schools and their students by specifically defining non-public areas of a school that require authorization by school officials for anyone to enter. The bill establishes an immigration resource guide for schools, informed by the Office of the Attorney General and the Agency of Education. Under this law, student information will be safe, and the sharing of that information will be upon requirement by state or federal law. The bill clarifies that entry by any law-enforcement official into any school requires a judicial warrant that specifically names a student or school staff member. This act helps safeguard Vermont schools, all children who attend, and the adults who work there. The bill passed the House and Senate, and was signed into law by the Governor on 8 June 2026.