Earlier this month, the House passed H-454, the transformative education bill that has been under construction since the session began. I voted in support of this bill for many reasons, but in short, because it is the product of a collaborative and comprehensive process that begins to update Vermont’s public education system.
The bill began with Governor Scott’s big-picture view of Education Transformation presented in January, and from there, dug into the details of each idea to create workable policy. The Governor and Education Secretary’s plan included many strong ideas that are necessary for both equal opportunity for students and cost-containment for taxpayers: minimum class sizes; recommended school sizes for grades 6-12; a foundation formula for school funding; and limiting the disbursement of Vermont public-school funds to private and out-of-state schools. A unified state-wide school calendar, universal graduation requirements, and the establishment of a school construction fund are also key components of the bill. The Governor’s proposal expanded the scope of the Agency of Education while contracting that of the State Board of Education (SBE); however, the House felt strongly that both agencies must remain intact, and H-454 reflects that.
H-454 is receiving some criticism for its multi-year timeline, but after much testimony on this topic, the proposed schedule is realistic and reflects input from school superintendents and others who are closest to the work. The cost per student is also a hot-button topic: the Governor’s plan initially suggested a cost of approximately $13000/student with the new foundation formula, but after extensive research into ensuring all costs were being accounted for, the House bill increased that cost to approximately $15000/student, before student weighting. Cost containment is one of the main necessities of reform, and the House bill sets the stage for savings, while acknowledging there is more work to be done in future years to control costs (particularly relating to health care and special-education costs). H-454 is now in the Senate where it will likely undergo revisions before returning to the House.
Proposed School Reform timeline:
- 2026 legislative session: create new, larger school district boundaries (evaluating the up-to-three redistricting proposals due December 1st, 2025 by a sub-Committee of the Commission on the Future of Public Education)
- 2027 session: create voting wards within each school district for the election of school board members
- November 2028: the first school board member elections within the newly created school districts take place
Proposed Class size standards:
- The average class size minimum for kindergarten classes shall be 12 students
- . . . for grades one through four shall be 15 students
- . . . for grades five through 12 in all required content area classes shall be 18 students
- Multiage classrooms for grades kindergarten through eight shall be limited to two grade levels per classroom
- CTE classes, flexible pathways, terminal courses, AP courses, courses requiring specialized equipment (ex. Science labs), driver’s ed., special education, English learner instruction, and specialized intervention are excluded from this requirement
Other key components of the bill include:
Supplemental District Spending – Districts would be able to raise additional funds of up to 10% of the budget produced by the foundation formula. The details of this plan will maintain equity in the school system, and pool some supplemental funds for school construction and tax relief.
Property Classification – Currently the tax code only breaks properties into two classifications – homestead and non-homestead. H.454 breaks non homestead properties into three classifications –- apartments, residential, and nonresidential. These more refined classifications would allow more flexibility in the future to keep all four classes uniform, or tax different types of non-homestead properties at different rates to meet policy goals.
Statewide Reappraisals –The bill creates 12 regional assessment districts. Municipalities in a district would come together to contract with one or more third parties to conduct reappraisals on a six-year cycle.
Property Tax Exemptions – Change the tax relief mechanism from a credit to a homestead exemption of a percentage of the first $400,000 of a property’s value. The percentage exemption would be based on a taxpayer’s income.
For more background on Education Reform, I am including some links below:
Vermont Superintendents Association Timeline on Education Reform, shared by HUUSD Superintendent Mike Leichliter.
Friends of Vermont Public Education
House Committee on Education documents list –on every topic regarding education you’d ever be interested in!
The following three sources were shared by Secretary of Education Zoie Saunders in response to constituent requests for a big-picture overview of the Governor’s proposal:
In other news. . .
We have passed a number of bills and resolutions in the House recently. Some of the highlights include:
Creating a regulatory framework for the operation of free-standing birth centers in Vermont (S-18)
An act relating to access to certain legally-protected health-care services including reproductive and gender-affirming care. This act includes provisions to protect the privacy of Vermont health-care workers pertaining to these procedures.(S-28)
Investing in a program to erase certain medical debt for low-income Vermonters (S-27)
An act relating to flood resiliency and emergency preparation (H-397)
A resolution strongly objecting to the manner and circumstances under which U.S. immigration authorities arrested and detained Mohsen Mahdawi, a Vermont resident in the final stage of his naturalization proceedings (HR8)
I am also paying close attention to the following bills coming to the House Floor:
A bill intended to offer a certified training program to private property management companies in the efficient use of salt for snow and ice management; and liability limitations for such practices; with the goal of decreasing salt use, as well as the environmental and financial costs of salt (H-86).
Department of Motor Vehicles Bill (S-123)—this is in my committee now, and we are working to understand and discuss the various sections.
I continue to remain focused on education reform, health care, housing, and general affordability. We expect to be in session through the end of May, with a potential veto session in mid-June.
Upcoming Constituent Meetings:
Monday, April 28th, 7:30 AM-8:30 AM, Twisted Halo, Waitsfield
Tuesday, May 13th, 8:30 AM – 9:30 AM, Black Cap Café, Waterbury
Respectfully,
Candice
