The 150-year-old tradition of “tuitioning” to independent schools (school choice) for Vermont communities unserved by public schools is under threat from legislative leaders who are campaigning on promises scrap the system. School choice in Vermont currently serves 5,700 students directly, and benefits over 8,000 students in over 120 independent schools. Through Vermont’s tuitioning system, internationally renowned schools such as St. Johnsbury Academy and Burr and Burton Academy have become available to families of all income levels instead of just those with the resources to support private school tuition.
Please join us in opposing legislative efforts to take this program away from families who currently have the ability to choose the right educational environment for their kids. This is an equity issue. This is a students’ rights issue. And this is a parent’s rights issue.
If school choice is removed, it will have a detrimental impact on many families and their children. Having school choice has helped many students grow and develop their natural abilities, provide many opportunities both in high school and beyond, and provide more individualized education to meet the needs of the student. Please, do not take away Vermont families ability to choose where their children go for high school. Taking away that choice will only cause damage and create deficits in the quality of education our children receive that many of us would never want to return to after our experiences in public K-8 schools.