Independent Schools Bill (H.483) - April 12, 2023
On Wednesday, Chairman Campion asked Legislative Counsel to share, with the Senate Education Committee, background on Act 49 and Act 173 and how they relate to independent schools. Act 49 was passed in 2017 and created a task force on independent schools. The task force was split and could not find a consensus; instead of offering a comprehensive report, each member issued their own recommendations around enrollment policy, if schools should be required to deliver special education and which categories should be required, and special education required reporting. The legislation also paused rulemaking until the legislature could act on these issues.
Read moreUse of Restraints and Seclusion (H.409) - April 12, 2023
On Wednesday, the House Education Committee took up H.409 with Rachel Seelig (DLP Director, Vermont Legal Aid) who shared in her presentation that she “represented or advised around six hundred students with disabilities and their parents on education law issues. Approximately 15% of these cases have some element involving improper or illegal use of restraint and seclusion on students with disabilities.” She believes that the nature of using restraints is “re-traumatization” of these students.
Read moreMiscellaneous Education Changes (H.461) - April 11, 2023
On Tuesday, the Senate Education Committee walked through a side-by-side comparison of H.461 with current statute. Senator Gulick asked about the “Home Study Program,” wondering if it was always called that. She commented that she doesn’t “see there is any mandate to actually study any subjects in it.” Legislative Counsel was uncertain if it had been called something else previously.
Read moreMiscellaneous Education Changes (S.133) - April 7, 2023
Senator Campion joined the House Education Committee on Friday to discuss S.133. He began with proficiency-based learning and explained they were trying to determine if the actually had a “handle on what was out there.” This is what led, indirectly, to the curriculum audit idea that is in the bill.
Read moreMiscellaneous Education Changes (H.461) - April 7, 2023
The Senate Education Committee resumed their work on H.461 on Friday, with Representative Hango joining the Committee to speak about the National Guard tuition benefit expansion.[1]
Read moreIndependent Schools Bill (H.483) - April 7, 2023
Chairman Campion asked Legislative Counsel to walk the Senate Education Committee through H.483 on Friday at a high level. During the walk-through, Senator Hashim questioned why therapeutic schools were excluded from the bill. Legislative counsel noted that those schools were highly specialized and may not be able to meet the requirements in the bill. The intent of this bill is to address general education independent schools who receive public tuition.
Read moreMiscellaneous Education Changes (H.461) - April 6, 2023
The Senate Education Committee returned to H.461 on Thursday, hearing from Ken Gragg (Deputy Adjutant General, Vermont Military Department) on the college tuition benefit program section of the bill. This provision would allow for funds to be used outside of the state when a class or program is unavailable in Vermont. Specifically, he mentioned the Physician’s Assistant pipeline as a program that has created a bottleneck. The National Guard would benefit from the expertise offered by these positions but there are no programs in-state.
Read moreMiscellaneous Education Changes (H.461) - April 5, 2023
The Senate Education Committee met on Wednesday to review H.461, which makes a number of changes to education laws.
Read moreVitale v. Vermont
The House and Senate Education Committees met jointly on Tuesday for a presentation from Legislative Counsel on the Vitale v. Vermont Supreme court case. Chairman Campion introduced the topic by noting that the decision came out in March and because the Senate Education Committee is likely to take up the independent schools’ bill soon, he thought it was prudent to get a briefing on this case.
Read moreIndependent Schools and Public Schools
On Friday, Emily Simmons (General Counsel, Agency of Education) gave the Senate Education Committee an overview of the statutory obligations surrounding public tuitioning for independent schools.
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