An education reform bill passed a key hurdle in the Vermont House Thursday afternoon and is poised for a final vote on Friday.
The bill takes a slower, more measured approach to reforming school funding and governance than Gov. Phil Scott’s education transformation plan, which was unveiled in January. But it borrows several ideas from the governor’s proposal, including fewer school districts, class-size minimums, universal graduation requirements for high school students and a shift to a foundation formula to fund schools.
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While Scott’s proposal recommends that the more than 100 school districts in Vermont be consolidated into five regional school districts, the House bill calls for the creation of a five-member subcommittee, made up of members with “deep experience in public education in Vermont,” that would meet this summer and fall and present three proposals for new school district boundaries to the legislature by December 1.
The proposals would take into account “educational research, Vermont’s geographic and cultural landscape, historic school attendance patterns, and a comprehensive analysis of school locations, conditions, and capacity,” the bill states. The legislature would finalize district boundaries during its 2026 session. The next year, the legislature would create voting wards with each school district for the election of school board members. The first elections for the new districts would occur in 2028.
The bill also would set class-size minimums that are, for the most part, larger than what is recommended in the governor’s proposal. In kindergarten, the average class size minimum would be 12; for grades 1 to 4, it would be 15; and in grades 5 to 12, it would be 18. Some classes would be exempt from the minimums, including career and technical education, Advanced Placement courses, English Language Learners instruction, and special-education classes. To receive public funds, independent schools would have to abide by the class-size minimums. Schools would be able to apply for a waiver from the State Board of Education if they can’t comply with the prescribed class-size minimums.
The bill would reestablish a program to provide state aid for school construction, which was suspended in 2008. There is no money in the bill to fund the program, however.
The bill would also end the practice of sending public dollars to independent schools outside of Vermont. In order to continue to be eligible to receive state dollars, independent schools in Vermont would have to show that at least 51 percent of their students were publicly funded as of July 1, 2025.
The bill calls for shifting funding for schools by 2029 to a foundation formula — which allows the state, not taxpayers, to determine how much it costs to educate each student. While the governor’s plan proposes a base funding rate of $13,200 per student, the House plan allocates $15,033 per student, with higher amounts for students living in poverty, those who qualify for special education and English Language Learners.
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“If passed, this bill stabilizes and lowers property taxes, bends the cost curve and creates safe, consistent, quality education for all Vermont kids for a generation,” Rep. Emilie Kornheiser (D-Brattleboro) said before the floor vote. “This bill rips off the Band-Aids, the duct tape and the bailing twine that have held our education and property tax system together over the last decade and builds a careful net to sustain our children and communities into the future.”
At a press conference on Wednesday, Vermont School Board Association executive director Sue Ceglowski described the bill as a “thoughtful, phased approached with a manageable implementation timeline.” She said the foundation formula put forth in the bill is “equity driven and grounded in research.”
But critics, many who represent rural schools, say it would take away local decision making and lead to school closures.
If approved Friday, H.454 will head to the Senate, where it is expected to face strong headwinds. At a town hall at Burr and Burton Academy in Manchester last week, Sen. Seth Bongartz (D-Bennington), chair of the Senate Education Committee, expressed dissatisfaction with the House bill and how it would affect independent schools. The Senate is working on an education transformation plan of its own.