House Republicans sharply criticized the measure, arguing it falls short of addressing Vermont’s rising education costs and fails to deliver meaningful structural reform.
House Education advances reform bill, draws criticism from GOP caucus
Education group reveals Vermont school disguises CRT as anti-racism
White River Valley Supervisory Union’s controversial policy in question – the “C30 – Anti-Racism Policy” – states that its purpose is to “provide a call to action and a plan to address all forms of racism” within the Supervisory Union and its member school districts, according to documents obtained by Defending Education.
Kinsley: House moving away from forced mergers
The draft includes a notable protection for communities with small schools: articles of agreement must prohibit school closures for three years without approval of the electorate in the town where the school sits. After three years, closure requires a union district-wide vote.
Legislature: Pre-K a “right”, but funding unclear
House Human Services advances pre-K framework while deferring cost decisions
Why Vermont’s electric school buses are being replaced by diesel — at least for now
In 2021, Vermont became one of the first states to put electric school buses on the road. The results were mixed from the start.
School transportation costs rising, bus drivers scarce
Within a new governance structure of fewer, larger districts, the state might contemplate statewide requirement for districts to provide transportation to all students who live one mile from the school (elementary) and two miles from the school (secondary).
VT blocks Federal scholarship tax credit amid rising education costs
Lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Committee have moved to block participation in a new federal tax credit program that could direct private donations toward student scholarships.
Keelan: To close our school is not only about money
The cost of operating public schools in Vermont has been “a runaway train,” and no one seems to be able to get on board to control it. However, cost also comes in other forms that are not necessarily quantifiable in dollars and cents.
Soulia: Pre-K changes could ripple across Vermont childcare
At issue is Vermont’s Universal Prekindergarten (UPK) system, which currently guarantees up to 10 hours per week of publicly funded preschool for most 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds. The program, fully implemented in 2016, operates through a mix of public schools and private childcare providers.
Drag Queen Story Hour canceled due to security concerns
Beeman Elementary has canceled the entire DEI unit due to alleged communications that threaten the safety of students and staff.
House tax committee kills federal tax credit for independent schools
One Big Beautiful Bill gives scholarship donors $1700 federal tax credit – but Dem majority doesn’t want it
Sciortino: We need more classroom instruction time!
If you had Exxon, Shell, Occidental, BP sitting on one side of the negotiating table, people would be up in arms! Why not the same for the heavy handed teachers’ unions. We also need to identify all legislators who have received political donations from these same unions and call them out on their voting records.
School choice backers to hold press conference, urge parent participation
A Vermont school choice advocacy group is asking concerned Vermonters to contact their legislators and attend a Tuesday press conference as the Legislature considers school choice legislation.
Electric school buses destroyed in late-night fire at Williston school, over $2M damage
Four electric school buses were destroyed in a fire late Wednesday night at Allen Brook School in Williston, causing an estimated $2 million in damages to the vehicles and their charging stations.
Vermont among 12 states explicitly allowing teacher strikes
Twelve states explicitly allow teacher strikes, including Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Vermont. In a few states, such as South Carolina, Utah and Wyoming, the legality of strikes is not clearly defined in statutes or case law.
Drag Queen Story Hour scheduled at elementary school
The DQSH is part of an “identity unit” DEI week at Beeman Elementary School in New Haven.
Lawsuit claims Act 73 narrows tuition school choice
The lawsuit, filed in Vermont Superior Court, argues the new law significantly narrows that option and violates the Vermont Constitution by arbitrarily limiting which schools families can choose.
Valley: We’re subsidizing Ghost Town schools
Colchester taxpayers are absorbing double-digit tax hikes to heat, plow, and staff half-empty buildings in rural counties that have lost 40% of their students but flat-out refuse to consolidate.
Town with closed school seeks no-confidence vote in state’s school funding system
Windham Elementary School has been closed since 2023, when financial, staffing and legal troubles led the Town to shutter the school and tuition children to nearby Townsend. Town Meeting voters in 2024 opted to sell the asbestos-ridden building to the Town for $1 for possible use as a community center. According to the Commons, the community newspaper for Windham County, school voters will be asked to approve a two percent funding increase.
Gov. Scott will vote no on Town Meeting school budget
“At this point I will be voting no,” Scott said, citing a projected increase of $250/$100,000 of home values.
Bill offers pre-k mental health
During recent House Health Care Committee discussion on H.817, a bill that proposes to provide optional mental health literacy and peer-to-peer mental health clubs in public schools.
Teacher used spray bottle to discipline child, mom says
School apologizes, says practice has been stopped
EdWatch warns Act 73 reduces choice, won’t improve outcomes
A Vermont education advocacy group is raising concerns about the state’s school governance reform law, saying it increases consolidation, reduces school choice, and fails to address high costs and stagnant student performance.
Bongartz pitches school merger ‘soft landing’
In the Senate Education Committee on Tuesday, Committee Chair Senator Seth Bongartz (D-Bennington) introduced a new plan to revise Vermont’s education system. The main goal of the system, said Bongartz, is to increase governance efficiency and enable a higher quality educational delivery, in a way that moderates the growth rate of state spending on education.
12 schools added to low performer list
Twelve Vermont schools have been newly identified among the state’s lowest-performing and added to the Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) list, according to the latest accountability report released by the Vermont Agency of Education.
Senator proposes school choice within one statewide school district
The parental choice mechanism would be Vermont Education Accounts for every student age 5-18. Parents could allocate funds to any qualifying school.
Vermont has the most childcare regulations out of the 50 states
State policies and regulations considered in Archbridge’s index include “child-to-staff ratio requirements by age, maximum group sizes by age, required annual training hours for staff, and minimum educational requirements for center directors and lead teachers.”
Tax committee chair nixes Trump private school scholarship credit
Beginning in 2027, any individual can contribute up to $1,700 per year to a “Scholarship Granting Organization” (SGO) and receive a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit.
Votes to keep small schools open based on emotion, not math, Scott says
Reflecting at his Wednesday press conference on recent votes in towns like Calais and Worcester, where voters this week decided by about 2-1 to keep the small local schools open, Scott noted that the results were “not surprising,” despite the “unfortunate” reality of the schools’ situations. He specifically pointed to Calais, which is not anticipating having a kindergarten class next year due to low enrollment, calling it “indicative of the future” for many small Vermont towns.
McClaughry: Rescue school choice now!
First published February 16, 2016. Note the similar problems and proposed solutions, 10 years later.
Provato: Voting no against school budget higher than cost-of-living
We need strong incentives or disincentives to change the status quo. We need to make the school systems feel a little more financial pressure from the taxpayers.
Senator asks: Are property taxes really too high?
I have very high property taxes. I don’t like to pay property taxes, but I can afford them. And I know that many owners are income sensitized. So, I would like to dig into that premise a little bit more because we throw it around a lot.”
Cohen: UVM students live in squalid dorms while prez enjoys free family housing
University of Vermont President Marlene Tromp silent on dorm squalor while she lives with her entire family in ‘free’ campus housing.
Roper: How state government destroyed childcare in Vermont
State subsidies and regulation made childcare more expensive, less available, and less effective.
25-30% of VT students ‘chronically absent’
When schools shifted to remote learning and later reopened amid ongoing health concerns, attendance became harder to track and harder to maintain.
Red Fox Community School student Phoebe Bingham sworn into Vermont’s first-ever Kid Governor Executive Cabinet
Bingham was selected as one of only seven finalists from across the state in an election that saw more than 1,000 Vermont fifth-graders cast their ballots. As a Cabinet member, she will serve alongside Vermont’s first-ever Kid Governor, Roslyn Fortin of Highgate, to address critical issues facing the state’s youth.
Hundreds of drivers pass stopped Vermont school buses daily — New camera program aims to end the free-for-all
A new initiative in Bennington County signals a major shift in how Vermont enforces school bus passing laws, but the full legal framework won’t be in place until August 2026.
Scott threatens veto if Act 73 doesn’t move forward
Scott’s speech was long on the need for change at the school district level, but did not dwell significantly on potential areas to reduce in-school staffing and curricular costs.
Tiemann: Progress in protecting parents’ rights
But back in Vermont, state policy allows schools to keep two separate records on your child, one of which parents cannot see!
Christian school challenges Act 73
The new law excludes the private Christian school in Quechee and all religious approved independent schools in Vermont from town tuition funding and other public benefits.
Young Vermonters nominated to attend service academies
Their nominations have been submitted to the academies, which will make final admissions decisions.
Kinsley: Why your property taxes are going up 12% next year
The real solution is to reduce current education spending and put in place mechanisms that apply downward pressure on future spending. Many of the components of Act 73 do this, the governance changes are intended to reduce administrative overhead, class size minimums will reduce instructional overhead, and a statewide foundation formula will provide the mechanism for downward pressure on future spending.
Soulia: VT’s Special Ed funding gap
When Federal promises meet property tax reality
Despathy: Survey shows high school students want school choice
Last year’s Danville eighth grade class saw 13 out of the 30 students choose another school. In 2023, another mass migration of eighth graders occurred
Breaking: Burlington settles for $475,000 with former HS athletic director
Hulsen filed an equal pay violation lawsuit in U.S. District Court in November 2020 claiming she was cut loose from her high school job when the position was redefined and a younger man was hired at a substantially higher pay rate for the new post in August 2020.
Tiemann: NEA handbook pushes gender and race-based ideologies on children
I’m very grateful for Jarrod Vaillaincourt’s excellent commentary in the Dec 10th issue of the Vermont Daily Chronicle. He exposes efforts by elementary school staff to market a new school-sanctioned “sexuality” club – to elementary school students! Although such conduct by public school educators is beyond revolting, it’s unfortunately not surprising.
Energy supply expert to speak at UVM Dec. 16 via Zoom
Richard Heinberg, a senior fellow at the Post Carbon Institute and a prominent voice on global energy trends, will give a public presentation on December 16 examining what he describes as mounting pressures on both the world’s—and Vermont’s—energy systems.
Parent petition wants sex offender off school property
Families in the Plainfield–Marshfield region are voicing alarm over repeated sightings of a registered sex offender on local school property, a situation that has prompted residents to launch a petition aimed at state lawmakers.
Vaillancourt: Know your parental rights
Parents have the right to know what is going on with their child at school. That right is not surrendered at the schoolhouse door.
Danville votes by 6-1 margin to keep small, local high school open
The final vote was 75-480 against the petition, thereby opting to keep 81-studentDanville High School open.
Turning Point Club approved at VTSU Castleton after pushback
Student Government Association approves club after initial denial and pressure from a club member’s parent.
Frenier: Act 73 is a danger to ALL independent schools
Parents of independent school students: rattle a few cages and get your school’s leaders to step up.
Keelan: And then there was one…
Governor Phil Scott has been, for some time, the clarion: the State is losing its young people. Flood recovery, increasing school taxes, healthcare costs, illegal drug use, and climate change took center stage. Meanwhile, the workforce kept descending. And institutions of learning have kept closing.
BREAKING: Statewide property tax projected to rise 12% next year
Scott said education taxes already have risen more than 40% over the last five years while student enrollment, performance, and educational opportunities have declined.
Benedict: The School Redistricting Task Force – A stunning failure
In all, a stunning failure and lack of respect for the will of Vermonters who have said that the status quo of our schools – educationally and financially is no longer working and needs dramatic change, very soon.
Kinsley: Act 73 Task Force didn’t fail. They listened.
After hearing from more than 5,000 Vermonters who overwhelmingly said, “keep our local schools and local boards,” the Task Force chose to protect the community connections that make Vermont schools more than just buildings. Just as importantly, they recognized that the research shows no cost savings from consolidation and instead put forward a plan that actually achieves those goals.
Harrison: What would Mark Twain say about Act 73?
What Sam Clemens said about his demise may be true about the plan contained in Act 73.
Roper: Vermont’s public schools are now worse than Mississippi’s
It’s time to hold the Unions accountable.
Tiemann: Court says schools can’t force students to use ‘preferred pronouns’
According to the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, public school students cannot be forced to use “preferred pronouns” when referring to others who claim to be “transgender.” The Court ruled that doing so is compelled speech and a violation of students’ First Amendment rights.
Klar: Harvard revamps grading integrity, students howl
Gen Z wants straight A’s.
Keep it, kill it, change it: Act 73 report elicits strong reaction, disagreement
Neither the lengthy time frame nor the details were what either most legislators or Gov. Phil Scott had in mind when they passed the law this spring.
Roper: So, Act 73 imploded
And Republicans have a second chance to avoid disaster.
Martin: On the restoration of liberty in education
What was once a proud and local endeavor to cultivate the minds of our youth has become a labyrinth of policy, regulation, and bureaucratic entanglement—so dense and disjointed that even the most earnest reformers find themselves ensnared.
10-year redistricting roadmap focuses on change for small, rural schools
“We face hard choices,” the document continues. “Some people in Vermont are going hungry and going without health care. Others are taking vouchers away from the academies and public schools to fund taxpayer funded ski schools that require parents to ‘top off’ the tuition…”
Latest redistricting plan: 10 years, new layer of bureacracy, voluntary mergers
Barre bones of new report. More details soon!
Privately-financed astroturf school field faces blowback about chemicals
Imprecise data muddles turf field debate at Champlain Valley Union
Soulia: How “New Math” broke America’s grip on numbers
Beginning in the 1990s and accelerating with the Common Core State Standards in the 2010s, American education policymakers sought to “modernize” math instruction. The stated goal was reasonable: help students understand why math works, not just how. But the result has been a system so abstract and bureaucratic that many parents — and even teachers — struggle to follow it. Vermont remains part of that experiment, still aligning its math curriculum with Common Core as of 2024 despite years of flat test scores and growing classroom frustration.
Vaillancourt: State education standards replete with leftist jargon
Vermont’s EQS is failing miserably at its goal of enabling each student to achieve or exceed the performance standards approved by the State Board of Education. Vermont students are struggling with basic educational concepts, and there is no evidence that EQS is improving academic outcomes. It is unconscionable to continue to promote and spend taxpayers’ money on these programs.
Act 73 Education Reform faces legal challenge for excluding religious schools
New eligibility requirements for the state’s town tuitioning program under Act 73, which went into effect on July 1, blocks all religious schools from receiving public funds. Mid Vermont Christian school (MVCS) and families affected by the requirements are challenging the new law.
7 finalists for Kid Governor announced
Each candidate developed a campaign platform centered around an important issue facing our state and a three-point plan for how fifth graders can address that issue in their own communities.
Moore: Mississippi students now outperform Vermont students
Education agency admits a years-long failure as student performance nosedives
McGuinness: Paying teens $125 to study reproductive health
The LGBTQ-inclusive program pays students to learn about gender identity and expression, sexual orientation spectrum, contraception, and safe sex practices for the prevention of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI’s) and HIV/AIDS:
From Boise to Burlington: UVM’s new leadership team and the controversies that followed them
A federal lawsuit, a First Amendment violation, and sworn allegations of evading public records laws defined the tenure of UVM’s new president and her top aides at Boise State.
Preserving the stories from Brattleboro’s Austine School for the Deaf
The school’s positive impact on the lives of their students and experiences in the larger Deaf community are important stories that will now be preserved for future generations of scholars – and members of the Deaf community wanting to learn more about their history.
Local school budget votes affect statewide taxation, citizen voting lawyer tells Supreme Court
During October 14 oral arguments, a Supreme Court justice asked Hassan whether the Burlington elections would impact statewide spending and policy.
Parents’ advocate asks school board about staff-to-student emails promoting transgenderism
Jarrod Vaillancourt said he was inspired to approach the school board again after reading a commentary in VDC by SPEAKVT president Marie Tiemann.
Long before Gaza: Vermont passed key educational mandates—but omitted the Holocaust. Why?
A Paradox in Policy and Politics: While all of Vermont’s New England neighbors have passed Holocaust education mandates, Vermont lawmakers have actively chosen to become the regional outlier.
Winooski sanctuary school volunteers watch on street corners
“We had a lot of volunteers in the streets, down Main Street and Weaver Street, positioning themselves at different blocks to have an additional presence,” Chavarria said. “People were watching on corners, making sure kids were OK.”
Tiemann: Investigate, inform and advocate
Parents can’t exercise their rights if schools never inform them about what is being taught or how their child is being treated.
Some VT student English skills improve, status quo in other subjects
State officials said results were mostly consistent with the previous year.
Air Force doctor gives UVM $16 million in wife’s name for nursing scholarships
The Nancy Wicks Bemis, RN Endowment will provide scholarship assistance for undergraduate and graduate nursing students with financial need who demonstrate potential to become future leaders in the profession. Priority will be given to students who are Vermont residents.
$149 million tech center goes to voters November 4
The new center would expand CVCC’s construction trades, electrical, plumbing, and heating programs, with potential additions like business, cybersecurity & IT, diesel mechanics, digital media arts, and human and natural resources programs.
Act 73 ‘Future of Public Education’ committee publishes online survey
The Committee on the Future of Public Education created by the Legislature has launched its public engagement and input-gathering this week with an online survey to collect feedback from Vermonters regarding education reform and the redistricting.
Parents, educators sharply divided on LGBTQ messaging in school
Vaillancourt argued that despite increased spending, “our children continue to be well below proficiency.”
Teacher ‘behaving unusually’ busted for cocaine possession at school
A student reported Martin was ‘behaving unusually.’
TPUSA chapter in Barre gains steam
High school freshman talks about community organizing and attending Charlie Kirk memorial in Arizona.
High school administrator responds to boy/girl bathroom criticism
“The old version of a large “group-style” bathroom created far more opportunities for vandalism, vaping, and fights to take place. This renovation allows for student privacy and removes the ability for large groups of students to congregate and misuse the space,” Messier said.
Bio-tech incubator started by RNAi developer opens at UVM
“America, if you look at it, who went to America? It’s not the people who were allset in the country. It’s not the aristocrats, right? It’s the people who had a hard time, who had their back to the wall, but reacted by doing something,” Fruehauf said.
UVM-trained physician joins newest NASA astronaut class
From Vermont to the stars! Muller’s class marks the 24th group of astronaut candidates since NASA introduced the legendary “Mercury Seven” in 1959.
Act 73 public forums this week, next week
Local leaders, educators, and stakeholders will be present to share insights and respond to community input.
Barre freshmen organize TPUSA club
VDC brought our video camera to the AFP-VT forum in Barre last night and left with interviews with TPUSA-VT club founders, Planet Hank, and AFP’s regional director.
High school opens large bathroom for both sexes
“Why would any adult even entertain the idea of putting hormonal boys and girls together in the same room for these intimate and personal moments?” Reighley wrote. “In the not-so-distant past, this was viewed as an absolute taboo.”
Parent challenges LGBTQ, BLM hallway messaging at elementary school
The posters and stickers are displayed in the main hallway, near the kindergarten room of the K-8 school.
Roper: Education reformers say they’re data driven, but are they?
Cuz the data says more charter schools, flexibility to adapt and incentives to perform.
School to Legislature: we need Special Session for school construction $$
Urgent request seeks to decouple capital construction debt from per-pupil spending formula
Mid-Vermont Christian triumphs over State of Vermont, sports teams must be reinstated
‘We conclude that Plaintiffs are likely to succeed in showing that the VPA’s expulsion of Mid Vermont was not neutral because it displayed hostility toward the school’s religious beliefs,” the two federal judges said.
Emotions run high as towns discuss losing high schools to Act 73
Act 73 formed a statewide redistricting task force, which is holding meetings–one of which could be held at Oxbow next month.
Newport Elementary completes green infrastructure project to improve water quality
The project, first identified in the 2016 Memphremagog Stormwater Master Plan managed by the Memphremagog Watershed Association, is now known as the Newport City Elementary School Green Schools Initiative. It supports ongoing efforts to meet Lake Memphremagog’s Total Maximum Daily Load requirements for phosphorus reduction and the Tactical Basin Plan workplan for the watershed.
Fireovid: SpeakVT’s checklist for the new school year
Vermont summers pass quickly, and here we are in another school year.
UVM provides free tuition to 255 VT resident freshmen
Women freshmen still outnumber men 60% – 40%, although the gap narrowed by two percent this year. Also, the old Holiday Inn site on Williston Road is now student housing.
