Changes to House bill praised by NEK school leader
by Guy Page
A Northeast Kingdom school leader is expressing cautious optimism after the Vermont Senate Education Committee stripped mandatory minimum class sizes from a proposed education reform bill, offering a potential lifeline to small and independent schools across the state’s rural communities.
According to a report in today’s Caledonian-Record, Megan Durling, co-head of the East Burke School, said the changes to House Bill 454 mark a significant step toward protecting access to education in regions like the Northeast Kingdom, where small schools serve as vital community hubs.
H454 passed the House but without a two-thirds majority needed to override a gubernatorial veto. It is now in the Senate Finance Committee, having been sent there by the full Senate following changes made to the original House bill by Senate Education.
“The Senate moved quickly to eliminate the minimum school and class size mandates that would have severely limited educational access to children in our rural communities,” Durling said in a statement. “We are grateful to the Senate Education Committee for recognizing that a one-size-fits-all approach to school operations is not an equitable solution.”
House version of the bill included were mandatory minimum class sizes — 12 students in kindergarten, 15 in grades 1–4, and 18 in grades 5–12 — and district size requirements, which could have triggered school closures in counties like Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans.
Those measures were removed following a unanimous Senate Education Committee vote on May 2 to advance an amended version of the bill. The revisions reflect growing recognition in Montpelier of the challenges faced by Vermont’s smallest school districts.
The bill still includes changes to the rules for independent schools that accept public tuition. Under the new criteria, these schools must meet two conditions to continue receiving public funding: they must be located in supervisory districts that do not operate public schools for some or all grades, and at least 25% of their Vermont students must have been publicly funded in the current academic year.
Durling, whose school depends on tuition support from local districts, said the updated language provides greater stability while maintaining accountability.
“There’s still more work to do, but this version of the bill shows that lawmakers are listening,” she said. “Rural education needs flexibility — not mandates that ignore geographic and economic realities.”
The bill will next go to the full Senate for consideration before returning to the House, where lawmakers will have to decide whether to accept the Senate’s changes or seek further negotiation.
This article includes information from a May 12, 2025 article in the Caledonian-Record.