By Guy Page

A statewide school tuition bill will be the subject of a 1 PM press conference at the Vermont State House today. 

Rep. Mike Tagliavia (R-Corinth) will promote H.89, the statewide school choice bill he introduced last year, at a press conference at 1 PM today, Tuesday March 17 in the Cedar Creek Room. 

The bill would make a tuition voucher to any Vermont school available to any student and his/her parents. It’s been hanging on the wall of House Education since last year, but Tagliavia hopes that will change.

“Let’s make Vermont a school choice destination state,” Tagliavia told VDC in a State House cafeteria conversation this morning. Listening in, Rep. Larry Labor (R-Essex/Orleans) added that he recently learned that students in three grades of a Northeast Kingdom school are achieving at only 30% in standardized testing – and the school district needs more money this year. 

Tagliavia shook his head. “If I did that poorly in my business, the phone would stop ringing,” he said.  

Sen. Steve Heffernan also will speak at the 1 PM press conference. 

School choice in Vermont is facing headwinds from the vigorous public school employee lobby groups, and from key committee leaders (like Ways & Means Chair Emilie Kornheiser, D-Brattleboro) opposing the One Big Beautiful Bill provision of a $1700 tax credit for independent school scholarships. 

Meanwhile, the Yield bill (school tax rate) will come before House Ways & Means said this week. “There are lots of options, and we’ll hammer it out this week,” vice-chair Bill Canfield (R-Fair Haven) said. 

Gold Star license plate for all active-service military deaths – Vermont’s gold star license plate, once available only to families of military members who died in combat, will be available to families of all military members who died on active service, if H.917, the Military Affairs bill, becomes law. 

The bill is scheduled for a House floor vote today. Rep. Woodman Page (R-Newport), a retired Air Force officer, will report the bill on the floor on behalf of the Ways & Means Committee. He said he spoke in committee in favor of limiting the license plate to families of those who died in action, but the more inclusive version was favored by the majority of the committee. 

H.917 also would correct the title of the Adjutant and Inspector General to the Adjutant General, provide a hiring preference for military spouses for employment in State government, and provide free parking for disabled veterans.
PCB testing in schools goes to House floor – An amendment to H.542, terminating testing of PCBs schools, would delay the testing deadline two years, and first study the health impacts of discontinuing the testing.