VT
Vermont House Bill H0179

Vermont 2025-2026 Regular Session

Vermont House Bill H0179 Compare Versions

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11 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.179
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55 VT LEG #380288 v.1
66 H.179 1
77 Introduced by Representative McCann of Montpelier 2
88 Referred to Committee on 3
99 Date: 4
1010 Subject: Education; Agency of Education; Secretary; Department of 5
1111 Education; Commissioner; State Board of Education; education 6
1212 governance 7
1313 Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to transform the 8
1414 Agency of Education to the Department of Education, which shall be 9
1515 supervised and managed by the State Board of Education. This bill would 10
1616 eliminate the position of Secretary of Education and create the position of 11
1717 Commissioner of Education who shall be employed by the State Board as the 12
1818 chief executive officer and secretary of the Board, subject to approval of the 13
1919 Governor. This bill also proposes to change the composition of the State 14
2020 Board of Education and to create a new appointment process for Board 15
2121 members. 16
2222 An act relating to the membership of the State Board of Education and the 17
2323 reestablishment of the Vermont Department of Education 18 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.179
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2828 It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 1
2929 * * * Findings and Intent * * * 2
3030 Sec. 1. FINDINGS AND INTENT 3
3131 (a) Findings. The General Assembly finds that: 4
3232 (1) Recent challenges faced by the Agency of Education, including 5
3333 compliance issues with federal reporting requirements, highlight a need for 6
3434 stronger leadership and structural reform. The Agency of Education is now 7
3535 seen as a political tool of the Governor. With a two-year Governor term, 8
3636 Vermont needs a Department of Education and Commissioner of Education 9
3737 that report directly to a neutral State Board of Education with a focus on 10
3838 leading Vermont to the best educational system in the United States. 11
3939 (2) Concerns about transparency and effectiveness have eroded public 12
4040 confidence in the Agency of Education. Transitioning back to a department 13
4141 aligns with historical norms and best practices for state education governance. 14
4242 (3) A department structure allows for greater focus on addressing 15
4343 critical issues such as academic achievement gaps, mental health support, and 16
4444 equitable resource distribution. 17
4545 (b) Intent. It is the intent of the General Assembly to increase 18
4646 accountability, improve operational efficiency, and strengthen public 19
4747 confidence in Vermont’s education governance by transitioning the Agency of 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.179
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5151 VT LEG #380288 v.1
5252 Education to the Department of Education, lead by a Commissioner of 1
5353 Education that reports directly to the State Board of Education. 2
5454 * * * Department of Education * * * 3
5555 Sec. 2. 16 V.S.A. § 164 is amended to read: 4
5656 § 164. STATE BOARD; GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES 5
5757 The State Board shall engage local school board members and the broader 6
5858 education community and, consistent with the provisions of this title, its own 7
5959 rules, and rules adopted by the Secretary, establish and regularly update a long-8
6060 term strategic vision for the delivery of educational services in Vermont; 9
6161 advise the General Assembly, the Governor, and the Secretary of Education on 10
6262 high-priority educational policies and issues as they arise; and act in 11
6363 accordance with legislative mandates, including the adoption of rules and 12
6464 executing special assignments. In addition to other specified duties, the Board 13
6565 shall have supervision over and management of the Department of Education 14
6666 and the public school system, except as otherwise provided, and shall: 15
6767 * * * 16
6868 (4) Biennially cause to be prepared a recommended budget for all 17
6969 money to be expended by the Department of Education. 18
7070 * * * 19
7171 (10) Establish an information clearinghouse and accessible database to 20
7272 help districts share information about educational programs and practices that 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.179
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7777 improve student performance and well-being. Educational programs and 1
7878 practices include those designed to create and sustain a safe learning 2
7979 environment. 3
8080 * * * 4
8181 (17) Report annually on the condition of education statewide and on a 5
8282 supervisory union and school district basis. The report shall include 6
8383 information on attainment of standards for student performance adopted under 7
8484 subdivision (9) of this section,; number and types of complaints of hazing, 8
8585 harassment, or bullying made pursuant to chapter 9, subchapter 5 of this title 9
8686 and responses to the complaints,; financial resources and expenditures,; and 10
8787 community social indicators. The report shall be organized and presented in a 11
8888 way that is easily understandable by the general public and that enables each 12
8989 school, school district, and supervisory union to determine its strengths and 13
9090 weaknesses. To the extent consistent with State and federal privacy laws and 14
9191 regulations, data on hazing, harassment, or bullying incidents shall be 15
9292 disaggregated by incident type, including disaggregation by ethnic groups, 16
9393 racial groups, religious groups, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, 17
9494 disability status, and English language learner status. The Secretary 18
9595 Commissioner shall use the information in the report to determine whether 19
9696 students in each school, school district, and supervisory union are provided 20
9797 educational opportunities substantially equal to those provided in other 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.179
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102102 schools, school districts, and supervisory unions pursuant to subsection 165(b) 1
103103 of this title. 2
104104 * * * 3
105105 (19) Develop, in consultation with the Secretary of State, and make 4
106106 available to school boards, sample ballot language for items that may be voted 5
107107 on by Australian ballot and for which no statutory language exists. 6
108108 * * * 7
109109 (21) Report annually to the Governor and the General Assembly on the 8
110110 progress the Board has made on the development of education policy for the 9
111111 State. [Repealed.] 10
112112 Sec. 3. 16 V.S.A. § 163 is amended to read: 11
113113 § 163. STAFF; MEETINGS 12
114114 (a) The office of the Board shall be supported by adequate staff, who shall 13
115115 report to the Board the office of the Commissioner of Education. 14
116116 * * * 15
117117 Sec. 4. 16 V.S.A. chapter 5 is amended to read: 16
118118 CHAPTER 5. SECRETARY COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION 17
119119 Subchapter 1. Secretary Commissioner of Education 18
120120 § 211. APPOINTMENT; REPORTS 19
121121 (a) Subject to the approval of the Governor, the State Board shall employ a 20
122122 competent chief executive officer and secretary of the Board who shall have 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.179
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127127 had special training and experience in educational work and who shall be 1
128128 called the Commissioner of Education. The Commissioner shall be appointed 2
129129 for an indefinite term and shall be subject to removal upon the majority vote of 3
130130 the entire Board. 4
131131 (b) The Commissioner at all times and in such detail as the Board directs 5
132132 shall make reports to the Board concerning the public educational system, 6
133133 together with such recommendations as the Commissioner deems proper for 7
134134 the promotion of the educational interests of the State. 8
135135 § 212. SECRETARY’S COMMISSIONER’S DUTIES GENERALLY 9
136136 The Secretary Commissioner shall execute those policies adopted by the 10
137137 State Board in the legal exercise of its powers and shall: 11
138138 * * * 12
139139 (14) Annually, communicate to each superintendent a list of information 13
140140 that a supervisory union, a school board, a school district, a school, a school 14
141141 district employee, or a supervisory union employee is required under State or 15
142142 federal law to make available to the electorate, community members, parents, 16
143143 or students. It is the intent of this subdivision that the Secretary Commissioner 17
144144 shall make a good faith effort to compile a complete list of the information to 18
145145 be made available. Due to the difficult nature of compiling such a list, it is 19
146146 also the intent that failure to include relevant information on the list shall not 20
147147 constitute grounds for an action against the Secretary Commissioner. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.179
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152152 * * * 1
153153 (19) Establish an information clearinghouse and accessible database to 2
154154 help districts share information about educational programs and practices that 3
155155 improve student performance. Educational programs and practices include 4
156156 those designed to create and sustain a safe learning environment. [Repealed.] 5
157157 (20) Develop, in consultation with the Secretary of State, and make 6
158158 available to school boards sample ballot language for issues that may be 7
159159 decided by Australian ballot and for which no statutory language exists. 8
160160 [Repealed.] 9
161161 (21) Prepare a budget for the Agency and submit it to the Governor after 10
162162 review by the State Board. [Repealed.] 11
163163 (22) Annually, prior to September 1, present the Governor’s education 12
164164 policy priorities to the State Board. [Repealed.] 13
165165 § 213. DEPUTY SECRETARIES COMMISSIONERS AND HELPING 14
166166 TEACHERS 15
167167 The Secretary Board shall employ such number of deputy secretaries 16
168168 commissioners and such number of competent helping teachers as he or she it 17
169169 deems necessary. It shall determine the tenure of office of the deputy 18
170170 commissioners and helping teachers and fix the compensation of the helping 19
171171 teachers, which shall be paid by the State. The Board may remove such staff 20
172172 as the best interests of the schools from time to time may require. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.179
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177177 * * * 1
178178 Sec. 5. 3 V.S.A. § 212 is amended to read: 2
179179 § 212. DEPARTMENTS CREATED 3
180180 The following administrative departments are hereby created, through the 4
181181 instrumentality of which the Governor, under the Constitution, shall exercise 5
182182 such functions as are by law assigned to each department respectively: 6
183183 * * * 7
184184 (6) The Department of Education 8
185185 * * * 9
186186 Sec. 6. 3 V.S.A. § 256(b) is amended to read: 10
187187 (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all secretaries of State 11
188188 agencies and all commissioners of State departments, other than the 12
189189 Commissioner of Education, shall take office only with the advice and consent 13
190190 of the Senate except in the case of an appointment to fill a vacancy when the 14
191191 General Assembly is not in session in which case the appointee may take office 15
192192 subject to the provisions of section 257 of this title. 16
193193 Sec. 7. REPEAL 17
194194 3 V.S.A. chapter 49 is repealed. 18
195195 Sec. 8. COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION; TRANSITION; POWERS 19
196196 AND DUTIES; REPORT 20
197197 (a) Transition. On January 1, 2026: 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.179
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202202 (1) the Commissioner of Education shall assume all powers, duties, 1
203203 rights, and responsibilities of the Secretary of Education; provided, however, 2
204204 that if a Commissioner appointed by the State Board has not assumed office on 3
205205 or before January 1, 2026, then the Secretary or acting Secretary of the Agency 4
206206 on that date shall continue to perform the duties until the day on which the 5
207207 Commissioner assumes office, but shall report to the Board and not the 6
208208 Governor; and 7
209209 (2) the Department of Education shall assume all the powers, duties, 8
210210 rights, and responsibilities of the Agency of Education. 9
211211 (b) Reports. 10
212212 (1) On or before November 15, 2026, the Department of Education shall 11
213213 submit a written report to the House and Senate Committees on Education with 12
214214 a detailed update on the transition from the Agency of Education to the 13
215215 Department of Education. The report shall include: 14
216216 (A) a Department-wide organizational chart with vacancies noted and 15
217217 a plan for fulling any such vacancies as well as a plan for accounting for the 16
218218 duties of vacant positions; and 17
219219 (B) any recommendations for legislative action to further achieve the 18
220220 General Assembly’s legislative intent under this act. 19
221221 (2) On or before November 15, 2026, the State Board of Education shall 20
222222 submit a written report to the House and Senate Committees on Education with 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.179
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226226 VT LEG #380288 v.1
227227 a detailed update on the transition from the Agency of Education to the 1
228228 Department of Education, from the State Board’s perspective. The report shall 2
229229 include any recommendations for legislative action to further achieve the 3
230230 General Assembly’s legislative intent under this act. 4
231231 Sec. 9. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL; PREPARATION OF A DRAFT BILL 5
232232 On or before January 15, 2026, the Office of Legislative Counsel shall 6
233233 prepare and submit a draft bill to the House and Senate Committees on 7
234234 Education that makes statutory amendments of a technical nature and identifies 8
235235 all statutory sections that the General Assembly shall amend substantively to 9
236236 effect the intent of the act. 10
237237 * * * Composition of the State Board of Education * * * 11
238238 Sec. 10. 16 V.S.A. § 161 is amended to read: 12
239239 § 161. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION; APPOINTMENT OF 13
240240 MEMBERS; TERM; VACANCY 14
241241 (a) The State Board shall consist of ten 11 members. Two of the members 15
242242 shall be secondary students, each appointed by the Governor, one of whom 16
243243 shall be a full member and the other of whom shall be a junior member who 17
244244 may not vote. All Student members shall be appointed by the Governor with 18
245245 the advice and consent of the Senate. In the appointment of the nonstudent 19
246246 members, priority shall be given to the selection of persons with a 20
247247 demonstrated commitment to ensuring quality education for Vermont students. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.179
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252252 To the extent possible, the members shall represent the State’s geographic, 1
253253 gender, racial, and ethnic diversity. The Secretary Commissioner shall serve 2
254254 on the State Board as a nonvoting member. The remaining eight voting 3
255255 members shall require the advice and consent of the Senate and shall be 4
256256 appointed as follows: 5
257257 (1) one member shall be a public school central office administrator, 6
258258 appointed by the Vermont Superintendents Association; 7
259259 (2) one member shall be a public school administrator, appointed by the 8
260260 Vermont Principals’ Association; 9
261261 (3) one member shall be a public school board member, appointed by 10
262262 the Vermont School Boards Association; 11
263263 (4) one member shall be a public school teacher, appointed by the 12
264264 Vermont National Education Association; 13
265265 (5) one member shall be an independent school administrator or teacher, 14
266266 appointed by the Vermont Independent Schools Association; and 15
267267 (6) three members shall be at large, appointed as follows: 16
268268 (A) one member appointed by the Governor; 17
269269 (B) one member appointed by the Speaker of the House; and 18
270270 (C) one member appointed by the Senate Committee on Committees. 19
271271 (b)(1) Upon the expiration of the respective terms of those members of the 20
272272 Board previously appointed, excluding the student members, the Governor the 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.179
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277277 appointing authority that made the initial appointment to the expired term 1
278278 shall, biennially in the month of February with the advice and consent of the 2
279279 Senate, appoint members for terms of six years. The terms shall begin March 3
280280 1 of the year in which the appointments are made. A member serving a term of 4
281281 six years shall not be eligible for reappointment for successive terms. 5
282282 (2) In the event of any vacancy occurring in the membership of the 6
283283 Board, the Governor appointing authority that made the initial appointment to 7
284284 the vacated term shall fill the vacancy with a qualified person whose 8
285285 appointment shall be for the unexpired portion of the term. 9
286286 (3) Biennially, the Board shall choose a member of the Board to be its 10
287287 chair. 11
288288 (4) Annually, using an application process that is open and accessible to 12
289289 all eligible students, the Governor shall appoint a Vermont secondary school 13
290290 student who will continue to be a secondary student for at least two years 14
291291 following taking office, to serve on the State Board for two years, beginning on 15
292292 July 1 of the year of appointment. The student member shall not vote during 16
293293 the first year and shall be a full and voting member during the second year of 17
294294 his or her the student’s term. 18 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.179
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299299 Sec. 11. TRANSITION PERIOD APPOINTMENTS; STATE BOARD OF 1
300300 EDUCATION 2
301301 (a) Members currently serving on the State Board of Education may 3
302302 continue to serve for the duration of the term to which they were appointed. 4
303303 (b) On or before September 1, 2025, the Vermont National Education 5
304304 Association shall appoint one public school teacher member. 6
305305 (c) Beginning on July 1, 2025, as terms of currently serving members 7
306306 expire, appointments of successors shall be made in accordance with the 8
307307 qualifications, considerations, and appointment authority required under 16 9
308308 V.S.A. § 161 and shall be made in the following order: 10
309309 (1) For the terms expiring on February 28, 2027, one appointment shall 11
310310 be made by the Vermont Superintendents Association, one appointment shall 12
311311 be made by the Vermont Principals’ Association, and one appointment shall be 13
312312 made by the Vermont School Boards Association. 14
313313 (2) For the term expiring on February 28, 2028, one appointment shall 15
314314 be made by the Vermont Independent Schools Association. 16
315315 (3) For the term expiring on February 28, 2029, one at large 17
316316 appointment shall be made by the Governor. 18
317317 (4) For the term expiring on June 30, 2030, one appointment shall be 19
318318 made by the Speaker of the House. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.179
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323323 (5) For the term expiring on February 28, 3031, one appointment shall 1
324324 be made by the Senate Committee on Committees. 2
325325 (d) After each appointing authority has made its initial transition period 3
326326 appointments under this section, all appointments shall be made by the 4
327327 appointing authority that made the initial appointment to the vacated or expired 5
328328 term in accordance with 16 V.S.A. § 161. 6
329329 * * * Effective Date * * * 7
330330 Sec. 12. EFFECTIVE DATE 8
331331 This act shall take effect on July 1, 2025. 9