[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},"mediaId",6079162,"mediaKeyId","2956327-c14019aeaaf66a887ceef3de0e42c08e","parentId",2956327,"title","Vermont school association asks lawmakers to clarify who writes library procedures, and to date‑stamp national statements","audioSeconds",233,"startMs",122000,"endMs",355000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2956327-c14019aeaaf66a887ceef3de0e42c08e&start=122&end=355","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2956327-c14019aeaaf66a887ceef3de0e42c08e/thumbnail_122000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6079162/Vermont/Vermont-school-association-asks-lawmakers-to-clarify-who-writes-library-procedures-and-to-datestamp-national-statements","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6079162-b380aa1e2cf056de29a06d6d35e61080/orig.mp4?Expires=1771150658&Signature=Q5VTJ1IsaN7oFKTYg6erNjN9jLqy8ICe50JOHExR4diT0Ma~zkFD4lNW1JFZRqN~Xfslpg1g1FeXzycEYGc3lYcfhEn5u00seH~agMdASshWcMg9MdzWm94BVhhX~OI2tj86rbUnSaLsvgcNzIIa-taBZhr5sOJ5y4Qr~hixU2SuTSA1B2R1KqMPqosgPYpgqO~AydMXwu9d5C0I4~0eu3E9MXIyJkUW39eWJ23uUL33vH9Ov1bVgD7Q-LQj3Et2VVm7SIkWxiwN~4wkHRF10ol4hCvIP8VSUKzRQ3yHQh9TGFBdOUm0ZENfpBuS9aAj~-1S6-YKh-Bv6Sth8yk-RQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-04-11T04:09:10.22Z","article","The Vermont School Boards Association told the Senate Education Committee on April 10 that changes made by Act 150 of 2024 require a technical fix to clarify who must adopt library procedures and that national library statements named in law should be date‑stamped.

The request matters because the law requires each school board and approved independent school to develop, adopt and enforce a library material selection policy and reconsideration procedures; the VSBA said the statute as written incorrectly assigns adoption of procedures to school boards rather than to the superintendent or the superintendent’s designee.

Sandra, Associate Executive Director of the Vermont School Boards Association, told the committee that “procedures are adopted and implemented by the superintendent or the designee, not by the board, but this law was written to require the board to adopt procedures.” She asked the committee for a “technical correction such that the requirement for procedures is applied to the superintendent and not to the school board.”

Sandra also asked legislators to “date stamp” the association statements the statute references — for example the American Library Association’s Freedom to Read statement — so the law is explicit about which version of those external statements is required. She said the ALA statement has gone through multiple iterations and “requiring a policy that includes these statements from associations may result in school district compliance requirements that are subject to shifts over time.”

Committee members asked whether the change would merely move work from boards to superintendents; Sandra replied that policy and procedure have different roles: “Policy is really the board’s work, keeping those lines of goals and responsibilities clear,” while procedures are operational and change more frequently and therefore are typically handled by the superintendent.

The VSBA told the committee it will provide draft technical language to implement the change and to indicate which edition of external statements the statute should reference. The organization also said boards are already working on adopting policies to comply with Act 150 but need clarity about who must adopt and update procedures.

Next steps: VSBA will send suggested language to the committee staff; lawmakers did not vote on any changes at the hearing.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Education 2025-04-10 1:30PM","oneSentenceSummary","The Vermont School Boards Association told the Senate Education Committee on April 10 that Act 150 of 2024 needs technical fixes so superintendents, not school boards, adopt library procedures and so external library statements cited in the law are date‑stamped.","taxTitle","Education, SENATE, Committees, Legislative , Vermont","taxId",37663,"location","Vermont","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6079156,"Health, education officials back adding intranasal epinephrine to school stock but caution against requiring school nurses as gatekeepers",1200,2806000,4006000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2956327-c14019aeaaf66a887ceef3de0e42c08e&start=2806&end=4006","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2956327-c14019aeaaf66a887ceef3de0e42c08e/thumbnail_2806000.jpg","/articles/6079156/Vermont/Health-education-officials-back-adding-intranasal-epinephrine-to-school-stock-but-caution-against-requiring-school-nurses-as-gatekeepers","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6079156-829c5bf3f6acd0914105bb6952d2cd7a/orig.mp4?Expires=1771150658&Signature=J~5iqh1feVI6hp0XcXS1Aq8Eou7rrd2HXtdb25tdaXaTjJKrGwgv3s~n1OTXLufEHjTO67RaOmCIlFLjwM-eOrea7lvPAVEg9scKj7stpuFjFPw0UFGuuwWb1PQ1tkIyxl0gdOi1a5dSqPUdEO8X2JSVkrAN~cIo6ge1EClVxmChL46rOdBA~wtjboFb7EvK4JEkt4MHyRjeyBlnUl4AL6A1t53NuQBf7xhmAn67YYSsS9xPBfE83q17kCn3ZVhWwBkaKkYxdcESSHwrnIpCg1U58clnqPT4F25RNQtQuBaxPNhQzTAcZzwglUjrp0JowjCFp0QRo6EIOegSjDGDDg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Department of Health and Agency of Education witnesses told the Senate Education Committee on April 10 they support proposed bill H.209’s expansion to allow intranasal epinephrine in school emergency stock but recommended narrower language on who may hold and administer stock so schools without full‑time nurses are not excluded.

Elisa Stahlberg, Director for Family and Child Health at the Vermont Department of Health, said the department and AOE “are absolutely in favor of this,” describing epinephrine as “a life‑saving medicine” and noting that some free stock donation programs are providing intranasal products.

Witnesses recommended defining epinephrine in the statute as a “single‑use epinephrine delivery system approved by the Food and Drug Administration” so future formulations are covered. They also recommended keeping the school administrator as the entity accountable to accept and manage a school’s stock prescription and ensuring that any person who administers the medication be properly trained and designated, rather than making the school nurse the statutory gatekeeper.

Caitlin Cozas, state school nurse consultant (Vermont Department of Health), and Jessica Chifane, policy director (Department of Health), told the committee that many districts do not have a full‑time nurse in every building and that adding nurse‑specific obligations could unintentionally create access barriers. The witnesses noted that state education quality standards set expectations for school nurse staffing (the testimony cited a standards provision of no more than 500 students per school nurse and pro rata requirements for smaller schools), but they warned that statutory language that presumes a full‑time nurse “may create barriers for schools who don't have a school nurse.”

The witnesses suggested removing school‑nurse‑specific language from H.209, retaining district administrators’ accountability to hold the prescription and ensuring qualified, trained staff may administer stock in an emergency. They also said they would continue to consult with the Vermont State School Nurse Association; the committee encouraged the agencies and the nurse association to try to reach common language and return with a joint proposal.

No committee vote was taken at the hearing; the agencies said they would meet further with the nurse association and return with agreed wording if possible.

","The Department of Health and Agency of Education told the Senate Education Committee they support expanding authorized epinephrine formulations in schools (including intranasal products) but recommended avoiding language that would make a school nurse the sole authorizing agent, citing nurse staffing shortages and equity concerns.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6079159,"Education officials ask lawmakers to stagger behavioral threat assessment rollout and delay detailed data reporting",1868,502000,2370000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2956327-c14019aeaaf66a887ceef3de0e42c08e&start=502&end=2370","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2956327-c14019aeaaf66a887ceef3de0e42c08e/thumbnail_502000.jpg","/articles/6079159/Vermont/Education-officials-ask-lawmakers-to-stagger-behavioral-threat-assessment-rollout-and-delay-detailed-data-reporting","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6079159-65eb942a225b444ec9d59843702664f2/orig.mp4?Expires=1771150658&Signature=TIDsP1uw9DNbIrsvmWP2LSu47otIAXBGUYJJf~a3PHecOUzE6qsDVRGnu9iewriiAqNUmdY~l5Dq~3WZeffz2nRjSYw89a8ZQd3189IgEiGcYmpDhAgTI4GHPeMx9E3ZZ7LFW2FP-xGEO4PKl3k1KKLJrgpF3zVT1dM9Fb8tenMlCyE3L7xRIZpBYvm9at1rd8GBcdF3P-zd-PtrXqSDi7Q1rpbfWyhEH6A2p7TDOLuCreNZxGpFzUjM2YhJHj2G706qqcbm3CcPt1Aqx0IrJZZ2tNgQyobYZepbcdujC7Ld8uufMRN1inldxbopN-mhnpsegaoa3aGigm4Im8nRqg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","State education and safety officials asked the Senate Education Committee on April 10 to stagger deadlines in law that require every public and approved independent school to form behavioral threat assessment (BTA) teams and to report detailed data on cases.

Courtney O'Brien, Interim Operations Director at the Vermont Agency of Education, described the BTA work as “a methodical and evidence‑based way of assessing threat, mitigate, and then on the other side of that to connect students, if there's a student involved in this situation, with needed supports.” She said the agency and its public safety partners now have national consultants and Vermont‑specific resources but that those technical materials were not available to districts until early 2025.

Act 29 of 2023 requires model policy and procedures for BTA teams; H480 draft 3.1 (April 7) includes statutory text the witnesses said could create ambiguity about whether school boards or districts must adopt policies and procedures. Witnesses requested (1) a technical clarification that boards adopt policy while superintendents/districts adopt procedures, (2) a phased implementation timeline to allow model procedures, training and local adoption, and (3) an extension of full demographic data reporting until July 1, 2027.

O'Brien told the committee the Agency of Education published a model policy on Feb. 11, 2025, but that model procedures and a Vermont‑specific best practices guide were not yet final. She said model procedures — the technical “how to” for completing assessments — were due this month and that national consultants were available to districts. The agency has launched a limited, basic data collection due June 30 to gather team membership, case counts and whether school resource officers were involved; the agency proposed moving the robust demographic data reporting to July 1, 2027, to allow consistent procedures and meaningful analysis.

Sunny Erickson of the Vermont School Safety Center (Department of Public Safety) and Brooke Olsen Farrell, superintendent of Sleep Valley (appearing online), confirmed that districts vary widely in BTA experience and capacity. Sandra of the Vermont School Boards Association emphasized that “procedures change as we need to respond to what's happening around us,” repeating the request to align the statutory assignment of policy versus procedure responsibilities.

On scheduling, the agency proposed an operational sequence: establish BTA teams by July 1 (with possible 1‑month flexibility to Aug. 1), publish model procedures by Sept. 1 and finalize model policy for board adoption by Oct. 1. The agency said this sequencing would allow districts to prepare over the summer and give school boards time to warn meetings and adopt policy in the autumn.

Committee members asked about interim accountability and whether basic incident counts should be reported now; the agency said a reduced dataset is being collected by June 30 and that the robust, demographically detailed reporting should be delayed until procedures are consistent across districts.

The agency and partners said they would provide draft statutory language to the committee to enact the requested technical clarifications and timeline adjustments; no formal legislative action occurred at the hearing.

","Agency of Education, Vermont School Safety Center and the Vermont School Boards Association urged a phased implementation for behavioral threat assessment teams required under Act 29 (2023) and H480 draft 3.1, saying model procedures and training were not available in time and requesting extended timelines and staged deadlines.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Vermont school association asks lawmakers to clarify who writes library procedures, and to date‑stamp national statements

Health, education officials back adding intranasal epinephrine to school stock but caution against requiring school nurses as gatekeepers

Education officials ask lawmakers to stagger behavioral threat assessment rollout and delay detailed data reporting