Commission on the Future of Public Education tells House committee H.454 timeline, scope risk limiting public input

Megan Roy, chair of the Commission on the Future of Public Education and a teacher in the school leadership program at Saint Michael's College, told the Vermont House Education Committee in May 2025 that the commission is tracking changes to H.454 and is concerned the senate version’s scope and schedule could curtail public engagement and leave key cost drivers unaddressed.

"Vermont has a shared responsibility for the education of our youth," Roy said, summarizing the commission’s December findings and the framework it is using to evaluate proposals on governance, quality and funding through an equity lens.

The commission reported that both the House-passed H.454 and the then-current senate version align with two of the commission’s policy areas—redistricting (governance) and the foundation formula (funding)—but commission members raised several concerns. Members told the commission that the senate draft, as reviewed in the May meeting, removed provisions aimed at the education delivery system, such as class-size and school-size guidelines that had appeared in the House…