Committee hears plan to redraw Vermont school districts, set class-size minimums and eligibility rules in H.454

Rep. Peter Conlon, chair of the House Education Committee, briefed the House Ways & Means Committee on draft 8.1 of a strike‑all amendment to H.454, saying the proposal would create larger school districts, set classroom‑level class‑size minimums, and change which independent schools are eligible to receive public tuition.

Conlon said the amendment largely tracks language the Agency of Education provided to implement the governor's education transformation goals, but his committee adjusted timelines and details. "H 454 came to us as essentially the language from the agency of education that reflected the governor's education transformation plan," Conlon said. He described the committee's intent that new district boundaries be enacted in 2026, that the first board elections in the new districts be held in November 2028, and that the new districts assume responsibility for resident students on July 1, 2029.

The plan would charge a five‑member, nonvoting district‑boundary subcommittee — made up of retired or former Vermont superintendents, school business managers or school board members — to return no more than three proposed district maps. "We have set that up with a team of retired superintendents, business manager, school board members ... a group of 5," Conlon said. Appointing authorities must coordinate to try to ensure the five represent different geographic regions; appointments must be made on or before July 15, 2025.

Why it matters: The bill proposes governance and structural changes that would reshape district lines, local school governance and…