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House committee debates waiver process, timelines for approved independent schools receiving public tuition
Summary
Committee members discussed language in an amendment that would require approved independent schools receiving public tuition to meet class-size minimums and to have a waiver and compliance timeline comparable to public schools.
The Vermont House Committee on Education reviewed proposed language that would require approved independent schools receiving public tuition to meet class-size minimum standards and to have a formal waiver and compliance-review process that parallels public schools.
Committee counsel described how the proposal appears in the draft amendment and explained differences in existing oversight. "For public schools, the Secretary has to determine every year if public schools are meeting educational quality standards," Ken James said. He told the committee that approved independent schools are typically subject to a five-year renewal process, which can delay detection of compliance issues compared with annual review of public schools.
The draft amendment (section 10) asks the State Board of Education to update the 2,200-series rules to incorporate class-size minimums and to create a waiver process for independent schools that cannot meet those minimums because of geographic isolation or because the school has an implementation plan. Several committee members said the existing parallel systems for public and approved independent schools create equity concerns when public dollars are used to pay tuition.
Members discussed specific fixes. One suggestion — offered as compromise language during the meeting — would require that any process the State Board adopts "provide a substantially equal amount of time for an approved independent school to come into compliance as it provides for public schools." Counsel noted that the committee can add intent or rulemaking direction to make timelines more comparable, but that operational systems for public and approved independent schools differ and some provisions (for example, revocation or suspension procedures) are set in separate state board rules.
The committee did not adopt final language at the March 27 meeting and asked staff to draft a revision that would make the independent-school compliance timeline substantially similar to the public-school timeline for committee review.
