House Education Committee debates class-size minimums, no vote taken

Members of the Vermont House Education Committee spent much of their March 20 meeting debating proposed class-size minimums tied to district reorganizations and the state’s foundation funding work, but the committee took no formal vote.

Committee members and staff discussed multiple proposals for minimum class sizes, repeatedly returning to a set of numbers advanced in testimony from the Vermont School Boards Association (VSA) and the Agency of Education (AOE). The options discussed included kindergarten at about 12 students; grades 1–5 at about 15; and secondary grades in a range from about 18 to 25 depending on the speaker. Lawmakers also discussed alternative breakdowns — for example, 1–5 at 15, middle grades at 18–20, and high school at 20–25 — and several members urged tiered or phased implementation tied to the creation of new districts and the…