House concurs in Senate changes to H.480; bill adds phone‑ and social‑media‑free school model policy and other education amendments

The Vermont House on Monday concurred in the Senate’s amendments to H.480, a miscellaneous education bill, and ordered that measure to the governor.

The bill makes a range of statutory changes and additions affecting school safety, student supports and operations. Among the most visible provisions, the Senate added a new subchapter requiring the Agency of Education to develop a model policy for “bell‑to‑bell” cell‑phone restrictions and restricting how schools may use social media to communicate directly with students. The House accepted the Senate changes and sent the bill on to the governor.

Representative from Williston, who reported the Senate’s proposal of amendment, summarized the bill’s main elements: a one‑year delay in some behavioral threat assessment implementation deadlines originally set by last year’s school safety act (Act 29); new requirements that schools maintain cardiac response and athletic emergency plans in templates maintained by the Vermont School Safety Center; the expansion of the Vermont National Guard Tuition Benefit Program under existing appropriations; an energy performance contracting change allowing contracts up to 20 years without voter approval; clarifications on library material selection procedures; and the social‑media and phone provisions added by the Senate.

On the phone and social‑media provisions, floor remarks and committee testimony emphasized balance between protecting students and practical implementation. The conference timeline requires the Agency of Education, in consultation with the Vermont School Boards Association, the Vermont Independent Schools Association and representatives of phone‑free advocacy groups, to develop a model policy by January 1, 2026. School boards must adopt policies at least as stringent as the model by July 1, 2026, so the rules would be effective for the 2026–27 school year. The model policy is required to permit limited exceptions: use where necessary for a student’s individual health plan, an IEP or Section 504 plan, administrator‑approved short academic or co‑curricular uses, or where required under the McKinney‑Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

The bill also prohibits schools and supervisory unions from using social media to communicate directly with students unless the district approves an archival, non‑editable platform that preserves records of all communications; it also prohibits districts from requiring students to use social media for out‑of‑school assignments or extracurricular activities.

Representative from Williston, a longtime teacher, told the House he reluctantly supports a statewide model policy after years of classroom experience and testimony, saying uncontrolled social media and unregulated screens constitute “a massive uncontrolled experiment on our kids.” He cited testimony from Vermont schools that already adopted bell‑to‑bell policies and reported reductions in bullying and improved school culture.

A proposed floor amendment to remove references to “personal electronic devices” (beyond cell phones) was filed and then withdrawn by its sponsors after discussion on implementation burdens for teachers and administrators. The sponsors said including every wearable or non‑phone device risked imposing enforcement duties on staff that would harm implementation.

Other notable changes included:

- A one‑year extension for identifying members of behavioral threat assessment teams and a later completion deadline for all implementation steps; the Agency of Education asked for the change. (Senate amendment to Act 29.)

- Cardiac response planning and athletic emergency action plans required to be included in school emergency plan templates, developed in consultation with the American Heart Association Vermont chapter. Public and independent schools with athletic programs must have cardiac response plans in place for the 2026–27 school year.

- Energy performance contracts for school districts may run up to 20 years without voter approval (current law requires voter approval at 10+ years).

The House voted by voice to concur in the Senate amendments; leadership then moved and the chamber ordered H.480 delivered to the governor forthwith.

What happens next: the Agency of Education must complete the model policy and convene specified stakeholders for the work; school boards are responsible for adopting and enforcing local policies at least as stringent as the state model. The bill places implementation burdens on local districts — particularly for policy development, communications archiving and exception handling — and the House record shows legislators and witnesses discussed those demands during committee hearings and floor debate.