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Agency of Education urges model policy, 2026-27 rollout for H.54 phone-free schools bill
Summary
Agency of Education testimony to the House Education Committee recommended a model policy developed with school boards, an implementation timeline beginning with the 2026-27 school year, a fiscal note, and narrowing or removing a social-media provision in H.54; committee members debated bell-to-bell bans, carve-outs and local flexibility.
The Agency of Education told the House Education Committee Thursday that it supports a statewide approach to the phone-free schools bill H.54 but recommended a measured rollout and clearer statutory language.
The agency recommended that the state, in consultation with the Vermont School Boards Association and other partners, draft a model policy districts can adapt and that implementation begin in the 2026-27 school year to allow time for local adoption, communication and any necessary facility or storage adjustments.
The recommendation is intended to set a statewide floor, not a ceiling, for local policies and to preserve carve-outs for academically sound uses such as dual enrollment, career and technical education and teacher-directed classroom activities. The agency also recommended including a fiscal note to assess any potential unfunded costs to districts.
Lisa Hale, assistant division director of student candidates at the Agency of Education, summarized the agency's field survey work for the committee. She said the data came from the 2023-24 school year…
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