Vermont Youth Council tells committee to expand school choice, preschool hours, mental‑health days and climate protections

The Vermont State Youth Council presented a broad set of recommendations to the House Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee on April 24, urging lawmakers to expand school choice pilot programs, increase state‑funded preschool hours and school specialist staffing, create excused mental‑health days for students, and take a series of climate and housing steps they said would benefit young Vermonters.

The council — formed in 2022 and composed of 26 youth who work in five policy committees (youth voice, education, equity and anti‑racism, climate change and youth mental health) — delivered recommendations across education, mental health, climate policy and civic engagement and outlined changes to its own schedule to better align with the legislative biennium.

Why it matters: Council members said their proposals are intended to give young Vermonters a formal voice in policy-making and to address gaps in education and mental‑health services that they say affect peers across the state. The council also urged the General Assembly to act on several pending bills and policy items the youth view as priorities.

Education and workforce recommendations came from the council’s education committee. The group urged a pilot expansion of school choice to allow transfers between public and private schools that accept public funding,…