House Education reviews H.130 to expand advisory council on harassment, hazing and bullying

The Vermont House Education Committee reviewed H.130 on April 22, 2025, a bill that would expand the membership and duties of the state advisory council on harassment, hazing and bullying prevention in schools and set new meeting and reporting requirements. The committee heard a walkthrough of the bill from legislative counsel but did not take a formal vote in the portion of the transcript provided.

The bill, as described by Beth, legislative counsel for the Office of Legislative Council, would amend Title 16, section 570, replacing the current membership list and adding multiple named appointments from statewide organizations and advocacy groups. "So H130, as introduced, is amending that section, section 5 70," Beth said during the presentation. Under the proposal the secretary of education (or a designee) would chair the council and organizations including the principals association, school boards association, superintendents association, NEA, the Human Rights Commission, Outright Vermont, the Vermont Coalition for Disability Rights, the Education Justice Coalition of Vermont, the Vermont Student Anti-Racism Network, the Commission on Women, the Office of Racial Equity, the State Athletic Directors Association, the National Association of Social Workers and the Vermont Family Network would each appoint members or representatives.

The bill would require the advisory council to meet at least four times and not more than 12 times per year, review model harassment/hazing/bullying policies every two years, generate and distribute resources to school professionals (including guidance on restorative practices and differentiated responses for students with disabilities), annually solicit input from students, parents and schools, and file an annual report to the Legislature. Beth said the changes would take effect on July 1, 2025, if the bill is passed.

Committee members pressed for clarifications about scope, costs and composition. One House Education committee member asked, "Has anybody done the math?" and, after a brief calculation, observed that the proposed membership totals 18. Another member noted concerns about panel size and nimbleness: "I am concerned about 18 members ... I would wanna work with others to make the decision on how to lower the number because everyone on there would be a valuable member, I think. For sure. But I just think having a panel of that size isn't going to help, necessarily, to be nimble."

Members also discussed the bill's reimbursement language. In the transcript a committee member said, "I said 12 times. Oh, it's $900 every time they meet," when discussing meeting reimbursements; the committee did not settle on a final cost estimate in the transcript segment provided. Members asked why Outright Vermont would receive two appointed seats while other organizations would receive one, and said some named groups — for example, the Education Justice Coalition of Vermont — were new to several committee members.

Several speakers urged that statutory language be made more specific. A committee member said the bill's directive to "generate and distribute resources" should be clarified to specify what resources and by whom they would be produced and distributed. Beth indicated she could trace the council's statutory history in Title 16 (added in 2011/2012 and amended in 2013) and noted she would follow up for additional background if requested.

The committee's next step, according to the transcript, was to hear from the current chair of the advisory council later in the session; committee members expected the chair to report whether the council has met or issued reports in recent years. The transcript does not record further action on H.130 in the provided segments.