House Education committee reviews independent school approval, oversight and monitoring gaps for therapeutic programs

BURLINGTON, Vt. — The Vermont House Committee on Education on April 17 heard a briefing from State Board of Education Chair Jennifer Deck Samuelson and Vice Chair Tammy Colby on how the state approves and oversees independent schools, including therapeutic schools that serve students with individualized education programs.

The presentation outlined the multi-step approval and reapproval process under State Board rules, the agency’s new annual compliance-assurance form and the complaint-and-investigation pathway. Committee members pressed board leaders about a COVID-era backlog in reviews, what “promptly” means for enforcement, and whether therapeutic schools receive the same program monitoring as public school special-education programs.

The meeting matters because recent media reports about several independent and therapeutic schools prompted lawmakers to seek clarity on what state rules require and how the Agency of Education and the State Board share responsibility. Committee members said the topic is important for students placed in nonpublic settings and for districts that pay public tuition for those placements.

Board chair Jennifer Deck Samuelson described the procedural flow for approval and reapproval, saying the Agency of Education (AOE) creates an application form and reviews documentation before forwarding recommendations to a three-member Independent School Approvals Committee, which in turn makes a recommendation to the full State Board of Education. “The committee then has a standing meeting…