House advances broad education bill, including Holocaust-education reporting and virtual-learning updates

The Vermont House reported favorably and proposed amendments to S.167, a miscellaneous education bill that makes a range of technical and substantive changes across education law.Member from Cornwall outlined the strike-all bill section by section. Key provisions include raising the prequalification threshold for school-construction bids from $500,000 to $2,000,000 to reflect inflation and reduce bidder burdens; allowing food-service-account purchases to follow USDA rules; updating the list of chartered colleges; and delaying the deadline for completing all-hazards emergency operations plans by one year.The bill adds a requirement that the Agency of Education collect supervisory-union-level information on how Holocaust education is included in pre-K–12 curriculum and submit a statewide report to education committees by Jan. 1, 2026, with supervisory-union responses due Sept. 1, 2025. The measure also clarifies virtual-learning oversight, ensures students enrolled in virtual learning are included in average daily membership counts, and returns limited investigative authority to the Agency of Education in cases where home-study students may not be receiving an education.Committee witnesses included legislative counsel, AOE directors and staff, the Vermont Superintendents Association, the Vermont Holocaust Memorial leadership and survivors/advocates, and other stakeholders. Committees on ways and means and appropriations reported favorably and the House proposed to the Senate to amend the bill; third reading was ordered.