Vermont State Youth Council urges changes to Act 73, expanded mental-health care and $140,000 state funding
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Summary
The Vermont State Youth Council presented a slate of recommendations to the Government Operations & Military Affairs committee, calling for reforms to Act 73, required life-skills courses and more specialist school staff; new inpatient eating-disorder capacity and excused mental-health days; equity curricula; local voting options for 16–17-year-olds; climate and housing proposals; and a $140,000 state appropriation request.
A delegation from the Vermont State Youth Council told the Government Operations & Military Affairs committee on Feb. 11 that the council wants lawmakers to adopt a broad set of youth-focused reforms, from changes to education law to new mental-health services and a request for dedicated state funding.
"This law should not continue to be implemented in its current state without having reforms and edits made to it," said Ezra Tan, 14, a member of the council's education committee, urging revisions to Act 73 and raising concerns that school consolidation drives teacher layoffs and longer bus rides that can run "two hours," which he called "too long." Tan also recommended required financial-literacy and life-skills courses and wider access to alternative learning pathways such as tech centers.
Claire Zantstra, chair of the council's Youth Mental Health Committee, asked lawmakers to "establish at least 1 inpatient eating disorder facility within the state" for patients ages 11–17 or, if immediate construction is infeasible, to expand Burlington's outpatient center to serve younger people. Zantstra also recommended excused mental-health days for students — proposing three per semester for most students and five per semester for students with a clinical diagnosis — and cited survey figures presented in testimony that 74 percent of parents favor mental-health days.
On equity, Haley Hem, chair of the council's equity and anti-racism committee, urged the Secretary of Education to work with the state's ethics and social-equity advisory group to develop a model curriculum to teach about hate speech and hateful imagery, a model racial-equity policy for school boards, and clear incident-response procedures that pair restorative and disciplinary measures. She also recommended alternative, nonverbal reporting methods for students who experience or witness discrimination.
Elizabeth Bailey, 18, representing the Youth Voice Committee, asked the General Assembly to pass a resolution allowing municipalities to extend voting rights to 16- and 17-year-olds in local elections and town meetings. She also urged lawmakers to adopt S-8 as introduced to expand coverage under the state's child-health program to residents up to age 26 at 312 percent of the federal poverty level, and to keep the "raise the age" implementation date of July 1, 2027, as set in act 4.
Finn Sturm, representing the climate committee, recommended tax incentives and local supports to expand community composting, a statewide map of compost drop-off locations, and expanded youth stewardship programs to build local resilience against climate impacts.
The council also made fiscal and housing recommendations. Harmony Valdibo requested that the council's federal funding be replaced with a state appropriation of $140,000 for fiscal year 2027, including $47,000 earmarked for youth stipends, venue costs and mileage reimbursement. Valdibo proposed creating a state affordable-housing fund supported either by a new 5 percent inheritance tax on estates over $250,000 or by redirecting existing estate-tax revenue; she also urged free K–12 school meals with set local-food purchasing goals and stronger civic education about town meeting day.
Aden Otterman, the council chair, closed by listing bills the council endorsed, including measures related to seclusion and restraint, prohibiting solitary confinement for children, rules on admittance of federal immigration authorities into schools, and H.640, an act to add voting student members to district school boards.
Representative Pango asked the council to provide a written budget memo breaking down the $140,000 request; the committee asked that the memo be emailed to its assistant, Nick, for distribution. The council said it will also present its recommendations to the Senate Government Operations committee later in the day.
The committee thanked the youth council for its presentation and recessed to continue other business at 1:45 p.m.
