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Adult‑diploma students may be blocked from daytime CTE classes by agency guidance, providers tell committee
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Summary
Adult education providers told the House Commerce & Economic Development Committee that new Agency of Education guidance interprets enrollment rules to exclude adult‑diploma students from daytime regional CTE programs, an unintended change providers say is not driven by statute. The committee requested the guidance memo and will follow up with AOE.
Adult education providers told the Vermont House Committee on Commerce & Economic Development on April 16 that a recent Agency of Education (AOE) guidance memo has effectively barred adult‑diploma students from enrolling in daytime regional career and technical education (CTE) programs, even though providers say the underlying statute did not change.
"Under the adult diploma program, the agency of education new guidance has interpreted enrollment rules in a way that excludes these students from participating in CTE," Michelle Foust, executive director of Northeast Kingdom Learning Services, said during the hearing. She told the committee the providers previously relied on the high‑school completion program to place students in daytime CTE classes with tuition paid by the sending district; after the transition to an adult diploma framework, that pathway is being denied under the AOE interpretation.
Providers told lawmakers they have received citation to 16 V.S.A. §1522 in AOE materials but that legislative counsel confirmed there is nothing in statute preventing the prior access. Committee staff said they will circulate the specific AOE guidance memo and follow up with the Agency of Education and JFO to determine whether the problem stems from an interpretive guidance change or whether statutory language requires amendment.
"Nothing else changed in the law," Foust said. "We're still funded through the general fund and the education fund, but we're being told this is like double‑dipping now, and our students can't access the programs." She asked the committee to restore the prior access or otherwise clarify statute or guidance so adult diploma learners can again combine credentialing and hands‑on CTE training.
Committee members and staff noted the issue appears to be an interpretation in a policy guidance document rather than an express statutory change and asked Beth St. James (legislative staff) and AOE to clarify. The committee agreed to work with legislative counsel and the Agency of Education to identify a near‑term fix if the guidance is the source of the exclusion.
The hearing produced no vote; committee members said they will pursue the AOE memo and consider statutory clarification or an administrative correction depending on the agency’s response.
