Appropriations Committee advances H.931 with narrow moratorium carve‑out for therapeutic schools

The House Appropriations Committee voted to advance H.931, a miscellaneous education bill that creates a narrow exception to a 2023 moratorium on approvals for initial independent‑school applications, delays certain class‑size enforcement, and directs the Agency of Education to pay specified background‑check fees.

Beth St. James of the Office of Legislative Council told the committee the bill’s Section 1 exempts "therapeutic approved independent schools" that change ownership from the moratorium so they may submit an initial application for review; she emphasized this "gets you in the door" but "doesn't guarantee that it would be approved." Under the statutory definition cited in the bill (16 V.S.A. §828(d)), such schools limit publicly funded enrollment to students on an IEP or 504 plan, enrolled under a written agreement with a local education agency, or placed by court order.

Committee staff clarified the exception affects only the state approval process and "does nothing to affect the private transaction at all," meaning the sale between private parties is unchanged; the state requirement applies only if the state board requires a new initial application after a change of ownership. The committee also heard that the exception requires the school to intend to remain a therapeutic approved independent school after the sale and that applicants must still meet statutory and rule requirements for approval.

H.931’s Section 13 addresses recently enacted class‑size minimums in Act 73. Staff explained the rules that will define compliance are not yet adopted; the bill therefore states that a school's failure to meet the class‑size minimums will not count toward the three consecutive‑school‑year noncompliance trigger for penalties until rules are adopted or July 1, 2027, whichever comes first.

Section 14 would require the Agency of Education to request criminal‑record information for applicants the secretary intends to hire who may have unsupervised contact with students and to obtain related information from the Vermont Crime Information Center (VCIC). A Ways and Means amendment removed language requiring applicants to pay for checks and instead makes the agency responsible for the fingerprinting fee set in statute (up to $35) and any FBI fee for a fingerprint‑supported check.

Ezra Holden of the Joint Fiscal Office summarized the fiscal impacts: compact dues already appear in the AOE FY2027 budget at about $53,000 per year if Vermont re‑joins the interstate compact for education; the agency’s background‑check cost is estimated at about $47 per applicant (roughly the $35 fingerprint fee plus about $12 FBI fee). The agency estimates roughly 34 applicants would need the check annually, producing an estimated FY2027 cost of about $1,600, which staff said the agency can absorb in its budget.

After brief procedural questions and clarifications — including confirmation that multiple sections related to cooperative educational service areas were removed from H.931 and will travel in a separate education bill — a member moved to approve the bill as introduced and amended by House Ways and Means. The motion was seconded and the clerk called the roll; members present recorded affirmative votes and the committee advanced H.931 out of Appropriations.

The committee paused for a 10‑minute break and will take additional bills when it reconvenes.