February 3 - Issue #3
The Senate Appropriations Committee inserted language into a state budget adjustment bill (H.65) that would require the Commissioner of Education to “develop a plan by April 1, 2011 to assist Vermont schools to achieve at least $23.2 million in reduced local education spending systemwide by fiscal year 2013...” The Commissioner would be directed to work with the VSBA, the VSA, and the NEA in developing the plan (VPA has requested to be included as well). Here is additional detail from the relevant language:
The plan would identify the technical assistance, facilitation, and adoption
of best practices needed by schools to assist them in reaching this goal... The plan would also include the ways
incentives and awards for innovation could be used to promote the goal of
obtaining the educational outcomes for students in a more cost effective
way.
H.65 passed the House without this language on January 25. The Senate is scheduled to vote on its version of H.65 on February 2. If and when the Senate approves the bill, the discrepancies between the House and Senate language would be resolved in a conference committee. The conference committee language-agreement would then be put to a final vote in both chambers.
The language is intended to assure that the state has in place adequate supports for local boards and administrators to improve educational delivery in a time of decreasing enrollment and in reducing overall expenditures by $23 million.
As Vermont continues to focus on restricting expenditures, our Associations remain vigilant regarding new bills that would generate upward cost pressure. We believe it is essential to undertake an analysis of the costs and benefits of any new concepts or draft bills and weigh the expected outcomes against the ongoing fiscal pressures facing schools. Future reports will include an analysis of the cost implications of education related education under consideration by the General Assembly.
With so many moving parts between now and FY2013, including education spending, General Fund support for education, and housing values, it is difficult to draw any firm conclusions. Nevertheless, school officials should expect that education tax rates in FY2013 will be higher than the rates in FY2012.
The latest Education Fund forecast projections were presented to the House Appropriations Committee on January 25. The forecast showed that for FY2012, if the homestead tax rate was set at 87 cents, and the nonresidential rate was set at $1.36, and if the Base Education Amount remained frozen at $8,544, the Education Fund would remain solvent, assuming the latest projections for school spending in FY2012 are accurate. These assumptions regarding spending and tax rates are the same as what was recommended by Department of Education Chief Financial Officer Bill Talbott in a December letter to school officials.
The forecast projections released last week extend into FY2013. The Legislature’s Joint Fiscal Office, which produced the forecast, assumed that education spending would again not increase and that school districts would reserve half of their appropriation from the federal education jobs money for tax relief in FY2013. Because the grand lists are expected to decrease 2.6 percent for that fiscal year, tax rates would have to increase approximately two cents for the Education Fund to remain solvent. Housing values are expected to decline, so a higher tax rate would not necessarily mean increased tax bills for property owners.
Gov. Shumlin’s administration also warned of potentially higher property tax rates in just-released budget planning documents. Here is the language:
Vermont’s problems do not end in FY 2012. Increasing support from the [General
Fund] will be difficult because revenues are growing slowly. The statewide
education grand lists are projected to decline further for FY 2013. This means
that in order to raise the same amount of money, education property tax rates
will need to increase, unless districts find more savings. The Governor is anxious to work with educators
and legislators to develop more incentives for innovation and efficiencies.
Prekindergarten
On January 25, Gov. Shumlin announced his proposal for an FY2012 state budget before a joint session of the Legislature. In the speech, the Governor announced his support for lifting the cap on the number of prekindergarten children a school district can count in its average daily membership (ADM):
There is a direct link between our non-violent offenders and early
childhood education. Most primary school teachers can identify which of their
students will run into problems later in life. The evidence is irrefutable: the
years up to age five are a critical time for brain development. It should come
as no surprise that one dollar spent on early education saves seven to sixteen
dollars later in life. To give all of our children a bright future and bring
long-term fiscal discipline to corrections, special education and human
services spending, we must take bold preventative action.
Today I am calling for expansion of the state’s pre-kindergarten
program for ages three, four, and five, by lifting the
cap on the number of students counted in Pre-K funding.
Capital Construction
On Friday, the House Education Committee unanimously passed a bill (H.46) that would require all coaches of public school- and approved independent school-sponsored K-12 athletic teams to receive training on identifying the symptoms of concussions and the health risks associated with sustaining concussions. The bill would also require medical professionals to evaluate student athletes exhibiting concussion symptoms prior to the student returning to school-sponsored sports team activities. The VPA testified in support of the bill as passed by the Committee.
The bill would require coaches to receive concussion training no less frequently than every two years. The Commissioner of Education would be required to develop the training materials and other guidelines in consultation with the VPA and the VSBA. Editor’s Note: The VPA recently amended its policy to require all its member schools to ensure that coaches received concussion training via an instructional video available online. We expect that the initial training mandated by H.46 would be substantially similar to the VPA resource materials.
Schools would also be required to make information available regarding risks and symptoms of concussions to student athletes and their parents. Those athletes and parents would be annually required to provide their school with written acknowledgement that they had received the materials.
If a coach has reason to believe that a student athlete has sustained a concussion, the student would not be permitted to resume team activities (games or practices) until he or she was examined and permitted to participate by a licensed health care provider trained in concussion evaluation and management. The bill includes language intended to protect coaches and health care providers from liability in the event of an unintentional misdiagnosis of concussion.
We expect the bill may be reviewed by the House Judiciary Committee to examine liability issues before it is taken up for a vote by the full House.
One of Governor Shumlin’s stated priorities is to increase transparency in government. Rep. Donna Sweaney, chair of the House Government Operations Committee, introduced H.73, a bill that amends Vermont’s public meetings and public records statutes. The bill would require that government entities withholding records be charged with proving why a particular record is not public. H.73 also extends the minimum amount of time from 30 minutes to two hours that public officials must incur responding to requests for public records before charging the requester a service fee. The bill would establish a public records review committee that would include “one representative of school or educational interests appointed by the governor.” Finally, the bill would create a government transparency office that would be charged with enforcing open records statutes across Vermont.
The Senate Government Operations Committee is also examining the open meeting law, especially the guidelines for public bodies entering executive session.
At this time, H.73 has not yet received a formal hearing in the House. More information will be forthcoming as testimony begins on these bills.
The Senate adopted a joint resolution that urges the U.S. Congress to suspend the punitive sanctions of the No Child Left Behind Act until the law is reauthorized. The resolution is nearly identical to a resolution passed by the VSBA at its annual meeting last October. The VSBA adopted its resolution at the request of the Brattleboro Town school board; the Brattleboro board had urged other interested parties to join in its message. All of the resolutions were forwarded to Vermont’s Congressional delegation.
The following education-related bills have been introduced by one or more members of the Legislature from January 18 – January 31. To read any bill’s full text or see its status in the legislative process, go to http://www.leg.state.vt.us/database/status/status.cfm.
Introduced by Representative Till and 63 other Representatives
Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to ensure that a youth athlete suffering or suspected to be suffering from a concussion or other head injury does not participate in school athletic activities until the student has received an examination by and written permission to participate from a licensed health care provider trained in the evaluation and management of concussions and other head injuries.
H.71 AN ACT RELATING TO COUNSELING FOR STUDENTS
POSSESSING WEAPONS ON SCHOOL PROPERTY
Introduced by Representative Marcotte and 14 other Representatives
Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to permit school districts to require a student who has violated a school policy regarding the possession of a deadly weapon on school premises to receive counseling or to attend appropriate community-based programs.
H.72 AN ACT RELATING TO THE REPEAL OF SMALL SCHOOL FUNDING
Introduced by Representatives Wilson of Manchester and Waite-Simpson of Essex
Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to repeal funding support for small schools.
H.73 AN ACT RELATING TO ESTABLISHING A GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY OFFICE TO
ENFORCE THE PUBLIC RECORDS ACT
Introduced by Representative Sweaney of Windsor
Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to establish a government transparency office to administer the requirements of the public records act. The bill would also amend procedural and fee requirements under the public records act.
H.87 AN ACT RELATING TO CAPPING INCOME SENSITIVITY ADJUSTMENTS, ALTERING
THE WAY HOUSEHOLD INCOME IS DEFINED, REMOVING THE ADJUSTMENT FOR PROPERTIES
VALUED AT OVER $500,000.00, AND REINSTATING THE ADJUSTMENT OF $10.00 PER ACRE
FOR UP TO FIVE ACRES
Introduced by Representative Wilson of Manchester
Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to set a cap for the size of an income sensitivity adjustment at $5,000, to repeal the double counting of income and dividend income over $10,000 for the purposes of calculating household income, to repeal the adjustment for property valued over $500,000, and to reinstate the adjustment for $10.00 per acre of up to five acres.
H.97 AN ACT RELATING TO EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS
Introduced by Representative Larson and 55 other representatives
Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to improve the quality of child care and early learning programs for Vermont’s children and families by establishing a new model of collaboration between the state and child care providers that recognizes the critical importance of early childhood educators in the delivery of high-quality early childhood education.
H.110 AN ACT RELATING TO A STATEWIDE EDUCATION PROPERTY TAX
Introduced by
Representative Stevens of Waterbury
Statement of
purpose: This bill proposes to give the department of taxes administrative responsibility
for the statewide education property tax.
H.118 AN ACT RELATING TO MUNICIPAL ESTABLISHMENT OF SPEED LIMITS WITHIN
1,000 FEET OF SCHOOLS
Introduced by
Representatives Masland of Thetford and Cheney of
Norwich
Statement of purpose:
This bill proposes to:
(1)
provide that speed limits of 25 to 35 miles
per hour established by the legislative body of a municipality on portions of a
town or state highway within 1,000 feet of a kindergarten, elementary school,
or secondary school shall not be subject to review by the traffic committee;
(2)
provide that towns and villages may establish
speed limits on portions of state highways within 1,000 feet of a kindergarten,
elementary school, or secondary school based on a traffic and engineering
study; and
(3)
add definitions of
“municipality” and “legislative body” to Title 23.
H.126 AN ACT RELATING TO REQUIRING POSTSECONDARY CREDITS IN
AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY AS A CONDITION OF TEACHER LICENSING
Introduced
by Representatives Pugh of South Burlington, Munger
of South Burlington, Ram of Burlington and Wizowaty of Burlington
Statement of
purpose: This bill proposes to require each applicant seeking to obtain or
renew a license to teach in a public elementary or secondary school in Vermont
to have completed at least one three-credit course in African-American history
at an accredited college or university, covering the period from the European
colonization of North America through the end of the 20th century.
H.133 AN ACT RELATING TO CHANGING THE STRUCTURE OF EDUCATION GOVERNANCE
AND FUNDING
Introduced by Representatives Scheuermann
of Stowe, Donaghy of Poultney, Donahue of Northfield,
Eckhardt of Chittenden, Komline
of Dorset, Lewis of Berlin, Myers of Essex and Strong of Albany
Statement of
purpose: This bill proposes to make changes to the structure of education
governance and finance while ensuring substantial equality of educational
opportunity for all students throughout Vermont.
1.
The bill would eliminate existing supervisory
unions and replace them with 15 education districts (“EDs”). The boundaries of
the new EDs would be roughly the same as the current regional technical center
districts. If the voters of a current school district approved, the current
school district could seek permission from the commissioner of education to
join a different ED.
2.
The bill would replace local school district
boards with advisory councils, which would focus on academic policy and
educational quality.
3.
Each ED would assume the powers,
responsibilities, assets, and liabilities of the current school districts and
supervisory unions within its boundaries…
4.
The bill would provide students the option to
attend any elementary or secondary school operated by the ED or to have tuition
paid by the ED to any public or approved independent school located within or
outside the ED. Each ED would work with its advisory councils to develop
procedures to ensure that no school operated by the ED exceeds its capacity.
5.
Differences among schools would be respected.
In order to facilitate school choice, however, each ED would work with its
advisory councils toward the goal of adopting common standards, requirements,
curriculum, and scheduling to the extent possible.
6.
… The ED would develop a proposal for a more
efficient way to deliver [special education] services and allocate resources
within the ED pursuant to guidelines to be developed by the state board of
education…
7.
The department would create, maintain, and
make available to the public current data from the EDs…
8.
The department would develop and publicize
guidelines related to [best practices]…
9.
The bill would eliminate the statewide
education property tax system. Each ED would develop an ED-wide budget and
would be empowered to assess a property tax within the ED to fund the budget… Nonproperty tax
funds would continue to be paid into the statewide education fund and would be
used for categorical aid to the EDs and to ensure substantial equality of
educational opportunity for all students throughout Vermont.
10.
The bill would eliminate the common level of
appraisal and replace it with a rolling reappraisal conducted within each ED.
Editor’s Note: The statement of purpose for
H.133 was excerpted.
H.134 AN ACT RELATING TO GRANTING POSTSECONDARY CREDIT FOR SUCCESSFUL
COMPLETION OF DUAL ENROLLMENT COURSES, ADVANCED PLACEMENT COURSES, AND
POSTSECONDARY COURSES COMPLETED THROUGH AN ONLINE OR CORRESPONDENCE COURSE
OFFERED BY AN ACCREDITED POSTSECONDARY INSTITUTION
Introduced by
Representative Gilbert and 38 other representatives
Statement of
purpose: This bill proposes to require that Vermont postsecondary institutions
receiving appropriations from the state adopt policies granting postsecondary
academic credit to all enrolled students who have successfully completed: a
course through a dual enrollment program; an advanced placement course at a
Vermont secondary school and received a score of 3, 4, or 5 on the examination;
or an online or correspondence course through an accredited college or university.
Postsecondary institutions, however, shall have flexibility in awarding credit
if the course is a required course in the student’s declared major field of
concentration. This bill also allows postsecondary institutions to grant academic
credit for relevant life experience.
H.148 AN ACT RELATING TO PROMOTING INNOVATION IN
EDUCATION THROUGH A STATEWIDE TEACHERS’ CONTRACT AND STATEWIDE TEACHERS
ASSESSMENT SYSTEM
Introduced by
Representative Klein of East Montpelier
Statement of purpose:
This bill proposes to:
(1)
institute a mandatory statewide assessment
system for elementary and secondary teachers that is designed to acknowledge
the competing demands upon the limited time of administrators who conduct the
assessments and that:
a.
accurately evaluates critical professional
skills and provides meaningful assistance to teachers; and
b.
is relied upon to make decisions regarding
reductions in force and dismissal;
(2)
require that collective bargaining for
elementary and secondary teachers be between representatives of the teachers
and the state for a statewide contract, which shall provide that:
a.
reductions in force and dismissal will be
determined by the mandatory statewide assessment system and not by seniority;
and
b.
contractual hours and days
of employment promote maximum flexibility and opportunities for innovation.
H.152 AN ACT RELATING TO HIRING AND FIRING AUTHORITY OF SCHOOL BOARDS
Introduced by Representatives Lawrence of Lyndon,
Conquest of Newbury, Crawford of Burke, Higley of
Lowell, Howrigan of Fairfield, Marcotte
of Coventry, McAllister of Highgate, McNeil of Rutland
Town, Partridge of Windham and Smith of New Haven
Statement of
purpose: This bill proposes to amend 16 V.S.A. § 242 to return to the school
board full hiring and firing authority of licensed and nonlicensed employees.
S.22 AN ACT RELATING TO SCHOOL CHOICE FOR STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN SUBJECT
TO HARASSMENT
Introduced by Senator Mullin
Statement of
purpose: This bill proposes to authorize school choice for students who have
been subject to harassment.
S.29 AN ACT RELATING TO EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS.
Introduced by Senators Snelling, Ashe, Cummings, Fox, Lyons, MacDonald, McCormack, Miller, Pollina, Sears and White
Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to improve the quality of child care and early learning programs for Vermont’s children and families by establishing a new model of collaboration between the state and child care providers that recognizes the critical importance of early childhood educators in the delivery of high-quality early childhood education.
END