Act No. 156 (S.113). Education; abuse reporting; independent schools; merger; union school districts; supervisory unions; excess spending

An act relating to prevention, identification, and reporting of child abuse and neglect at independent schools

This act provides varying levels of reimbursement and incentive grants to encourage school districts and supervisory unions to work together, either contractually or by merging governance structures. Some of the grants replace similar or identical provisions created in other years so that all similar funding mechanisms are located in one bill and share a common sunset date of July 1, 2017 (Secs. 2-6, 9-11, and 13). It provides both a facilitation grant (per Sec. 6) and a one-time tax-relief grant to the merging
Rutland-Windsor and Windsor South West Supervisory Unions (Sec. 7). The act allows new joint contract schools to receive transition facilitation grants in certain, narrow circumstances (Sec. 12) and authorizes new interstate districts to receive the same financial incentives available to Regional Education Districts ("REDs") under No. 153 of the Acts of the 2009 Adj. Sess. (2010) if the Vermont members of the new interstate district meet one of the alternative size criteria for RED formation (Sec. 14). The act also permits three variations of the RED structure to receive incentives available to a RED (Secs. 15-17). The act appropriates $650,000.00 from the education fund for use in FY2013 (Sec. 22).

The act requires the secretary of administration to explore the purpose, structure, duties, and authority of supervisory unions and design a revised structure based on the technical center regions, with no more than three supervisory unions per region (Sec. 8).

The act amends the process for the analysis and formation of any new union school district (not just for REDs) by requiring that before a study committee submits the report to the state board of education for review and approval, the committee must send the report for review and comment to the local school boards of the districts identified as necessary or advisable and to any other districts that participated in the study (Sec. 18). It also clarifies existing law regarding when a provision in the voter-approved agreement to form a union school district can be changed by vote of the union school board and when it can be changed only by submitting the question to the voters (Sec. 19).

The act extends the implementation date by which all supervisory unions must provide special education and transportation services for their member districts from July 1, 2013 to July 1, 2014 (Sec. 20). It also creates a working group to develop a detailed plan by which all supervisory unions will fully implement the special education requirement by the July 1, 2014 deadline (Se. 21).

The act permits a district that tuitions all kindergarten through 12th grade students to exclude all tuition from excess spending calculations. This act maintains existing exemptions for unexpected tuition paid by a district that tuitions all students for which it is organized (and so could be, e.g., a high school district) (Sec. 23).

The act ensures that nonlicensed special education and transportation employees who currently work for a district and are required by No. 153 of the Acts of the 2009 Adj. Sess. (2010) to become employees of the supervisory union (SU) do not lose their membership in the Vermont Municipal Employees' Retirement system, if they were members prior to transfer to the SU (Secs. 24-26).

The act amends 16 V.S.A. § 563a to require independent schools to provide training regarding the prevention, identification, and reporting of child sexual abuse and amends 33 V.S.A. § 4913 to add headmasters and employees of independent schools to the list of mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect. The act also repeals language in section 4913 that limited mandatory reporting to individuals who are "regularly" employed by a school or who are employed by contract with a school for "five or more hours per week during the school year" (Secs. 27-28). This act requires that a school employee, all of whom are mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect, be present during any instruction under 16 V.S.A. § 131, which requires that age-appropriate instruction in recognizing and preventing sexual abuse and violence be included as part of a comprehensive health education (Sec. 29). This act also requires the department for children and families, the department of education, and the network against domestic and sexual violence to develop and report back on best practices for responding to a student's disclosure of abuse or neglect that is made during the prevention instruction (Sec. 30).

The act creates a working group to review and evaluate how Vermont spends financial and other resources to provide high quality, equitable educational opportunities for students throughout the state. The working group is also required to consider how impediments to opportunity - such as poverty-can be mitigated. There would be six members of the working group: one member each from the house, the senate, and the administration and three members of the public. The working group is authorized to spend up to $30,000.00 of funds already appropriated to the legislature for fiscal year 2013 for research and other assistance from the Jeffords Center (Sec. 31).

The act adds a student member to the harassment, hazing, and bullying advisory council (Sec. 32).

The act authorizes Strafford to continue to pay tuition to a nondesignated school in an amount equal to the tuition it pays to the designated school for the rest of its students, even if it is not the least of the three amounts as required by statute (Sec. 33).

Multiple effective dates, beginning May 16, 2012

Also see: Correction; Act No. 88 (H.613); An act relating to governance of the Community High School of Vermont

Also see: Health; Act No. 68 (S.92); An act relating to the protection of students' health by requiring the use of safe cleaning products in schools

Also see: Health; Act No. 157 (S.199); An act relating to immunization exemptions and the immunization pilot program

Also see: Taxation and Fees; Act No. 67 (H.461); An act relating to the reimbursement of statewide education property taxes that were abated due to flood damage

Also see: Taxation and Fees; Act No. 72 (H.505); An act relating to allowing the treasurer to defer the December 1, 2011 education payments to help towns affected by federal disasters in 2011 in Vermont

Also see: Taxation and Fees; Act No. 143 (H.782); An act relating to miscellaneous tax changes for 2012

No applicable act summaries.