The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 16 : Education

Chapter 021 : Maintenance of Public Schools

• § 823. Elementary tuition [Effective until contingency met; see also 16 V.S.A. § 823 effective July 1, 2028 if contingency met, set out below]

  (a) Tuition for elementary students shall be paid by the district in which the student is a resident. The district shall pay the full tuition charged its students attending a public elementary school. If a payment made to a public elementary school is three percent more or less than the calculated net cost per elementary pupil in the receiving school district for the year of attendance, the district shall be reimbursed, credited, or refunded pursuant to section 836 of this title. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection or of subsection 825(b) of this title, the boards of both the receiving and sending districts may enter into tuition agreements with terms differing from the provisions of those subsections, provided that the receiving district must offer identical terms to all sending districts, and further provided that the statutory provisions apply to any sending district that declines the offered terms.

  (b) Unless the electorate of a school district authorizes payment of a higher amount at an annual or special meeting warned for the purpose, the tuition paid to an approved independent elementary school or an independent school meeting education quality standards shall not exceed the least of:

  (1) the average announced tuition of Vermont union elementary schools for the year of attendance;

  (2) the tuition charged by the approved independent school for the year of attendance; or

  (3) the average per-pupil tuition the district pays for its other resident elementary students in the year in which the student is enrolled in the approved independent school. (Added 1969, No. 298 (Adj. Sess.), § 54; amended 1989, No. 271 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 2003, No. 76 (Adj. Sess.), § 29, eff. Feb. 17, 2004; 2005, No. 54, § 7; 2007, No. 66, § 5; 2009, No. 44, § 13, eff. May 21, 2009; 2011, No. 58, § 30, eff. May 31, 2011; 2015, No. 23, § 23.)

• § 823. Tuition [Effective July 1, 2028 if contingency met; see also 16 V.S.A. § 823 effective until contingency met, set out above]

  [Subsection (a) effective July 1, 2028 if contingency in 2025, No. 73, § 70(f) is met.]

  (a) Tuition for students shall be paid by the district in which the student is a resident. The district shall pay to a receiving school for each resident student attending the receiving school an amount equal to the base amount contained in subdivision 4001(16) of this title multiplied by the sum of one and any weights applicable to the resident student under section 4010 of this title.

  [Subsection (b) effective July 1, 2028 if contingency in 2025, No. 73, § 70(g) is met.]

  (b)(1) In addition to the tuition amount calculated in subsection (a) of this section, a receiving school may charge, and a sending school shall be required to pay, an additional fee in the amount of the product of the base amount and up to 0.05 for each student attending the receiving school in grades nine through 12 only if the following conditions are met:

  (A) the receiving school has received approval from the State Board of Education to charge the additional fee under this subsection (b), which approval shall be granted in accordance with rules adopted by the State Board; and

  (B) the electorate of each school district with at least one student attending the receiving school has approved supplemental district spending, as defined in 32 V.S.A. § 5401, for the purpose of this subsection and in an amount sufficient to cover the additional fee authorized under this subsection (b).

  (2) For the purposes of this subsection, a receiving school shall not include an approved independent school in Vermont functioning as an approved area career and technical center.

  [Subsection (c) effective July 1, 2028 if contingency in 2025, No. 73, § 70(g) is met.]

  (c) A receiving school that elects and is eligible to charge an additional fee pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall charge the same additional fee for each student attending on a publicly funded tuition basis pursuant to chapter 21 of this title. A receiving school is prohibited from charging different fees pursuant to this section to different school districts.

  [Subsection (d) effective July 1, 2028 if contingency in 2025, No. 73, § 70(f) is met.]

  (d) Notwithstanding subsections (a), (b), and (c) of this section, or any other provision of law to the contrary, the district shall pay the full tuition charged its students attending an approved independent school in Vermont functioning as an approved area career and technical center. (Added 1969, No. 298 (Adj. Sess.), § 54; amended 1989, No. 271 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 2003, No. 76 (Adj. Sess.), § 29, eff. Feb. 17, 2004; 2005, No. 54, § 7; 2007, No. 66, § 5; 2009, No. 44, § 13, eff. May 21, 2009; 2011, No. 58, § 30, eff. May 31, 2011; 2015, No. 23, § 23; 2025, No. 73, § 27, eff. July 1, 2028, if contingencies met.)