Title 16, Title 16: Education

§ 425. Other town school district officers Unless otherwise voted, the town clerk shall by virtue of the office perform the same duties for the town school district in addition to other duties assigned by this title. (Added 1969, No. 298 (Adj. Sess.), § 45; amended 1979, No. 23, …

§ 426. Duties of the town school district treasurer (a) The town treasurer shall be treasurer of the town school district unless, by vote of the town school district, a town school district treasurer is elected. He or she shall keep in a separate bank account all the money approp…

§ 427. Grand list The grand list of a town or incorporated school district shall consist of one percent of the listed value of the real and personal estate taxable in the town or incorporated school district. (Added 1969, No. 298 (Adj. Sess.), § 47; amended 1971, No. 261 (Adj. Se…

§ 428. Budget to be voted (a) At each annual town school district meeting, the electorate shall vote such sums of money as it deems necessary for the support of schools. If such sums are not approved or acted upon at the annual meeting, the electorate shall vote such questions at…

§ 429. Loans Notwithstanding subsection 4029(b) of this title, a school board may draw orders for loans without interest to the town’s general fund, and the town selectboard may draw orders for loans without interest to the school district fund, the loans to be secured by a note …

§ 430. [Deleted.]

§ 471. Application of other laws (a) The provisions of this title relating to the administration and maintenance of public schools; to school meetings and voting; to grand lists; to the raising and expending of school monies; to monies apportioned by the State Board; to sharing i…

§ 472. Meetings; warnings (a) A district may, if it so votes at its annual meeting on the first Tuesday in March, fix a different date for holding its annual meetings, provided the date is not earlier than March 15 nor later than June 30. A notice of the proposed change shall be …

§ 473. Eligibility of voters The moderator, clerk, and members of the prudential committee shall decide all questions as to the eligibility of a person to vote in a school meeting.

§ 474. Records The clerk shall keep a record of the votes and proceedings of the school district meetings and give certified copies thereof when required. A clerk who neglects to perform this duty shall forfeit $20.00 to the district, to be recovered in an action on this statute.…

§ 475. Statistical information Annually, on or before August 15, the prudential committee shall return to the Secretary answers to the statistical inquiries that he or she may address to them. (Amended 1975, No. 48, § 4, eff. April 15, 1975; 2013, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 51, eff. …

§ 477. Merger of town and incorporated school districts (a) An incorporated school district, by a majority vote of the legal voters present and voting at any meeting legally warned, may surrender its charter as a corporation for the maintenance of public schools or such part of i…

§ 478. Prudential committee; vacancies Unless the incorporated district has a provision in its charter to the contrary, when a vacancy occurs on a prudential committee, the remaining members shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy until the next annual or special meeting. The …

§ 491. Election; notice to clerk At each annual meeting, an incorporated school district shall elect from among the legal voters of such district a moderator, collector, and treasurer and may elect a clerk. All school officers shall enter upon their duties on July 1, following th…

§ 492. Powers, duties, and liabilities; bonds (a) The powers, duties, and liabilities of the collector, treasurer, prudential committee, and clerk shall be like those of a town collector, treasurer, board of school directors, and the school board clerk, respectively. (b) Before e…

§ 493. Moderator The moderator shall preside at such district meetings; and, in his or her absence, a moderator pro tempore shall be chosen to preside. (Amended 2013, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 53, eff. Feb. 14, 2014.)

§ 494. Collector of taxes The district may elect the collector of town taxes to be collector of taxes for the district, although he or she is not an inhabitant of that district. When a collector accepts the office, he or she shall do so in writing, and the acceptance shall be rec…

§ 495. Vacancies (a) When a vacancy occurs in the office of a district officer, the district shall fill the vacancy at a special meeting. (b) A vacancy occurring in the office of clerk of an incorporated school district caused by death, resignation, or otherwise shall be filled b…

§ 496. Books and papers to be turned over to successor When a district office becomes vacant by expiration of the term of office of the incumbent or otherwise, and a successor is elected or appointed, the successor shall, on demand, be entitled to receive the books and papers of …

§ 511. Budget (a) At a meeting legally warned for that purpose, the electorate within an incorporated school district shall vote such sums of money as it deems necessary for the support of schools. If the sums are not approved or acted upon at the annual meeting, the electorate s…

§ 512. Payment of monies collected to treasurer On the written request of one or more members of the prudential committee, a school district tax collector shall pay to the treasurer monies belonging to the district that have been collected to the date of the request and submit hi…

§ 514. Abatement The officers of the district, except the tax collector, shall be a board for the abatement of district taxes, and it shall have the same power that the board for the abatement of town taxes has in the abatement of municipal taxes. On request of the tax collector,…

§ 515. Payment of a deficit When a demand is made upon a district for the payment of an execution issued against it and the district has no available funds to pay the same, the prudential committee shall borrow funds sufficient to pay such execution and related charges and shall …

§ 551. Application of laws to school districts Unless otherwise specifically provided in statute with respect to a class of school district or in a municipal charter, the laws of this title, the laws pertaining to municipal corporations, and the rules of the State Board shall app…

§ 552. Validation of school districts and bonds voted for school construction No action shall be brought directly or indirectly attacking, questioning, or in any manner contesting the legality of the formation, or the existence as a body corporate and politic of any union school …

§ 553. Qualification of voters at school district meetings A person is qualified to vote at a school district meeting if by meeting day he or she would be eligible to vote at a town meeting held on that day. (Added 1969, No. 298 (Adj. Sess.), § 30; amended 2013, No. 92 (Adj. Sess…

§ 554. School board meetings; majority vote, quorum, Robert’s Rules, public participation (a) A majority of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum. Notwithstanding 1 V.S.A. § 172, the concurrence of a majority of members present at a school board meeting shall be nece…

§ 555. No liability for unauthorized or deficit spending (a) It is the intent of the General Assembly that school boards should spend within the amount authorized by the electorate pursuant to this title and should not incur a deficit. However, the General Assembly recognizes tha…

§ 556. Liability for damage to textbook or learning materials The parent or guardian of a student shall be liable to a school district for damage occasioned by loss, destruction, injury, or detention by the student of a textbook or other learning materials, to be recovered in an …

§ 557. Gratuity or compensation prohibited (a) A member of the State Board, a supervisory union board, or a school board, the Secretary, and any person employed by one of the boards or by the Agency shall not solicit or receive directly or indirectly any gift or compensation for …

§ 558. Eligibility for election to a school board; employment of school board members (a) A legal voter in a school district shall be eligible for election to a school board; however, a member of a school board may not be regularly employed by the school district or by a school d…

§ 559. Public bids (a) Cost threshold. When the cost exceeds $40,000.00, a school board or supervisory union board shall publicly advertise or invite three or more bids from persons deemed capable of providing items or services if costs are in excess of $40,000.00 for any of the …

§ 560. Condemnation for school purposes A school board, or the board of trustees of a public school, may acquire land for school purposes by condemnation. Condemnation shall be accomplished by the procedures and be governed by the limitations established in 24 V.S.A. chapter 77, …

§ 561. Election of school board members; oath; chair; clerk (a) School board members shall be sworn before entering upon the duties of their office. At the meeting next following the election of a school board member, the school board shall elect one of its number to serve as the…

§ 562. Powers of electorate At a school district meeting, the electorate: (1) Shall conduct meetings in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order, unless other rules of order are specifically adopted at a meeting. (2) Shall elect a moderator at the annual meeting who shall preside …

§ 563. Powers of school boards; form of vote The school board of a school district, in addition to other duties and authority specifically assigned by law: (1) Shall determine the educational policies of the school district. Board policies shall be of general application to the d…

§ 563a. Prevention, identification, and reporting of child sexual abuse and sexual violence Each school board of a school district and governing body of an approved or recognized independent school shall ensure that adults employed in the schools within its jurisdiction receive o…

§ 566. Authority to borrow Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision 562(9) of this title, if a budget for the support of schools for the ensuing year has not been approved on or before June 30 of any year, the school board may borrow funds necessary to enable it to operate t…

§ 567. Surplus If an audit reveals that a school district has surplus funds, the school board shall carry the funds into the next year as revenue unless authorized by the voters, at an annual or special meeting warned for the purpose, to: (1) deposit the funds into a reserve fund…

§ 568. School branding (a) Definitions. As used in this section: (1) “School” means a public school or an independent school approved under section 166 of this title. (2) “School board” means the board of directors or other governing body of an educational institution when referr…

§ 569. Purple Star Campus designation (a) As used in this section, “military-connected student” means a student who is a dependent of a current or former member of: (1) the U.S. military serving in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, or Coast Guard on active dut…

§ 570. Harassment, hazing, and bullying prevention policies (a) State policy. It is the policy of the State of Vermont that all Vermont educational institutions provide safe, orderly, civil, and positive learning environments. Harassment, hazing, and bullying have no place and wi…

§ 570a. Harassment (a) Policies and plan. The harassment prevention policy required by section 570 of this title and its plan for implementation shall include: (1) A statement that harassment, as defined in subdivision 11(a)(26) of this title, is prohibited and may constitute a v…

§ 570b. Hazing The hazing prevention policy required by section 570 of this title and its plan for implementation shall include: (1) a statement that hazing, as defined in subdivision 11(a)(30) of this title, is prohibited and may be subject to civil penalties pursuant to article…

§ 570c. Bullying The bullying prevention policy required by section 570 of this title and its plan for implementation shall include: (1) a statement that bullying, as defined in subdivision 11(a)(32) of this title, is prohibited; (2) a procedure that directs students, staff, pare…

§ 570f. Harassment; notice and response (a)(1) An educational institution that receives actual notice of alleged conduct that may constitute harassment shall promptly investigate to determine whether harassment occurred. After receiving notice of the alleged conduct, the school s…