Title 16, Education

§ 1565. Salary assistance (a) The State Board shall reimburse a school district operating a career technical center for a portion of its cost in paying the salary of the following persons: (1) the director of career technical education; (2) a person whose principal duty is to pro…

§ 1568. Reporting of information (a) Annually, in accordance with a timeline, format, and process established by State Board rule, each CTE center shall report its costs and student enrollment, achievement, and performance measures to the Secretary. CTE center financial accounts …

§ 1571. Definitions In this subchapter: (1) “Regional career technical center school district” and “regional CTE center school district” mean a district that maintains a regional career technical center under a governance structure approved by vote of the electorate pursuant to t…

§ 1572. Formation of a planning committee (a) Any two or more of the following may establish a committee to plan the formation of a regional CTE school district with an alternative governance structure for governance of the regional CTE center: either the school board of a school…

§ 1573. Approval by State Board of Education The planning committee shall transmit the report to the Secretary who, after consultation with the chair of the entity that performs workforce development activities pursuant to 10 V.S.A. § 542, shall submit the report with his or her …

§ 1574. Vote to adopt the alternative structure Each town school district, incorporated school district, unified union school district, and city school district within the career technical center region shall vote on adoption of the alternative governance structure and formation …

§ 1575. Certification Within 10 days of any vote held in accordance with this subchapter, the clerks of the participating school districts shall certify the results of the vote to the Secretary of Education, or, if the ballots are to be commingled, each municipal clerk shall appo…

§ 1576. Effect of certification; application of other laws (a) Upon certification under section 1575 of this title, the career technical center region shall become a public school district and shall constitute a body politic and corporate, with all the rights and responsibilities…

§ 1577. Duties and authority of Alternative Governance Board The governance board of a CTE center authorized under this subchapter, in addition to other duties and authority specifically assigned by law to the governing authority of a CTE center, shall have the following duties a…

§ 1578. Regional career technical center school district meetings The checklist for a regional career technical center school district and records of proceedings shall be made and maintained in the same manner as those functions are carried out in a union school district under se…

§ 1578a. Establishment of a regional career technical center budget (a) The board of directors of the regional career technical center school district shall at each annual meeting present an estimate of the expenses for the ensuing year, and the district shall appropriate that su…

§ 1579. Incurring debt (a) If authorized by a majority of the qualified voters voting on the question in accordance with this section, a regional career technical center school district may incur indebtedness for improvements or the acquisition of capital assets for the purposes …

§ 1591. Governance The governing body for the provision of postsecondary career technical education shall be the Board of Trustees of the Vermont State Colleges pursuant to chapter 72 of this title. However, nothing in this chapter shall be interpreted to diminish or interfere wi…

§ 1592. Powers and responsibilities of Board of Trustees With respect to the provision of postsecondary career technical education programs, in addition to those powers and responsibilities set forth in chapter 72 of this title, the Vermont State Colleges Board of Trustees shall:…

§ 1593. Secondary students in postsecondary career technical education programs A secondary career technical student may be enrolled in postsecondary career technical education courses at the expense of the student’s school district of residence if the enrollment is accepted by t…

§ 1601. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Articulation agreement” means a written agreement between a secondary school and a postsecondary institution or registered apprenticeship program specifying the responsibilities for each party to the agreement with respect to stud…

§ 1602. School board responsibilities (a) A school board or its equivalent in any independent secondary school may establish and operate a student apprenticeship program under this chapter when the school board has received approval from the regional advisory board. (b) Each scho…

§ 1603. Elements of the program (a) An eligible student may apply to enter the student apprenticeship program upon successful completion of grade 10 or its equivalent and meeting entrance requirements established by the State Board of Education. (b) A program may be up to four ye…

§ 1604. State Board responsibilities The State Board of Education shall: (1) Establish standards of operation for a student apprenticeship program. Standards shall ensure that a program prepares students to meet labor market standards and needs, and that a student shall receive r…

§ 1605. Regional advisory board responsibilities Each regional advisory board shall: (1) Based on standards of operation established by the State Board of Education, approve or disapprove an application from a school board to establish and operate a student apprenticeship program…

§ 1623. Freedom of expression (a)(1) The General Assembly finds that freedom of expression and freedom of the press are fundamental principles in our democratic society granted to every citizen of the nation by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and to every resident of…

§ 1624. School library material selection policy (a) Each school board and each approved independent school shall develop, adopt, ensure the enforcement of, and make available in the manner described under subdivision 563(1) of this title a library material selection policy. Each…

§ 1691. Purpose The purpose of this chapter is to establish a board of professional educators to oversee the training, licensing, and professional standards of teachers and administrators and to establish hearing panels to determine compliance with those standards to help ensure …

§ 1691a. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Administrator” means an individual licensed under this chapter the majority of whose employed time in a public school, school district, supervisory union, or cooperative educational service area is assigned to developing and mana…

§ 1694. Powers and duties of the Standards Board for Professional Educators In addition to any other powers and duties prescribed by law or incidental or necessary to the exercise of such lawful powers and duties, the Standards Board shall: (1)(A) Adopt rules pursuant to 3 V.S.A.…

§ 1695a. Pre-application criminal background determination; uniform process for foreign credential verification (a) Pre-application criminal background determination. An individual may request a pre-application determination of the individual’s criminal background. The pre-applic…

§ 1696. Licensing (a) Qualifications of applicants. An applicant shall submit to the Secretary evidence satisfactory to the Secretary that the applicant either has completed all requirements of an approved educator preparation program or has otherwise acquired the knowledge and s…

§ 1697. Fees (a) Each individual applicant and licensee shall be subject to the following fees: (1) Processing of application $50.00 per application (2) Issuance of Level I license $50.00 per year for the term of the license (3) Issuance of Level II license $50.00 per year for th…

§ 1698. Causes for licensing action Any one of the following, or any combination of the following, constitutes potential cause for licensing action whether occurring within or outside the State: (1) Unprofessional conduct, which means: (A) grossly negligent conduct or greater, on…

§ 1699. Reports of alleged unprofessional conduct or incompetence (a) An individual who has reasonable cause to believe a licensee has engaged in unprofessional conduct or is incompetent may, and a superintendent who has reasonable cause to believe a licensee has engaged in unpro…

§ 1700. Investigation (a) Investigation committee. Upon receiving notice of either an applicant’s appeal of a licensing office decision or an allegation of unprofessional conduct or incompetence on the part of a licensee, the hearing panel administrative officer shall assign one …

§ 1701. Secretary’s determination (a) Matters involving denial of licensure. With respect to an applicant’s appeal, the Secretary shall, within 10 days of receiving the committee’s recommendation, affirm or reverse the licensing decision and notify the applicant in writing. If th…

§ 1702. Hearing panels (a) Appointment. The Governor shall appoint seven teachers, four administrators, and three members of the public to serve on hearing panels for terms of three years beginning on July 1 of the year of appointment. No person shall be eligible for more than on…

§ 1703. Time and notice of hearing The chair of the panel shall fix the time of hearing, which shall be between 30 and 60 days after, as applicable, filing of the license application appeal or service of the charge on the licensee. The chair shall provide the applicant or license…

§ 1704. Burden of proof (a) Denial of licensure. Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the burden of proof in matters involving the denial of an initial license or the addition of an endorsement to a license once issued shall be on the applicant by a preponderance…

§ 1705. Hearing officer recommendation The hearing officer shall conduct the hearing for the purpose of issuing recommended findings of fact, conclusions of law, and a proposed decision to the hearing panel. The hearing officer may administer oaths and otherwise exercise the powe…

§ 1706. Decision and order (a) Hearing panel decision. The hearing panel may take additional evidence and may accept, reject, or modify the recommendations of the hearing officer and shall issue findings of fact, conclusions of law, and an order within 30 days of receiving the re…

§ 1707. Appeal from panel order (a)(1) A party aggrieved by a final decision of a hearing panel may, within 30 days after the decision, appeal that decision by filing a notice of appeal with the administrative officer of the hearing panel, who shall refer the case to the Director…

§ 1708. Accessibility and confidentiality of licensing matters (a) It is the purpose of this section both to protect the reputation of licensees from public disclosure of unwarranted complaints and to fulfill the public’s right to know of any action taken against an applicant or …

§ 1710. Literacy professional learning (a) Each supervisory union and each approved independent school that is eligible to receive public tuition shall provide professional learning activities to kindergarten through grade-three educators, to include all teachers and administrato…

§ 1751. Contract A contract between a board of school directors and a teacher shall not be valid unless the same is in writing, or partly written and partly printed, in triplicate, and signed by the teacher and by a majority of the board or by a member of the board or other perso…

§ 1752. Grounds and procedures for suspension and dismissal (a) A teacher under contract to teach in a public school who fails, without just cause, to complete the term for which the teacher contracted to teach shall be disqualified to teach in any public school for the remainder…

§ 1753. Time not spent in teaching counted in determining compensation The time not exceeding five days during any one year, actually spent by a teacher in attendance upon a meeting of the State education associations, or upon educational meetings held under the authority of the …

§ 1755. Sick leave (a) A full time teacher under contract to teach the regular school year in a public school shall be allowed a minimum of 10 days’ sick leave with full pay during each school year. Sick leave not used shall be cumulative at least to 20 days, so long as the teach…

§ 1756. Protection of teachers, employees, and board members in damage suits (a) A town, city, incorporated, or union school district and a supervisory union shall indemnify and save harmless to the extent of the policy limits provided in subsection (b) of this section any person…

§ 1801. Definitions As used in this subchapter: (1) “New District” means a district created by the realignment or merger of two or more current districts into a new supervisory district, union school district, or any other form of merged or realigned district authorized by law, i…