Bill McKibben from Third Act joined the House Government Operations Committee on Wednesday to discuss S.42. He noted divestment started here in Vermont years ago. Third Act was founded by McKibben, who wrote the "original book" about global warming. In LA Times and companies knew, all the way back in the 1980s, about the impact of fossil fuels and "lied about what fossil fuels can do to the environment," he claimed.

The Senate Education Committee were joined on Tuesday by representatives from the Vermont State Colleges to discuss their Transformation Plan. Chairman Campion invited Chancellor Zdatny to outline for the Committee what the colleges will look like going forward, that "there is a lot of competition out there." Specifically, he pointed to Southern New Hampshire University as a competitor.

Key Points:

• 30% of University space underutilized.
• VSC tasked with reducing expenses $25M over five years.
• Hybrid learning is having an impact.

Chairman Campion welcomed Jay Badams (Superintendent, Norwich/Hanover Interstate School District ) to the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday, saying they wanted to know about the “whether there is ever any admissions process in our public schools.” He described H.483 as asking for “a kind of open enrollment where public dollars follow kids to whatever school they want.” He added that he thinks that is happening now in a lot of schools.

Key Points:

• Little statutory guidance for public schools on enrollment for non-resident students.
• Proposed rules for independent schools are more strict that what public schools are practicing.
• Senate realizes that most of H.483 is already in law or rule.
• Public School administrator argues independent schools are costing taxpayers.

On Thursday, the Senate Education Committee heard from Heather Bouchey (Interim Secretary, Agency of Education) and Chris Kane (Interim State Director of Special Education, Agency of Education) on H.483. Bouchey stressed the nature of public process and 2200 rulemaking stakeholder engagement. She believed this needed to be “implemented and experienced” as independent schools engage with that newly developed process.

Key Points:

• Agency of Education and State Board of Education urge Senators to allow current rulemaking to play out.
• The approval process for independent schools explained.
• The enforcement mechanisms for the 2200 series rules explained.

On Friday, Oliver Olsen (Former Chair, State Board of Education) joined the Senate Education Committee to speak on H.483 as a parent, former legislator, and community member from Southern Vermont. During his tenure, he oversaw the “significant effort” of updating the rules governing the approval of independent schools.

Key Points:

• Parents and students have been missing from the conversation.
• Pushed back on assertions about tuition costs, point to data inaccuracies.
• Repeated calls to wait on new rulemaking to play out.
• Shared a personal anecdote about his kids, who are being served by three different types of schools.

Next Steps on Ethics (H.125) - Thursday

The Senate Health and Welfare Committee heard testimonies on Thursday from various entities concerning H.206. The bill relates to the duties of the Department Vermont Health Access (DVHA), which was initially created in the House Health Care Committee back in February. Subsequently, reviewed by the House Appropriations Committee and then passed House sent to the Senate.