Vermont Statutes Title 16 Sec. 821
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 16 Sec. 821
- Electorate: means the qualified voters in a school district voting at a properly warned school district meeting. See
- Elementary education: means a program of public school education adapted to the needs of students in prekindergarten, kindergarten, and the first six grades. See
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Independent school: means a school other than a public school, which provides a program of elementary or secondary education, or both. See
- Kindergarten: means an educational program for children of one year adapted to the needs of students who will attend first grade the following year. See
- School board: means the board of school directors elected to manage the schools of a school district, the prudential committee of an incorporated school district, the supervisory union board of directors, and the supervisors of unorganized towns and gores. See
- School district: means town school districts, union school districts, interstate school districts, city school districts, unified union districts, and incorporated school districts, each of which is governed by a publicly elected board. See
- Secretary: means the Secretary of Education. See
§ 821. School district to maintain public elementary schools or pay tuition
(a) Each school district shall maintain one or more approved schools within the district in which elementary education for its resident students in kindergarten through grade six is provided unless:
(1) the electorate authorizes the school board to provide for the elementary education of the students by paying tuition in accordance with law to one or more public elementary schools in one or more school districts;
(2) the school district is organized to provide only high school education for its students; or
(3) the General Assembly provides otherwise.
(b) [Repealed.]
(c) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, without previous authorization by the electorate, a school board in a district that operates an elementary school may pay tuition for elementary students who reside near a public elementary school in an adjacent district upon request of the student’s parent or guardian, if in the board’s judgment the student’s education can be more conveniently furnished there due to geographic considerations. Within 30 days of the board’s decision, a parent or guardian who is dissatisfied with the decision of the board under this subsection may request a determination by the Secretary, who shall have authority to direct the school board to pay all, some, or none of the student’s tuition and whose decision shall be final.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a)(1) of this section, the electorate of a school district that does not maintain an elementary school may grant general authority to the school board to pay tuition for an elementary student at an approved independent elementary school or an independent school meeting education quality standards pursuant to sections 823 and 828 of this chapter upon notice given by the student’s parent or legal guardian before April 15 for the next academic year. (Added 1969, No. 298 (Adj. Sess.), § 52; amended 1985, No. 71, § 4; 1987, No. 141 (Adj. Sess.); 1989, No. 271 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 1, 2; 1991, No. 24, § 11; 2009, No. 44, § 13, eff. May 21, 2009; 2011, No. 58, § 29, eff. May 31, 2011; 2011, No. 129 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. May 11, 2012; 2013, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 95, eff. Feb. 14, 2014; 2015, No. 23, § 21.)