§ 166 - Approved and recognized independent schools
§ 166. Approved and recognized independent schools
(a) An independent school may operate and provide elementary education or secondary education if it is either approved or recognized as set forth herein.
(b) Approved independent schools. On application, the state board shall approve an independent school which offers elementary or secondary education if it finds, after opportunity for hearing, that the school provides a minimum course of study and that it substantially complies with the board's rules for approved independent schools. Except as provided in subdivision (6) of this subsection, the board's rules must at minimum require that the school has the resources required to meet its stated objectives, including financial capacity, faculty who are qualified by training and experience in the areas in which they are assigned, and physical facilities and special services that are in accordance with any state or federal law or regulation. Approval may be granted without state board evaluation in the case of any school accredited by a private, state, or regional agency recognized by the state board for accrediting purposes.
(1) On application, the state board shall approve an independent school which offers kindergarten but no other graded education if it finds, after opportunity for hearing, that the school substantially complies with the board's rules for approved independent kindergartens. The state board may delegate to another state agency the authority to evaluate the safety and adequacy of the buildings in which kindergartens are conducted, but shall consider all findings and recommendations of any such agency in making its approval decision.
(2) Approvals under this section shall be for a term established by rule of the board but not greater than five years.
(3) An approved independent school shall provide to the parent or guardian responsible for each of its pupils, prior to accepting any money for that pupil, an accurate statement in writing of its status under this section, and a copy of this section. Failure to comply with this provision may create a permissible inference of false advertising in violation of 13 V.S.A. § 2005.
(4) Each approved independent school shall provide to the commissioner on October 1 of each year the names, genders, dates of birth, and addresses of its enrolled pupils. Within seven days of the termination of a pupil's enrollment, the approved independent school shall notify the commissioner of the name and address of the pupil. The commissioner shall forthwith notify the appropriate school officials as provided in section 1126 of this title.
(5) The state board may revoke or suspend the approval of an approved independent school, after opportunity for hearing, for substantial failure to comply with the minimum course of study, for failure to comply with the board's rules for approved independent schools, or for failure to report under subdivision (b)(4) of this section. Upon revocation or suspension, students required to attend school who are enrolled in that school shall become truant unless they enroll in an approved public school, approved or recognized independent school or approved home instruction program.
(6) This subdivision applies to an independent school located in Vermont which offers a program of elementary or secondary education through correspondence, electronic mail, satellite communication, or other means and which, because of its structure, does not meet some or all the rules of the state board for approved independent schools. In order to be approved under this subdivision, a school shall meet the standards adopted by rule of the state board for approved independent schools which can be applied to the applicant school and any other standards or rules adopted by the state board regarding these types of schools. A school approved under this subdivision shall not be eligible to receive tuition payments from public school districts under chapter 21 of this title. However, a school district may enter into a contract or contracts with a school approved under this subdivision for provisions of some education services for its students.
(7) Approval for independent residential schools under this subsection is also contingent upon proof of the school's satisfactory completion of an annual fire safety inspection by the department of public safety or its designee pursuant to subchapter 2 of chapter 173 of Title 20. A certificate executed by the inspecting entity, declaring satisfactory completion of the inspection and identifying the date by which a new inspection must occur, shall be posted at the school in a public location. The school shall provide a copy of the certificate to the commissioner of education after each annual inspection. The school shall pay the actual cost of the inspection unless waived or reduced by the inspecting entity.
(c) Recognized independent schools. Upon filing an enrollment notice a recognized independent school may provide elementary or secondary education in Vermont. The enrollment notice shall be on a form provided by the commissioner and shall be filed with the commissioner no earlier than three months before the beginning of the school year for the public schools in the town in which the applicant proposes to locate.
(1) The enrollment notice shall contain the following information and assurances:
(A) a statement that the school will be in session an amount of time substantially equivalent to that required for public schools;
(B) a detailed description or outline of the minimum course of study for each grade level the school offers, and how the annual assessment of each pupil will be performed; and
(C) assurances that:
(i) the school will prepare and maintain attendance records for each pupil enrolled or regularly attending classes;
(ii) at least once each year the school will assess each pupil's progress, and will maintain records of that assessment, and present the result of that assessment to each student's parent or guardian;
(iii) the school's educational program will include the minimum course of study set forth in section 906 of this title;
(iv) the school will have teachers and materials sufficient to carry out the school's educational program; and
(v) the school will meet such state and federal laws and regulations concerning its physical facilities and health and safety matters as are applicable to recognized independent schools.
(2) If the commissioner has information that creates significant doubt about whether the school would be able to meet the requirements set forth above, the commissioner may call a hearing. At the hearing, the school shall establish that it can meet the requirements for recognized independent schools. Failure to do so shall result in a finding by the commissioner that the school must take specified action to come into compliance within a specified time frame or the children enrolled must attend another recognized independent school, approved independent or public school, or home study program, or be declared truant unless absent with legal excuse.
(3) A recognized independent school shall provide to each student's parent or guardian a copy of its currently filed statement of objectives and a copy of this section. The copy shall be provided when the pupil enrolls or before September 1, whichever comes later. Failure to comply with this subsection may create a permissible inference of false advertising in violation of section 2005 of Title 13.
(4) A recognized independent school shall renew its enrollment notice annually. An independent school shall be recognized for a period not to exceed five years by the commissioner without need for filing an annual enrollment notice if:
(A) it is recognized by an organization approved by the state board for the purpose of recognizing such school; or
(B) it is accredited by a private, state or regional agency approved by the state board for accrediting purposes. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to prohibit the commissioner from initiating a hearing under this section.
(5) If the commissioner has information that creates significant doubt about whether the school, once in operation, is meeting the requirements for recognized independent schools, the commissioner may call a hearing. At the hearing, the school shall establish that it has met the requirements for recognized independent schools. Failure to do so shall result in a finding by the commissioner that:
(A) the school may not be in operation for the remainder of the school year and that the children are truant unless absent with legal excuse or enrolled in an approved public or independent school, another recognized independent school or a home study program; or
(B) the school must take specified action to come into compliance within a specified time frame or the school will not be permitted to operate for the remainder of the school year.
(6) Each recognized independent school shall provide to the commissioner on October 1 of each year the names, genders, dates of birth, and addresses of its enrolled pupils. Within seven days of the termination of a pupil's enrollment, the recognized independent school shall notify the commissioner of the name and address of the pupil. The commissioner shall forthwith notify the appropriate school officials designated in section 1126 of this title.
(7) After the filing of the enrollment notice or at a hearing, if the school is unable to comply with any specific requirements due to deep religious conviction shared by an organized group, the commissioner may waive such requirements if he or she determines that the educational purposes of this subsection are being or will be substantially met.
(d) Council of independent schools. A council of independent schools is created consisting of eleven members, no fewer than three of whom shall be representatives of recognized independent schools. The commissioner shall appoint nine members from within the independent schools' community. The commissioner shall appoint two members from the public-at-large. Each member shall serve for two years and may be reappointed for up to an additional two terms, except that five of the first eleven appointments shall be for an initial term of one year. The council shall hold its organizational meeting before March 1, 1990 at the call of the commissioner and shall adopt rules for its own operation. A chair shall be elected by and from among the members. The duties of the council shall include advising the commissioner on policies and procedures with respect to independent schools. No hearing shall be initiated before the state board or by the commissioner under this section until the recommendations of the council have been sought and received. The recommendations of the advisory council, including any minority reports, shall be admissible at the hearing.
(e) The board of trustees of an independent school operating in Vermont shall adopt harassment and hazing prevention policies, establish procedures for dealing with harassment and hazing of students and provide notice of these. The provisions of section 565 of this title for public schools shall apply to this subsection, except that the board shall follow its own procedures for adopting policy.
(f) An approved independent school which accepts students for whom the district of residence pays tuition under chapter 21 of this title shall bill the sending district monthly for a state-placed student and shall not bill the sending district for any month in which the state-placed student was not enrolled.
(g) An approved independent school which accepts students for whom the district of residence pays tuition under chapter 21 of this title shall use the assessment or assessments required under subdivision 164(9) of this title to measure attainment of standards for student performance of those pupils. In addition the school shall provide data related to the assessment or assessments as required by the commissioner. (Amended 1989, No. 44, § 1; 1993, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 1995, No. 157 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1997, No. 60, § 5, eff. June 26, 1997; 1997, No. 84 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1999, No. 120 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; 2007, No. 66, § 2; 2007, No. 138 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 9, 2008.)