Executive Summary
Evolution of VT Education Law
The Vermont laws that govern our Supervisory Union and local school districts have consistently evolved over time. Our boards and communities have grappled with the increasing mandates and increased responsibilities placed on our local schools and SU central office. Below are just a few since 2010 and how they have affected our Supervisory Union.
#June 2010: Act 153
Struck the words “at the option of the supervisory union” from 16 V.S.A. § 261a, turning services the SU could provide into services it must provide: Special Education, financial and student-data management, human resources, transportation, curriculum, purchasing, and teacher and staff negotiations. How that reshaped Windsor Southeast SU.
#May 2014: Act 166
Universal pre-kindergarten requirement. Funded locally and voluntary for families; funded through the SU budget per the WSESU Board vote of September 2, 2015.
#June 2015: Act 46
Vermont's education merger law. Our four district boards asked the State Board of Education not to force a Hartland/Weathersfield merger, arguing that the supervisory union already did the work a merger would consolidate, and committing to lean on our SU even more. Windsor and West Windsor merged to become Mt. Ascutney; Hartland and Weathersfield stayed. The case they made.
#May 2018: Act 173
Special education funding moved from a reimbursement model to a census block-grant model. If the state revenue falls short, local dollars, through the special-education assessment, make up the difference. For our SU, the block grant has declined every year even though our Special Education spending has increased, leaving the difference to the Special Education assessment.
#July 2018: Act 11
Changes to the education financing system and property-tax calculations, and a statewide bargaining process for school-employee health benefits with last-best-offer arbitration. This change went into effect for FY20. See how it affected health insurance trends.
#May 2022: Act 127
Two changes in one act. It rebalanced Vermont's pupil-weighting formula to direct more funding to districts with higher concentrations of English-learner and income-eligible students, phasing in through FY29. Section 14 of the same act directed the district quality standards now in Rule 100 (business operations, facilities management and safety, and governance), which took effect July 1, 2025.
#July 2025: Act 73
Education governance changes for larger school districts, a weighted student funding formula, and a statewide tax rate, which will mean no more local budget votes. Act 170 of 2026 moved the effective date from July 1, 2028 to July 1, 2029 and made it conditional; see below.
#June 2026: Act 170
The follow-on to Act 73, signed June 18, 2026. Every school board must now take part in a merger committee studying whether to form a unified union school district. Facilitators are to group districts by October 15, 2026, aiming for at least 2,000 students per committee; the act's own suggested grouping puts all three WSESU districts (Hartland, Mt. Ascutney and Weathersfield) on one committee with Hartford, Mountain Views (Woodstock) and Pittsfield.
Act 170 also pushed Act 73's funding and governance changes out a year, to July 1, 2029, and made them conditional on what those committees find and on further legislation. Separately, every supervisory union must now belong to a Cooperative Educational Service Area (CESA), from July 1, 2026, to share programs and services regionally. CESAs are paid for by member fees based on enrollment, plus a one-time $15,000 startup grant. Town property reappraisals move to regional assessment districts beginning in 2031. Check out our Act 170 Hub for information on how the new law could impact our SU and our merger tax estimator to see how a merger could impact a property owner's tax rates over the years.