The State Board of Education voted unanimously to initiate a review and rewrite of the rules that guide the approval process for private schools in Vermont. Some of the proposed changes would clarify the admissions process, the reporting of finances and special education offerings.
Calling the current rules antiquated, board member William Mathis asked Agency of Education Secretary Rebecca Holcombe to recommend revisions that would help meet the SBE’s goal to “identify the magnitude and causes of the achievement gap.”
Mathis, as chair of the education quality review subcommittee, is responsible for aligning statutes and rules and identifying inconsistencies and oversights and proposing fixes. He recommended that the board review rules concerning the “evaluation of private education programs” — the 2200 series of the State Board of Education Rules and Practices — which have not been changed since 2001.
More specifically, he wrote that the board would like Holcombe to make recommendations pertaining to whether students have an equal opportunity to get into private schools that accept taxpayer dollars.
“There is some question as to whether some people are admitting children on a preferential basis and that is discriminatory,” Mathis said. “If you are taking public money, you have to play by the public rules.”
Mathis was also concerned with the way independent schools report their finances.
The board directed Holcombe to consider the creation of a common statewide electronic reporting system that is aligned with the public schools to assure that each school has adequate resources. The board also wants to see independent auditors periodically employed. While traditional public schools have to submit to audits by the state every few years, Mathis implied that independent schools do not.
“We need to bring these things into alignment,” Mathis said. “Fiscal accountability has been a concern. The law is very specific that says we have to ask for fiscal accountability in these applications.”
The document that the board approved Tuesday states that external evaluators are needed.
Mathis also said independent schools that receive SBE approval should provide special education services “equivalent” to those that would be offered by public schools.
Mill Moore, executive director of the Independent Schools Association, said he was concerned with the “bias” he heard and with the board’s unanimous vote.
Moore said the guidance presented Tuesday was conclusive. “It states the issues and then appears to be stating a desired outcome as well.”
But Mathis argues the rule revision is about ensuring accountability for public dollars. By the next meeting, the secretary will have mapped out the rulemaking process.
There will be an opportunity for public input and whatever is decided will have to be approved by the Legislature.
