vermont's school choice tuition system
Many smaller Vermont towns do not operate a local high school and some towns do not operate a local elementary or middle school. Students in these towns are eligible to choose from among public or non-religious independent schools in other towns (even outside of the state or nation). Each year, approximately half of all eligible students choose a public school and half an independent school.
Under Vermont's school choice tuitioning system, the "sending" towns pay tuition directly to the "receiving" schools. While most sending towns allow parents to choose a school, a few towns "designate" a particular school to receive all their students (though waivers sometimes are granted).
When students are tuitioned to a Vermont public school, the sending town pays the receiving school district's full cost. When students are tuitioned to independent schools, the payment is capped at a rate set by statute and calculated annually by the Agency of Education. Because this amount often is less than the tuition and fees charged by independent schools, parents are responsible for the remaining cost.
Though the term "voucher" is commonly used to refer to this system of public support for students' tuitions, the term is not fully correct. The Vermont arrangement is more properly described as an "education replacement plan," in which local districts must fulfill their obligation to support all resident students' K-12 educations when the district does not have a local school.
Under Vermont's school choice tuitioning system, the "sending" towns pay tuition directly to the "receiving" schools. While most sending towns allow parents to choose a school, a few towns "designate" a particular school to receive all their students (though waivers sometimes are granted).
When students are tuitioned to a Vermont public school, the sending town pays the receiving school district's full cost. When students are tuitioned to independent schools, the payment is capped at a rate set by statute and calculated annually by the Agency of Education. Because this amount often is less than the tuition and fees charged by independent schools, parents are responsible for the remaining cost.
Though the term "voucher" is commonly used to refer to this system of public support for students' tuitions, the term is not fully correct. The Vermont arrangement is more properly described as an "education replacement plan," in which local districts must fulfill their obligation to support all resident students' K-12 educations when the district does not have a local school.