Education

This bill outlines steps to reorganize Vermont's education system by renaming Boards of Cooperative Education Services to Cooperative Educational Service Areas and assigning each supervisory union to a specific regional area. It requires all school districts to join a study committee to evaluate creating unified union school districts and directs the Joint Finance Officer to hire a contractor to analyze how prekindergarten education should be funded. Additionally, the bill amends previous legislation to adjust its effective dates. These changes aim to improve resource sharing and equalize educational opportunities across different regions of the state.

H.542 terminates ongoing indoor air quality testing for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in Vermont public schools and approved independent schools built or renovated before 1980. The bill stops all new testing but requires the state to continue funding investigation, remediation, and removal of PCBs at schools that previously tested positive for PCB levels exceeding safety thresholds. It redirects unused funds from prior PCB testing appropriations toward remediation costs and mandates annual reports starting in 2027 on PCB testing status, remediation progress, and funding needs. The bill directly affects schools constructed before 1980, ensuring continued state support for PCB cleanup only where testing had already identified hazardous levels.