WESTMINSTER — The Vermont House of Representatives has passed a shortsighted effort that will hurt children in the state under the guise of “supporting public education.”
H.483, “An act relating to the accountability and oversight of approved independent schools that are eligible to receive public tuition,” is really about what benefits certain adults (and the public school sector) while completely disregarding children and what is best to assure success for every child.
Support for this anti-independent-school bill is based on the misperception that independent schools serve an elite population and siphon off funding from public school students.
While this typification may be more true in some regions of the country, it is not an accurate portrayal in Vermont, where the combination of the small population and our community-based values make most independent schools dedicated to serving students who are not thriving in what are generally more well-funded and more populous (and therefore more socially desirable) public schools.
* * *
In short, kids who go to independent schools are usually going there because their local public school is not serving their needs, and a fresh start in a new setting is their opportunity to find success in school.
Students drawn to independent schools may be burdened by anxiety that is exacerbated by larger class sizes or have unique learning needs, have faced bullying or ridicule from peers, or are non-conforming in a way that just makes them feel they don't fit into a larger setting.
We should honor our public schools for the miraculous job they do serving a relatively wide range of students. But ask any educator if they can equally well serve every child, and if they are honest they will tell you that, of course, they connect better with some students than others.
That is why even in Vermont, with one of the highest graduation rates in the country, still more than 10% of our kids don't graduate, and we know a good many more have suboptimal school experiences.
Nationwide, the non-graduation rate is well over 20%. The fact is, no one school can adequately serve every child and asking a single school (public or private) to be all things to all children is costly financially and hurtful to children deserving a better learning experience.
Independent schools often save our tax dollars by serving students with unique needs. The public commitment is capped at the “statewide public school average tuition rate,” which, due to complicated rules, is actually below the per-pupil cost in most districts.
Again: Despite the misperception, our public dollars aren't paying $50,000+ prep school tuitions. Last year's high school tuition reimbursement rate was $17,278, far below the statewide public per-pupil cost that is well over $20,000.
* * *
I can understand the concern with public funds going out of state or to the very small number of private schools that have highly selective admissions policies or refuse to serve students with special needs.
But H.483 goes well beyond addressing these legitimate concerns with how to better serve all children and aims to burden and undermine all independent schools, most of which are helping us achieve what should be a shared commitment statewide to assure every child can find success in school.
Our public schools cannot do this alone. Instead of vilifying independent schools, we should strive to have independent and public schools work together to assure that every child succeeds.
There are much more constructive ways to do this than H.483 and its unalloyed attempt to burden independent schools and undermine their effectiveness.