§§ 901-905. Repealed. 1969, No. 298 (Adj. Sess.), § 79.
§ 906. Course of study
(a) In public schools, approved and recognized independent schools and in home study programs, learning experiences shall be provided for pupils in the minimum course of study.
(b) For purposes of this title, the minimum course of study means learning experiences adapted to a pupil's age and ability in the fields of:
(1) Basic communication skills, including reading, writing, and the use of numbers;
(2) Citizenship, history, and government in Vermont and the United States;
(3) Physical education and comprehensive health education including the effects of tobacco, alcoholic drinks, and drugs on the human system and on society;
(4) English, American and other literature;
(5) The natural sciences; and
(6) The fine arts. (Added 1969, No. 298 (Adj. Sess.), § 65; amended 1981, No. 151 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 1987, No. 132 (Adj. Sess.); No. 270 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1989; 1989, No. 44, § 4, eff. June 1, 1990.)
§ 907. Lincoln's birthday
Exercises in commemoration of the birth, life, and services of Abraham Lincoln shall be conducted in all public and independent schools on the last school day before February 12, annually. (Added 1969, No. 298 (Adj. Sess.), § 67; amended 1991, No. 24, § 11.)
§ 908. Pre-Memorial Day exercises
The last half-day's session of the public schools before Memorial Day shall be devoted to exercises commemorative of the history of the nation during its wars and to patriotic instruction in the principles of liberty and the equal rights of man. (Added 1969, No. 298 (Adj. Sess.), § 68.)
§ 909. Tobacco use, alcohol and drug abuse prevention education curriculum
(a) The department of education, in conjunction with the alcohol and drug abuse council, and where appropriate, with the division of health promotion, is hereby authorized and directed to develop a sequential alcohol and drug abuse prevention education curriculum for elementary and secondary schools. The curriculum shall include teaching about the effects and legal consequences of the possession and use of tobacco products.
(b) The department of education shall:
(1) provide for pre-service and in-service training programs for school personnel on alcohol and drug abuse prevention and on the effects and legal consequences of the possession and use of tobacco products. At least one training program shall be made available in electronic format. Each superintendent shall determine the content, duration, and frequency of training on issues concerning alcohol and drug abuse for the districts in his or her supervisory union;
(2) provide teaching materials which are appropriate to the age and learning ability of the students;
(3) provide technical assistance to the local school districts for implementation of the curriculum;
(4) encourage coordination of effort with existing community resources.
(c) [Repealed.] (Added 1983, No. 51, § 3, eff. April 22, 1983; amended 1987, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1995, No. 52, § 2; 1997, No. 58, § 11; 2007, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 8.)
§ 910. Coordination of services to children and adolescents with a severe emotional disturbance
Each town, city, interstate, incorporated, unified or union school district shall cooperate with the departments of mental health and mental retardation, social and rehabilitation services and education in coordinating educational services to children and adolescents with a severe emotional disturbance, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 2 of Title 3. (Added 1987, No. 264 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; amended 1989, No. 187 (Adj. Sess.), § 5.)
§ 911. American sign language; foreign language credit
(a) American Sign Language is a visual-gestural system of communication used by many in the Deaf community living in the United States and Canada. It is a complete and complex language that has its own syntax, rhetoric and grammar which is used to convey information and meaning through signs made with the hands, arms, facial markers and other body movements.
(b) Any public or independent school may offer American Sign Language for foreign language credit. (Added 2001, No. 16, § 2.)
§ 912. Pupil's right of refusal; animal dissection
(a) A student in a public elementary or secondary school or an approved independent school shall have the right to be excused from participating in any lesson, exercise, or assessment requiring the student to dissect, vivisect, or otherwise harm or destroy an animal or any part of an animal, or to observe any of these activities, as part of a course of instruction.
(b) Each school district and approved independent school shall adopt and implement policies regarding a student's right to be excused under this section, which shall include:
(1) Procedures by which the school shall provide:
(A) Timely notification to each student enrolled in the course and to the student's parent or guardian of the student's right to be excused from participating in or observing the lesson; and
(B) The process by which a student may exercise this right.
(2) Alternative education methods through which a student excused under this section can learn and be assessed on material required by the course.
(3) A statement that no student shall be discriminated against based on his or her decision to exercise the right to be excused afforded by this section.
(c) As used in this section, the word "animal" means any organism of the kingdom animalia and includes an animal's cadaver or the severed parts of an animal's cadaver. (Added 2007, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 4.)
§ 941. Repealed. 1969, No. 298 (Adj. Sess.), § 79.
§§ 971Repealed. 1969, No. 298 (Adj. Sess.), § 79.
§ 972. Repealed. 1975, No. 48, § 14, eff. April 15, 1975.
§ 973. Repealed. 1969, No. 298 (Adj. Sess.), § 79.
§§ 974, 975. Repealed. 1975, No. 48, § 14, eff. April 15, 1975.
§ 976. Repealed. 1969, No. 298 (Adj. Sess.), § 79.
§§ 1021Repealed. 1969, No. 298 (Adj. Sess.), § 79.
§§ 1022-1025. Repealed. 1963, No. 7, § 2.
§ 1026. Repealed. 1969, No. 298 (Adj. Sess.), § 79.
§ 1027. Repealed. 1983, No. 247 (Adj. Sess.), § 4(4)
§ 1028. Repealed. 1983, No. 247 (Adj. Sess.), § 4(5).
§§ 1041-1044. Repealed. 1969, No. 298 (Adj. Sess.), § 79.
§ 1045. Driver training course
(a) A driver education and training course, approved by the department of education and the department of motor vehicles shall be made available to pupils whose parent or guardian is a resident of Vermont and who have reached their fifteenth birthday and who are regularly enrolled in a public or independent high school approved by the state board.
(b) After June 30, 1984, all driver education courses shall include a course of instruction, approved by the state board and the council on the effects of alcohol and drugs on driving.
(c) All driver education courses shall include instruction on motor vehicle liability insurance and the motor vehicle financial responsibility laws of the state. (Added 1969, No. 298 (Adj. Sess.), § 69; amended 1975, No. 1 (Sp. Sess.), § 10, eff. Oct. 22, 1975; 1983, No. 51, § 5, eff. April 22, 1983; 1985, No. 77, § 6; 1991, No. 24, § 11.)
§ 1046. Arrangement
Subject to the approval of the commissioner each superintendent of schools shall arrange for establishment of a driver education and training course for all public and approved independent schools located within his or her supervisory jurisdiction that so request. (Added 1969, No. 298 (Adj. Sess.), § 70; amended 1991, No. 24, § 5.)
§ 1047. State to pay costs
The state shall pay to each school providing an approved driver education and training course an amount per pupil instructed in driver education to be determined annually by the legislature. (Added 1969, No. 298 (Adj. Sess.), § 71; amended 1975, No. 1 (Sp. Sess.), § 11, eff. Oct. 22, 1975.)
§ 1047a. Driver's education grants
(a) The purpose of the driver's education grant program is to provide increased availability and quality of driver's education programs for Vermont students to prepare them for the responsibilities and requirements of safely operating a motor vehicle.
(b) The commissioner of motor vehicles and the commissioner of education shall cooperatively establish and implement a driver's education grant program that improves the availability and quality of driver's education programs. Eligible applicants shall include Vermont public secondary and vocational schools and supervisory unions on behalf of a school or schools. Grant awards shall be up to $12,500.00. Eligible activities shall include one or more of the following:
(1) proposals and activities which result in increased parental involvement;
(2) increased availability of driver's education including reducing waiting lists;
(3) increased exposure to nighttime driving;
(4) increased exposure to diverse weather conditions;
(5) costs associated with the purchase and use of simulators;
(6) increased practice with the operation of standard transmissions;
(7) creative proposals designed to reduce alcohol abuse among enrolled students including peer counseling;
(8) training opportunities for educators; and
(9) purchase of materials and equipment designed to enhance curricula. (Added 1999, No. 140 (Adj. Sess.), § 10.)
§ 1048. Administration
The administration of this subchapter, including the training and qualification of instructors, selection of instructional material and visual aids, shall be in the department of education. (Added 1969, No. 298 (Adj. Sess.), § 72.)
§ 1049. Programs
(a) The commissioner of education may provide programs designed to fit the individual needs and circumstances of adult students. Programs authorized under this section shall give priority to those adult persons with the lowest levels of literacy skills.
(b)(1) Fees for general educational development shall be $3.00 for a transcript.
(2) The adult diploma program (ADP) means an assessment process administered by the Vermont department of education through which an adult can receive a local high school diploma granted by one of the program's participating high schools.
(3) General educational development (GED) means a testing program administered jointly by the Vermont department of education, the GED testing service, and approved local testing centers through which an adult can receive a secondary school equivalency certificate based on successful completion of the tests of general educational development.
(c) Fees collected under this section shall be credited to a special fund established and managed pursuant to chapter 7, subchapter 5 of Title 32, and shall be available to the department to offset the costs of providing those services. (Added 1977, No. 256 (Adj. Sess.); 1997, No. 59, § 25, eff. June 30, 1997; 1999, No. 49, § 196.)
§ 1049a. High school completion program
(a) In this section:
(1) "Graduation education plan" means a written plan leading to a high school diploma for a person who is 16 to 22 years of age and has not received a high school diploma, who may or may not be enrolled in a public or approved independent school. The plan shall define the scope and rigor of services necessary for the student to attain a high school diploma, and may describe educational services to be provided by a public high school, an approved independent high school, an approved provider, or a combination of these.
(2) "Approved provider" means an entity approved by the commissioner to provide educational services which may be counted for credit toward a high school diploma.
(3) "Contracting agency" means an agency that has entered into a contract with the department of education to provide adult education services in Vermont.
(b) If a person who wishes to work on a graduation education plan is not enrolled in a public or approved independent school, then the commissioner shall assign the prospective student to a high school district, which shall be the district of residence whenever possible. The school district in which a student is enrolled or to which a non-enrolled student is assigned shall work with the contracting agency and the student to develop a graduation education plan. The school district shall award a high school diploma upon successful completion of the plan.
(c) The commissioner shall reimburse, and net cash payments where possible, a school district that has agreed to a graduation education plan in an amount:
(1) established by the commissioner for development of the graduation education plan and for other educational services typically provided by the assigned district or an approved independent school pursuant to the plan, such as counseling, health services, participation in cocurricular activities, and participation in academic or other courses, provided this amount shall not be available to a district that provides services under this section to an enrolled student; and
(2) negotiated by the commissioner and the contracting agency, with the approved provider, for services and outcomes purchased from the approved provider on behalf of the student pursuant to the graduation education plan.
(d) [Repealed.] (Added 2005, No. 176 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; amended 2009, No. 33, § 83(g)(2); 2009, No. 44, § 42, eff. May 21, 2009.)