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Local Career Technical Education Programs

V.S.A. tit. 16, ch. 37, subch. 3
in effect

16 V.S.A. § 1541 Responsibility of local school boards that operate career technical centers

1541. Responsibility of local school boards that operate career technical centers (a) A school board that operates a CTE center has responsibility for providing secondary and adult career technical education services within its service region. (b) A school board that operates a CTE center shall establish a regional advisory board. It shall give due regard to the policy and financial recommendations of its regional advisory board. When the school board rejects a written recommendation of a regional advisory board, or fails to adopt a recommendation after 30 days, it shall notify the advisory board and the Secretary in writing, stating its reasons. If the State Board designates a service region for two or more comprehensive high schools, the boards of the high schools shall establish a joint regional advisory board. (c) In consultation with its regional advisory board, a school board that operates a regional CTE center shall: (1) annually set the budget for operation of the center; (2) establish the secondary and adult curriculum of the regional center, including courses of study offered; (3) whenever advantageous to the service region, provide for the decentralization of its career technical programs, including the creation of rotating and satellite programs; (4) employ and, as need requires, dismiss an assistant director for adult education and, subject to section 243 of this title, a director of career technical education; (5) establish admission and program completion policies; (6) periodically evaluate the success of the center in serving all parts of its service area and in offering useful adult training and education programs; (7) periodically evaluate the quality of each course of study offered by the center; (8) coordinate use of the center with the Vermont State Colleges; with other State programs, including licensing, job training, and apprenticeship programs; and other approved institutions, for the provision of postsecondary career technical education programs, and charge fees not exceeding actual direct and indirect costs of the use of the center; (9) offer programs designed to acquaint prospective students with CTE programs that do not require an enrollment commitment; and (10) after giving due consideration to efficient and cost-effective use of the center, establish fees for building and equipment use. (d) A school board that operates a CTE center: (1) shall establish a CTE tuition; (2) shall make the center’s facilities and equipment available for providing CTE education to adults; and (3) shall use and maintain all facilities designed and constructed for career technical education in a manner consistent with that purpose, except when those facilities are not needed for CTE and the Secretary consents. Added 1983, No. 247 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1987, No. 238 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 2, 3; 1989, No. 243 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1991, No. 204 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 4, 7; 1993, No. 233 (Adj. Sess.), § 49d, eff. June 21, 1994; 2007, No. 192 (Adj. Sess.), § 6.004, eff. June 7, 2008; 2013, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 145, eff. Feb. 14, 2014.

16 V.S.A. § 1541a Responsibility of local boards in sending districts

1541a. Responsibility of local boards in sending districts (a) A school board of a sending district that offers public education in grade 11 or 12 shall: (1) Provide students enrolled in grades 11 and 12 with a genuine opportunity to participate fully and to benefit from career technical education. (2) Provide students enrolled in programs at career technical centers transportation between its high school building and the career technical center or centers in its designated service region or regions. (3) If the career technical center for the region does not offer a course of study desired by a student, pay tuition on behalf of that student who applies and is accepted to another career technical center that does offer such a course of study. The district of residence is not responsible for providing transportation for a student attending a career technical center under this subdivision. (b) A school district that maintains a secondary school shall provide the names and addresses of enrolled students to the CTE center for its region for the limited purpose of the CTE center providing information to students and their parents about CTE center offerings. An approved independent school shall provide to the CTE center the names and addresses of enrolled secondary students for whom it receives publicly funded tuition dollars. Added 1987, No. 238 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; amended 1991, No. 204 (Adj. Sess.), § 7; 1997, No. 138 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, eff. April 27, 1998; 2013, No. 56, § 5, eff. May 30, 2013.

16 V.S.A. § 1542 Regional advisory board

1542. Regional advisory board (a) Each regional advisory board shall consist of: (1) one member from each public high school in the center’s service region, elected by and from among the members of that high school board for a term determined by that high school board; and (2) the superintendent or his or her designee of each supervisory union within the center’s service region; and (3) one member elected for a term of three years by and from among the school board of each sending district in the center’s service region that does not have a public high school represented on the advisory board under subdivision (1) of this section; except that, if there are more than three such districts in the center’s service area, the advisory board shall select three school boards to represent the interests of all such districts, shall rotate its selections among the districts, and shall stagger the expiration of initial terms; and (4) one member of the board of each independent comprehensive high school within a service region, elected by the members of that board for a term determined by that board; and (5) once constituted, the regional advisory board shall elect three additional members for terms of three years to represent the interests of employers or employees, provided that no two terms shall expire in any year. (b) A regional advisory board, with the consent of the State Workforce Development Board, may delegate its responsibilities to the grantee that performs workforce development activities in the region pursuant to 10 V.S.A. § 542. In this case, the grantee shall become the regional advisory board unless and until the school board that operates the career technical center requests that the regional advisory board be reconstituted pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. Added 1983, No. 247 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1987, No. 238 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; 1993, No. 233 (Adj. Sess.), § 49e, eff. June 21, 1994; 2001, No. 33, § 2; 2013, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 147, eff. Feb. 14, 2014; 2015, No. 23, § 34; 2015, No. 157 (Adj. Sess.), § K.3.

16 V.S.A. § 1544 Career technical courses in other schools

1544. Career technical courses in other schools Subject to any direction as to courses, teachers, or equipment that the State Board may prescribe by rule, high schools may include within their courses of study pretechnical or career technical courses, or both. Before establishing such a program, a high school shall consult with the regional advisory board for its CTE service region. Added 1983, No. 247 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1987, No. 238 (Adj. Sess.), § 6; 1991, No. 204 (Adj. Sess.), § 7; 2013, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 148, eff. Feb. 14, 2014; 2019, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 76.

16 V.S.A. § 1545 Credits and grades earned

1545. Credits and grades earned (a) Credits or proficiencies and grades earned in a course offered within a CTE program approved by the State Board shall not be altered by any public school or approved or recognized independent school in Vermont and shall be applied by the school toward any State graduation requirements in accordance with rules adopted by the State Board. Any State Board rules regarding earning of credits or proficiencies shall allow flexibility with respect to the integration of CTE education and other academic courses. (b) The credits or proficiencies earned for a career technical education program approved by the State Board shall be honored by any public or independent school within Vermont. If necessary to enable a student to participate in career technical education and graduate with the student’s class, the credits or proficiencies earned shall be applied toward any school district or independent school graduation requirements exceeding the minimum number of credits or proficiencies required by the State Board. The school board of the high school from which the student wishes to graduate shall apply credits or proficiencies earned for a career technical education program approved by the State Board toward graduation requirements. A decision of a school board may be appealed to the Secretary who shall construe this section to favor participation in career technical education. (c) For any student attending the Vermont Academy for Science and Technology pursuant to subsection 4011(e) of this title, the credits or proficiencies and grades earned shall, upon request of the student or the student’s parent or guardian, be applied toward graduation requirements at the Vermont high school that the student attended prior to enrolling in the Academy. Added 1997, No. 138 (Adj. Sess.), § 8; amended 2001, No. 149 (Adj. Sess.), § 68, eff. June 27, 2002; 2003, No. 36, § 20; 2013, No. 77, § 9; 2013, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 149, eff. Feb. 14, 2014; 2025, No. 177 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, eff. June 18, 2026.

16 V.S.A. § 1546 Comprehensive high schools

1546. Comprehensive high schools (a) In the sections referenced in this section, when applied to an independent comprehensive high school, the term “school board” or “school district” means “the school’s board of trustees.” (b) A comprehensive high school shall charge and receive tuition pursuant to section 824 of this title. A comprehensive high school shall be a career technical center for the purposes of receiving funding for grants per full-time equivalent student under section 1561 of this title, for tryout classes under section 1562 of this title, and for reporting requirements under section 1568 of this title. Funds received under this section shall be used for support of career technical education programs within the comprehensive high school. (c) Two or more comprehensive high schools for which the State Board has designated a service region shall be a career technical center for the purposes of accountability to the State Board under subchapter 2 of this chapter, responsibilities of the career technical center under subchapter 3 of this chapter, and receiving State financial assistance under subchapter 5 of this chapter, excluding the general State support grant under subsection 1561(b) of this title. The regional advisory board shall determine how funds received under subchapter 5 shall be distributed. A comprehensive high school aggrieved by a decision of the regional advisory board may appeal to the Secretary who, after opportunity for hearing, may affirm or modify the decision. Added 1999, No. 10, § 2; amended 2001, No. 63, § 164a, eff. July 1, 2002; 2013, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 150, eff. Feb. 14, 2014; 2015, No. 23, § 35; 2021, No. 127 (Adj. Sess.), § 23, eff. July 1, 2024.
Source: Vermont General Assembly (legislature.vermont.gov)URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/16/037Fetched: 10/21/2026

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