Parents in Vermont Challenge State’s New Education Reform Law
Two parents from Georgia, Vermont, Kollene Caspers and Michele Orosz, have initiated legal proceedings against the state, arguing that a recent education reform law restricts their children’s access to private schooling and curtails educational opportunities. The lawsuit was filed last Friday in Washington County Superior Court.
At the heart of the lawsuit is Vermont’s publicly funded tuition system, which allows families in certain districts without a public school to use public funds for private schooling, known as independent schools under state law. The contested legislation, Act 73, signed by Gov. Phil Scott, places new limits on this system, restricting public funds to only 18 private schools.
According to Caspers and Orosz, Act 73’s “drastic and unprecedented new restrictions” infringe upon their children’s right to equal educational opportunities and reduce access to “robust services and programs.” The law mandates that to receive public tuition dollars, private schools must be in a district lacking public schools for some grades and must have at least 25% of students funded by a Vermont public school district from the 2023-24 school year.
The lawsuit also affects students attending Rice Memorial High School, a private Catholic institution in South Burlington. Current students remain eligible for public tuition, but younger siblings not yet enrolled cannot use public funds due to the school’s non-compliance with the new eligibility criteria.
Orosz expressed frustration in a press release, stating there was “no rhyme or reason to which schools and which kids get to stay eligible for town tuitioning and which ones the Legislature blocked.”
Naming Vermont’s Education Secretary Zoie Saunders as a defendant, the lawsuit is spearheaded by attorney Deborah Bucknam and the Liberty Justice Center, a Chicago-based legal group. The Agency of Education, represented by Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark, did not comment on the lawsuit.
Jeffrey Schwab, Liberty Justice Center’s director of litigation, remarked that Act 73 “limits the ability of Vermont families to meet their educational need and rescinds a tradition that goes back two centuries.” This marks the second legal challenge against Act 73 related to private school tuition.
Previously, the Mid Vermont Christian School in Quechee, backed by the Alliance Defending Freedom, filed a lawsuit in federal court, claiming the law discriminates against religious schools by cutting off public funding.
The changes introduced by Act 73 follow the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Carson v. Makin decision, which had led to an increase in public funds for religious schools. The lawsuit by Caspers and Orosz is not a first for Bucknam and the Liberty Justice Center, who previously sought a statewide school choice program in 2020, a case that was eventually dismissed by the Vermont Supreme Court.
The Liberty Justice Center, known for its right-leaning stance, has been involved in various legal cases across the U.S., including challenges against vaccine mandates and supporting parental notification policies in schools.
