Vermont Independent School Moratorium: What It Means for Microschools

Vermont has a unique school choice tradition: towns without their own high schools pay tuition for students to attend independent schools, including some well-known private academies. That system has been under legislative pressure for years, and in 2022, the State Board of Education stopped approving new independent schools entirely. If you're trying to start a microschool that can access public tuition, this directly affects your options.

Here's what the moratorium means, what led to it, and what paths are still open for Vermont microschool founders.

Vermont's Independent School System: Background

Vermont has long allowed certain independent (private) schools to receive public tuition payments from towns that lack a local public school. These are called "approved independent schools" — they go through a state approval process and, once approved, can accept publicly-funded students.

In practice, this created a small-scale school choice system. Families in tuitioned towns could send their children to approved independent schools at public expense. The list of approved schools includes well-established Vermont academies (Thetford Academy, Lyndon Institute, etc.) and some smaller private schools.

The 2022 Moratorium

In 2022, the Vermont State Board of Education imposed a moratorium on approving any new independent schools. No new school can enter the approved independent school list until the legislature provides guidance.

The moratorium was tied to broader concerns about Act 46 (school consolidation), Act 73 (which restricted public tuition eligibility), and the state's fiscal stress around education funding. The Board determined it needed legislative direction before expanding the pool of publicly-funded school options further.

As of early 2026, the moratorium remains in effect. There is no pending legislation that appears likely to lift it in the near term.

What Act 73 Did to Public Tuition Eligibility

Even if the moratorium weren't in place, Act 73 created an additional hurdle for newer independent schools. Under Act 73, an independent school can only receive public tuition from a Vermont town if it historically enrolled at least 25% of its student body from that town's publicly-funded student population.

For a brand-new school, that 25% threshold is essentially impossible to meet immediately. This means even if the moratorium were lifted tomorrow, a newly approved school would have limited ability to access public tuition in the near term.

What This Means for Microschool Founders

If your goal is to operate a small private school that:

• Receives public tuition from local towns
• Has state-recognized diploma-granting authority
• Participates in Vermont's school choice program

...that path is effectively closed for new entrants right now. The moratorium plus Act 73's historical enrollment requirement make it not viable.

This does not affect home study microschools. The home study path under 16 V.S.A. §166b — which is what most Vermont learning pods and microschools use — is completely separate from the independent school system. H.461, signed in July 2023, actually simplified home study registration significantly. Under current law, families file a Notice of Intent, attest to 175 days of instruction covering required subjects, and choose their own assessment method. No AOE curriculum approval required.

The independent school moratorium has zero impact on families operating under home study.

H.461 (2023): The Actual Good News

While the independent school moratorium is a constraint, H.461 moved in the opposite direction for home study families. Before H.461:

• Parents had to submit their minimum course of study (MCOS) curriculum to the AOE for review
• End-of-year assessments had to be submitted to AOE

After H.461:

• Parents only need to file a Notice of Intent at least 10 business days before starting
• No curriculum submission required — you attest to having an MCOS covering required subjects
• Assessments are only submitted if the AOE specifically requests them
• The AOE's role shifted from pre-approval to notification

This is a meaningful deregulation. It makes the home study model even more flexible and less bureaucratic. See Vermont homeschool laws for the full current requirements.

Your Practical Options as a Microschool Founder

Given the moratorium, most Vermont microschool founders operate in one of these ways:

Home study pod (most common): Each family registers as a home study program under §166b. The families co-locate instruction at a neutral space or rotate homes. No state approval needed. No public tuition available. But also no regulatory oversight, no enrollment caps, and full curriculum control.

Private school (non-approved): You can operate a private school without state approval. Families pay tuition directly. No access to public school choice funding. Viable if you're building a premium program with 10+ paying families and significant tuition. Requires compliance with basic health, safety, and other laws applicable to private businesses serving children.

Home study with public school access: Under Act 77, home study students can access up to two public school courses, extracurriculars, and sports. For high schoolers, dual enrollment at CCV or UVM is available at no cost. This hybrid approach lets families build a strong program without needing independent school status. See Vermont Act 77 dual enrollment for how it works.

If the Moratorium Lifts

If the legislature eventually lifts the moratorium or creates a new pathway for small independent schools, the process for approval would go through the Vermont Agency of Education and State Board. At that point, schools would need to demonstrate they meet AOE standards for approved independent schools — curriculum, teacher qualifications, facilities, governance. That's a longer-term project for a well-established microschool, not a starting point.

For now, the home study framework gives Vermont microschool founders more flexibility than the independent school route would anyway — without the oversight, approval processes, or enrollment restrictions that come with state recognition.

The Vermont Micro-School & Pod Kit at homeschoolstartguide.com/us/vermont/microschool/ is built around the home study model — with complete NOI filing guidance, two-child rule compliance tools, participation agreements, and a legal structure overview that reflects H.461 and current Vermont law.

See more United States homeschool guides →