Vermont Town Tuitioning and Homeschool: What the School Choice System Covers

Vermont has operated one of the oldest school choice programs in the country for over 150 years. The system — known as town tuitioning — allows municipalities that don't operate their own public school at a grade level to pay tuition for students to attend eligible public schools, approved independent schools, and other qualifying programs. If you're a Vermont homeschool family wondering whether this program can help cover your educational costs, the direct answer is: no, it can't. Home study is excluded from tuitioning payments.

But understanding how the system works — and why it works the way it does — is useful context for any Vermont family navigating education decisions.

How Vermont Town Tuitioning Works

Vermont's tuitioning system exists because of the state's geography and history. Many Vermont towns are too small to operate their own schools, particularly at the high school level. Rather than forcing all students to attend a single regional school, the state developed a system where towns pay tuition for their students to attend an eligible school or program under Vermont's tuitioning rules.

The mechanics:

1. A student lives in a tuitioning town — a town that doesn't operate its own school at that grade level
2. The family selects an eligible public school, approved independent school, or other qualifying program
3. The town pays tuition under Vermont's grade-specific statutory rules
4. If the school's tuition exceeds the amount the town is required or authorized to pay, the family pays the difference

High school tuitioning: Approximately 90 Vermont towns participate in high school tuitioning. Students in these towns can attend any Vermont public school free of charge, or any eligible independent school with the town's tuition payment subject to the applicable statutory limits.

Elementary tuitioning: A smaller number of towns participate in elementary tuitioning — towns without an elementary school. The same basic structure applies.

The payment limit: Vermont does not use a single statewide per-pupil cap for all tuitioning. Limits depend on grade level and receiving school. For an approved independent high school that is not a Vermont area career technical center, the district may not pay more than the statewide average announced tuition of Vermont union high schools unless the electorate approves a higher amount. Independent schools can charge above the applicable payment limit, with families paying the difference.

Which Schools Are Approved for Tuitioning

Only schools and programs that meet Vermont's statutory eligibility rules are eligible for tuitioning funds. This is where it gets complicated.

Public schools: All Vermont public schools are eligible. Students in tuitioning towns can attend any Vermont public school — the local regional high school, a school in a neighboring district, or a school anywhere in the state — with the town paying the tuition.

Approved independent schools: Vermont private/independent schools approved by the State Board of Education may qualify for tuitioning only if they meet the applicable statutory criteria. Under Act 73 of 2025, those criteria include approval on or before July 1, 2025; location in a qualifying supervisory district or union that did not operate a public school for some or all grades as of July 1, 2024; at least 25% district-funded enrollment in 2023–2024; and minimum class-size requirements. The criteria have made many religious schools ineligible for new tuitioning funds; this followed a U.S. Supreme Court decision (Carson v. Makin, 2022) and remains subject to legal challenge.

What's excluded:

• Home study / home education
• Unapproved programs
• Independent schools that do not meet the current eligibility criteria in 16 V.S.A. § 828
• Schools outside the eligible categories in 16 V.S.A. § 828; the statute includes specific exceptions for public and therapeutic schools outside Vermont

Why Home Study Is Excluded

Vermont's home study statute (16 V.S.A. § 166b) is separate from the tuitioning framework. Tuitioning is structured around payment to an eligible school or program, not payment for a family's home-study program.

A family registered for home study is not eligible for tuitioning payments. There is no mechanism — legislative or administrative — to access tuitioning funds for home education costs.

Vermont also doesn't have an Education Savings Account (ESA) program, unlike states like Arizona, Florida, or New Hampshire. ESAs provide government funds directly to families for a range of educational expenses including homeschooling. Vermont has not enacted ESA legislation as of 2025. Legislative proposals have been introduced but not passed.

This is a meaningful contrast with neighboring New Hampshire, which passed an ESA program (Education Freedom Accounts) in 2021 that allows families to use state per-pupil funds for homeschool, private school, or other education expenses.

What Tuitioning Means for Families Moving to Vermont

If you're relocating to Vermont and evaluating education options, town tuitioning status is worth checking:

If you move to a tuitioning town: Your high school student may have access to public tuition for an eligible school, subject to the current 16 V.S.A. § 828 eligibility criteria and applicable grade-level tuition rules.

If you move to a town that operates its own public school at that grade level: Town tuitioning is not the ordinary route. Under 16 V.S.A. § 822(c), a district may pay for an approved independent school or an independent school meeting education quality standards when it determines that a student's unique educational needs cannot be served within the district or at a nearby public school; otherwise, a private-school choice is privately funded.

To find out whether a Vermont town participates in tuitioning, contact the town's school board or supervisory union, or search the Vermont Agency of Education's tuitioning town list.

The Vermont Homeschool Alternative to School Choice

Since Vermont doesn't provide school choice funding for home study, Vermont homeschool families fund their own educational programs. The cost comparison matters:

Home study solo: Curriculum and materials, roughly $500-$2,500/year depending on approach. No tuition.

Home study microschool (shared instruction model): $2,400-$9,600/year per student for a pod with a part-time to full-time facilitator — still below most private school tuition.

Private school with tuitioning: Out-of-pocket cost depends on the school's tuition and the amount the district is required or authorized to pay; families pay any difference. This can be competitive with microschool costs for families who qualify.

Private school without tuitioning (full tuition): $12,000-$22,000/year. No public subsidy.

For Vermont families in tuitioning towns, comparing private school options with tuitioning funding to a well-run microschool is a legitimate financial analysis. For families not in tuitioning towns, the microschool model is often the most cost-effective path to small-group personalized education.

Vermont School Choice Advocacy

Organizations like the Vermont School Choice Coalition have advocated for expanding school choice options — including ESA programs — in Vermont. Progress has been slow; Vermont's political climate is generally protective of public school funding. Families interested in the policy landscape can track advocacy efforts through these organizations.

If you're a Vermont family weighing your options and home study or microschool is on your list, the Vermont Micro-School & Pod Kit at /us/vermont/microschool/ covers the legal framework, operational structure, and documentation systems for running a microschool in Vermont — regardless of whether tuitioning funds are in the picture.

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