Vermont's Act 170 (H.955), signed into law by Governor Phil Scott on June 18, 2026, establishes seven Cooperative Educational Service Areas (CESAs) effective July 1, 2026, and requires roughly 20 school district merger committees to begin meeting by October 15, 2026. The law represents a shift from the state-directed redistricting approach of Act 73 (2025) to a district-led, voluntary-merger process. In an August 19 letter, Scott urged school leaders not to slow down, saying the state has already waited too long and that every year of delay means unequal opportunities for students and tax increases families cannot afford.
What Act 170 creates
The seven CESAs rename and replace the former Boards of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES). Each supervisory union was assigned to a CESA, and each member supervisory union board had to appoint a CESA board director within 30 days of the act's passage. The superintendent of the largest member supervisory union was required to call the first CESA board meeting within 45 days to elect a chair and officers. Beginning July 1, 2026, each CESA must offer, when requested, services in special education (including tiered systems of support and low-incidence high-cost services), business and information technology administration, and union school district creation consultation and facilitation. By July 1, 2027, required services expand to include professional development, curriculum coordination, transportation, and facilities master planning. Each CESA must employ an executive director.
Timeline and deadlines
- By September 15, 2026: Each school district must appoint at least one current board member to its assigned merger committee.
- By October 1, 2026 (or September 1 per statute): The Vermont Learning Collaborative must hire seven regional facilitators and one lead facilitator.
- By October 15, 2026: Each merger committee must hold its first meeting.
- By September 1, 2027: Merger committees must complete final reports and transmit them with proposed articles of agreement if applicable to school boards, the Secretary of Education, and the State Board.
- By December 15, 2027: The State Board of Education must issue findings.
- On March 7, 2028: Voter referenda on proposed mergers will be held.
Implementation challenges
CESA board chairs report significant logistical challenges in establishing the new entities. The superintendent of the Harwood Unified Union School District, who serves as board chair of the Winooski Valley CESA, raised concerns about the ability of a newly formed governmental entity to cover expenses without established funding or financial systems. The superintendent of South Burlington, chair of the Chittenden Central CESA, sent an August 19 letter with 30 questions about the process to the governor, education secretary, and legislators. CESAs are funded through proportional membership fees, fees for services, and one-time startup grants of $15,000, along with $50,000 per CESA for hiring an executive director, though CESAs must front the costs and seek state reimbursement.
Precedent and evidence
Act 170 builds on Act 46 (2015), which the 2026 law's legislative findings describe as having achieved measurable administrative efficiencies, including reductions in per-pupil central office costs and elimination of duplicative governance structures, while maintaining or improving student opportunities in many regions. That assessment is a legislative finding, not an independent evaluation, and the qualifier suggests outcomes varied. Act 170 also replaces Act 73 (2025), which had mandated a state-directed redistricting process with a weighted student funding formula and statewide tax rate. The new law extends the timeline for that formula's implementation to July 1, 2029, and makes it contingent on further legislative action.
An opinion piece published by VTDigger on July 19, 2026 argues that Act 170 pays districts to merge but lacks an efficiency target, oversight body, or clear definition of success. The editorial notes that while the law provides incentives for consolidation, it does not specify measurable savings. This is an editorial assessment rather than a peer-reviewed study, but it highlights an unresolved question about whether the voluntary-merger framework will produce the efficiencies the governor has called for.
Foundation formula contingencies
The foundation formula and statewide tax rate established under Act 73 will not take effect until July 1, 2029, and only if the General Assembly receives required reports and enacts additional legislation addressing career and technical education funding, special education funding, sparsity measures, secondary student weighting, geographic cost differences, prekindergarten funding, and legacy collective bargaining agreements. Act 170 also introduces excess spending threshold penalties for districts that spend above a set per-pupil amount and prohibits any town or group of towns from withdrawing from a union school district through fiscal year 2035.
Districts that do not successfully merge by July 1, 2028 will be classified as eligible school districts and face a standalone merge process with a neighboring unified union school district. The State Board of Education must submit a report by November 1, 2029 identifying any district with fewer than 750 students that has not merged, with recommendations for further mergers.