Vermont — school discipline

Governing authority stated in the sources

16 V.S.A. §§ 1161a (discipline plan and corporal-punishment prohibition) and 1162 (suspension or expulsion of students), both in the "EFFECTIVE DISCIPLINE MEASURES" subchapter of Title 16, Chapter 25. Section 1162's history runs through "2021, No. 166 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. June 1, 2022." — 16 V.S.A. § 1162, retrieved Sep 1, 2026

The lines the state draws

Suspension and expulsion lengths are stated together, tied to the school board's approval: "A superintendent or principal may, pursuant to policies adopted by the school board that are consistent with State Board rules, suspend a student for up to 10 school days or, with the approval of the board of the school district, expel a student for up to the remainder of the school year or up to 90 school days, whichever is longer," for the grounds the statute lists. (§ 1162(a)) A youngest-student floor is stated separately: "a student enrolled in a public school, approved independent school, or prequalified private prekindergarten program who is under eight years of age shall not be suspended or expelled from the school; provided, however, that the school may suspend or expel the student if the student poses an imminent threat of harm or danger to others in the school." (§ 1162(d)) On emergency removal: "Nothing contained in this section shall prevent a superintendent or principal, subject to subsequent due process procedures, from removing immediately from a school a student who poses a continuing danger to persons or property or an ongoing threat of disrupting the academic process of the school, or from expelling a student who brings a weapon to school pursuant to section 1166 of this title." (§ 1162(b))

Offices and appeal bodies in these sources

Neither captured section names a hearing officer, a board hearing procedure, or an appeal body; the statute requires only that a comprehensive plan include "Standard due process procedures for suspension and expulsion of a student." (§ 1161a(a)(7))
No state office, phone number, or email for parents appears in the sources; those absences are the findings.

Sources last checked

Sep 1, 2026

Reproduced from the state's own statutes quoted below: potentially relevant official sources, not a determination of which one governs any situation.

This page assembles what Vermont publishes in statute about K-12 school discipline. This is a baseline docket page: the governing sections, the lines the state draws, and the decision-makers and appeal route, quoted with dates. The full sections (the framework route by route, the four hoisted process rows, every stated timeline, the district delegation map, and records access) follow as the discipline layer deepens behind its breadth sprint; the change log states exactly what is not yet captured. Vermont's central discipline requirement is a school-written plan, not a state-specified procedure: "Each public and each approved independent school shall adopt and implement a comprehensive plan for responding to student misbehavior." That plan must include "The school's approach to classroom management and response to disruptive behavior, including the use of alternative educational settings." It must also include "Procedures for informing parents of the school's discipline policies, for notifying parents of student misconduct, and for working with parents to improve student behavior." It must include "A description of behaviors on and off school grounds that constitute misconduct, including harassment, bullying, and hazing, particularly those behaviors that may be grounds for expulsion." And it must include "Standard due process procedures for suspension and expulsion of a student." (§ 1161a(a)) That delegation will anchor the full page's delegation map. Corporal punishment is prohibited outright, with narrow exceptions: "No person employed by or agent of a public or approved independent school shall inflict or cause to be inflicted corporal punishment upon a student attending the school or the institution." That prohibition does not bar reasonable and necessary force "to quell a disturbance;" "to obtain possession of weapons or other dangerous objects upon the person of or within the control of a student;" "for the purpose of self defense; or" "for the protection of persons or property." (§ 1161a(c)) The expulsion section also names the firearm statute directly, allowing removal of a student who brings a weapon to school under a separate provision. (§ 1162(b)) For a student with an IEP or Section 504 plan, that layer lives on this site's Vermont special education page. District codes of conduct add procedural detail this page does not carry. Confirm applicability with the school and the agencies. All dates on this page are quoted from the sources, not a deadline calculation performed for you.