Vermont: "Continued high rate of students with emotional disturbances"

Sept 30, 2025, ABC22, Montpelier, VT: Report: gaps in Vermont special education driving higher costs 

https://www.mychamplainvalley.com/news/local-news/vermont/report-gaps-in-vermont-special-education-driving-higher-costs/amp

Despite improvements in certain areas, children with disabilities are still dropping out of school at higher rates than other students in Vermont – and the number of children with certain disabilities is rising.

A new report by the Agency of Education suggests that Vermont’s strong commitment to inclusion helps keep children in regular classrooms.

Of students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) – a personalized form required for access to special education services – more than 82% are now learning mainly in regular classes, far higher than the most recent numbers for the U.S. as a whole, and marking a slow increase over the past four years.

But more than 5% of those students have been moved to a different school. That’s more than double the country as a whole, and the report suggests this could be a contributor to the Green Mountain State’s rising education costs.

Vermont’s system appears to be bifurcated: a highly inclusive system formost students, but with a significant leap to separate, specialized environments when local, in-district supports are insufficient. This trend is a critical factor in the state’s rising extraordinary costs.

Report from the Vermont Agency of Education, September 26, 2025

Two specific categories of IEP have been on the rise in recent years – students with autism, and “other health impairment,” a category that covers a wide variety of chronic health problems. According to the report, these rises, as well as Vermont’s continued high rate of students with emotional disturbances, are part of why costs are higher.

Special education costs, according to the report, have risen in recent years – but less sharply than those for education as a whole. Education expenditures are up 37% in Vermont between the 2020 and 2024 fiscal years.

“The data and feedback from the field confirms that inclusion alone is not enough,” says State Director of Special Education Cassie Santo. She nevertheless praised what she called “Vermont’s deep commitment to inclusive learning environments.” .