Terms Used In Vermont Statutes > Title 16 > Chapter 1 - Administration Generally

• Adjusted gross income: means an individual's adjusted gross income under the laws of the United States relating to federal income taxes for the tax year next preceding the school year for which a grant or loan is sought. See
• Administrator: means any person so licensed by the Vermont Standards Board for professional educators, the majority of whose employed time in a school or a school district is devoted to serving as superintendent, assistant superintendent, assistant to the superintendent, supervisor, principal, or assistant principal. See
• Adult education and literacy: means a program of public education adapted to the needs of persons who are beyond compulsory school age, and who have not completed high school education. See
• Adult student: means a resident of this State, of any age, who has completed high school and who needs additional career technical education for entry into the labor force or who needs to upgrade skills to qualify for higher pay or for more dependable employment. See
• Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
• Agency fee: means a fee deducted by an employer from the salary or wages of an employee who is not a member of an employee organization, which is paid to the employee organization that is the exclusive bargaining agent for the bargaining unit of the employee. See
• Agency of Education: means the Secretary and staff necessary to carry out the functions of the Agency. See
• Annual meeting: when applied to towns shall mean the annual town meeting in March or an adjournment thereof. See
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• approved education program: includes an "approved teen parent education program. See
• Approved independent school: means an independent school that is approved under section 166 of this title. See
• Approved postsecondary education institution: means any institution of postsecondary education that is:

• Articles of organization: means initial, amended, and restated articles of organization and articles of merger. See
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attorney-in-fact: A person who, acting as an agent, is given written authorization by another person to transact business for him (her) out of court.
• between: as used in this title in respect to a specified age of a student, shall mean the period of time commencing on the birthday of the child when he or she becomes the age first specified and ending on the day next preceding the birthday of the child when he or she becomes the age last specified. See
• biennially: shall mean the year in which a regular session of the General Assembly is held. See
• Board: means the Board of Directors of the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation. See
• Business: includes every trade, occupation, profession, and other lawful purpose, whether or not carried on for profit. See
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• comprehensive health education: means a systematic and extensive elementary and secondary educational program designed to provide a variety of learning experiences based upon knowledge of the human organism as it functions within its environment. See
• Comprehensive high school: means a public or independent school other than a career technical center that provides secondary career technical education approved under section 1533 of this title. See
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Corporation: means the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation. See
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Dissociation: means a complete termination of a member's continued membership in a limited liability company for any reason. See
• Dissolution: means an event under section 4101 of this title which requires a limited liability company to wind up its affairs and to terminate its existence as a legal entity. See
• Electorate: means the qualified voters in a school district voting at a properly warned school district meeting. See
• Electronic funds transfer: The transfer of money between accounts by consumer electronic systems-such as automated teller machines (ATMs) and electronic payment of bills-rather than by check or cash. (Wire transfers, checks, drafts, and paper instruments do not fall into this category.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Elementary education: means a program of public school education adapted to the needs of students in prekindergarten, kindergarten, and the first six grades. See
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Executive session: A portion of the Senate's daily session in which it considers executive business.
• Fees: shall mean earnings due for official services, aside from salaries or per diem compensation. See
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
• gender identity: means an individual's actual or perceived gender identity, or gender-related characteristics intrinsically related to an individual's gender or gender-identity, regardless of the individual's assigned sex at birth. See
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Grades: means the division of the educational work of the public schools into 13 school year units beginning with kindergarten and thereafter numbered from one to 12 beginning with the lowest. See
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Hazing: means any act committed by a person, whether individually or in concert with others, against a student in connection with pledging, being initiated into, affiliating with, holding office in, or maintaining membership in any organization that is affiliated with an educational institution; and that is intended to have the effect of, or should reasonably be expected to have the effect of, humiliating, intimidating, or demeaning the student or endangering the mental or physical health of a student. See
• Higher Education Act: means the federal Higher Education Act of 1965, Pub. See
• Home study program: means an educational program offered through home study that provides a minimum course of study and that is offered to not more than:

• Independent school: means a school other than a public school, which provides a program of elementary or secondary education, or both. See
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Intangible property: Property that has no intrinsic value, but is merely the evidence of value such as stock certificates, bonds, and promissory notes.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Jurisprudence: The study of law and the structure of the legal system.
• Kindergarten: means an educational program for children of one year adapted to the needs of students who will attend first grade the following year. See
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Manager: means a person that under the operating agreement of a manager-managed limited liability company is responsible, alone or in concert with others, for performing the management functions stated in subsection 4054(c) of this title. See
• Manager-managed limited liability company: means a limited liability company that qualifies under subsection 4054(a) of this title. See
• Meeting: means any structured communication conducted by participants in person or through an electronic or telecommunications medium that permits simultaneous or sequentially structured communications. See
• Member: means a person that has become a member of a limited liability company under section 4051 of this title and has not dissociated under section 4081 of this title. See
• Member-managed limited liability company: means a limited liability company that is not a manager-managed limited liability company. See
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Municipality: shall include a city, town, town school district, incorporated school or fire district or incorporated village, and all other governmental incorporated units. See
• New District: means a district created by the realignment or merger of two or more current districts into a new supervisory district, union school district, or any other form of merged or realigned district authorized by law, including by chapter 11, subchapter 1, of this title, regardless of whether one or more of the districts creating the New District (a Realigning District) is a town school district, a city school district, an incorporated school district, a union school district, a unified union school district, or a supervisory district. See
• New SU: means a supervisory union created from the merger or realignment of two or more current supervisory unions or of all or some of the districts in one or more current supervisory unions (a Realigning SU). See
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Oath: shall include affirmation where by law an affirmation may be substituted. See
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Operating agreement: means any form of description of membership rights and obligations under section 4003 of this title, stored or depicted in any tangible or electronic medium, which is agreed to by the members, including amendments to the agreement. See
• Parents: means a student's parent or parents as determined by the Corporation consistently with the requirements of the federal financial assistance programs established under Title IV of the Higher Education Act. See
• Person: shall include any natural person, corporation, municipality, the State of Vermont or any department, agency, or subdivision of the State, and any partnership, unincorporated association, or other legal entity. See
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• President pro tempore: A constitutionally recognized officer of the Senate who presides over the chamber in the absence of the Vice President. The President Pro Tempore (or, "president for a time") is elected by the Senate and is, by custom, the Senator of the majority party with the longest record of continuous service.
• Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
• Professional negotiations: means the meeting, conferring, consulting, discussing, and negotiating in good faith between a school board negotiations council and a teachers' organization negotiations council or an administrators' organization negotiations council to reach agreement. See
• Public school: means an elementary school or secondary school operated by a school district. See
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Recess: A temporary interruption of the legislative business.
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Resident: means , with respect to a student, a student who has been domiciled in Vermont for the year preceding the date of commencement of the relevant semester or academic program. See
• said: when used by way of reference to a person or thing shall apply to the same person or thing last mentioned. See
• School board: means the board of school directors elected to manage the schools of a school district, the prudential committee of an incorporated school district, the supervisory union board of directors, and the supervisors of unorganized towns and gores. See
• School board: means the board of school directors of a school district or its equivalent in any independent elementary or secondary school. See
• School board negotiations council: means , for a supervisory district, its school board, and, for school districts within a supervisory union, the body comprising representatives designated by each school board within the supervisory union and by the supervisory union board to engage in professional negotiations with a teachers' or administrators' organization. See
• School district: means town school districts, union school districts, interstate school districts, city school districts, unified union districts, and incorporated school districts, each of which is governed by a publicly elected board. See
• School district: means any public school district or any independent elementary or secondary school within the State that directly or indirectly receives support from public funds. See
• School district meeting: means a duly warned meeting of a school district at which questions are presented to the electorate. See
• School year: means the year beginning July 1 and ending the next June 30. See
• seal: shall include an impression of the official seal made upon paper alone or by means of a wafer or wax affixed thereto. See
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Education. See
• Sending district: means a school district paying tuition on behalf of a student to a school district that provides CTE courses. See
• Service region: means , for each regional CTE center, a region surrounding it designated by rule of the State Board under section 1531 of this title. See
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• sexual orientation: means female or male homosexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality. See
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States may apply to the District of Columbia and any territory and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See
• State Board: means the State Board of Education established by chapter 3 of this title. See
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Student: means any person who:

• Superintendent: means the chief executive officer of a supervisory union and each school board within it. See
• Supervisory district: means a supervisory union that consists of only one school district, which may be a unified union district. See
• Supervisory union: means an administrative, planning, and educational service unit created by the State Board under section 261 of this title, that consists of two or more school districts; if the context clearly allows, the term also means a supervisory district. See
• sworn: shall include affirmed. See
• System: shall mean the Vermont Municipal Employees' Retirement System created pursuant to 24 Vt. See
• Taxable: when used in reference to a note, bond, or other obligation means that the interest on that obligation is includable in the gross income of the holder under the laws of the United States relating to federal income taxes. See
• Teacher: means any person licensed employable as a teacher by the Vermont Standards Board for Professional Educators who is not an administrator as defined in this section. See
• Teen parent education program: means a program designed to provide educational and other services to pregnant pupils or parenting pupils, or both. See
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• Town: shall include city and wards or precincts therein; "selectboard members" and "board of civil authority" shall extend to and include the mayor and aldermen of cities; "trustees" shall extend to and include bailiffs of incorporated villages; and the laws applicable to the inhabitants and officers of towns shall be applicable to the inhabitants and similar officers of all municipal corporations. See
• Transitional Board: means the board created prior to the first day of a New District's or a New SU's existence in order to transition to the new structure by negotiating and entering into contracts, preparing an initial proposed budget, adopting policies, and otherwise planning for implementation of the New District or New SU, and includes the board of an Absorbing District to which members from the other Realigning SU or SUs have been added in order to perform transitional responsibilities. See