Terms Used In Vermont Statutes > Title 17 > Chapter 35 > Subchapter 3 - Miscellaneous

• Accumulated contributions: shall mean the sum of all the amounts deducted from the compensation of a member and credited to his or her individual account in the Pension Fund, together with regular interest thereon, as provided in subsection 1944(b) of this title. See
• Actuarial equivalent: shall mean a benefit of equal value under the actuarial assumptions last adopted by the Retirement Board under subsection 1943a(h) of this title. See
• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• Annuity: shall mean annual payments for life derived from the accumulated contributions of a member. See
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Applicant: means an individual applying for a license. See
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Average final compensation: shall mean :

• Beneficiary: shall mean any person in receipt of a pension, an annuity, a retirement allowance or other benefit as provided by the System. See
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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
• Board: shall mean the board of trustees of the System provided for in section 1942 of this title to administer the System. See
• Board of civil authority: means , unless otherwise provided by municipal charter, in the case of a town, the selectboard and town clerk and the justices residing therein; in the case of a city, the mayor, aldermen, city clerk, and justices residing therein; in the case of a village, the trustees, village clerk, and the justices residing therein; and, in any case, such suitable member or members of unrepresented or insufficiently represented political parties as may be appointed members of the board of civil authority under the provisions of section 2143 of this title. See
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• 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.
• Creditable service: shall mean membership service, any other service allowable under this chapter, and service transferred under 3 V. See
• Earnable compensation: shall mean the full rate of compensation for the performance of professional services paid to a teacher when the teacher works the full normal working time for his or her position, in whatever manner paid, plus all additional wages received by a teacher for duties performed that provide direct educational value to the students. See
• Election: means the procedure whereby the voters of this State, or any of its political subdivisions, select persons to fill public offices or act on public questions. See
• 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.
• filed: means deposited in the regularly maintained office of the official with whom the filing is to be made. 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
• Give: means to offer, present, confer, pay, or deliver; also to agree or promise to do any of the foregoing. See
• Group A member: any person who is first included in the membership of the System prior to July 1, 1981. See
• Group C member: any person who is first included in the membership of the System on or after July 1, 1990, any person who was a Group B member on June 30, 1990 who was in service on that date, and any person who was a Group B member on June 30, 1990 who was absent from service on that date who returns to service on or after July 1, 1990. See
• Hearing panel: means the persons assigned in individual cases to find facts, reach conclusions of law, and make decisions regarding compliance with standards for obtaining, retaining, and renewing licenses. See
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• License: means a license to engage in teaching or school administration, as the context requires, in the State and includes, unless the context requires otherwise, the endorsements the licensee has applied for or possesses. See
• Licensee: means an individual licensed under this chapter. See
• Medical Board: shall mean the board of physicians provided for in subsection 1942(k) of this title. See
• Member: shall mean any person included in the System pursuant to section 1933 of this chapter. See
• Membership service: shall mean service as a member for which credit is allowable as provided in subsection 1936(a) of this title. See
• Month: shall mean a calendar month and "year" shall mean a calendar year and be equivalent to the expression "year of our Lord. See
• Office: means the office within the Agency responsible for professional standards and educator licensing. See
• Pension: shall mean annual payments for life derived from money provided by the State. See
• Person: means any individual, business entity, labor organization, public interest group, or other organization, incorporated or unincorporated. See
• Political subdivision: means any county, municipality (including cities, towns, and villages), representative district, senatorial district, school district, fire district, water, sewer, or utility district, ward, and any consolidation of the foregoing entities authorized under the laws of this State. See
• 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.
• Primary: means any election that precedes a general or special election, for the purpose of permitting political parties to nominate, from among all of the candidates for any office, only that number of candidates equal to the number of persons to be elected to that office at the succeeding general or special election. See
• Regular interest: shall mean interest at such rate as may be established from time to time by the Board as provided in subsection 1943(b) of this title. See
• Retirement: shall mean withdrawal from active service with a retirement allowance granted under the provisions of this chapter. See
• Retirement System: shall mean the State Teachers' Retirement System of Vermont, as defined in section 1932 of this title. 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 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
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Education. See
• Service: shall mean all service as a teacher for which compensation is received. See
• Standards Board: means the Vermont Standards Board for Professional Educators established under section 1693 of this title. See
• State: shall mean the State of Vermont. 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
• Superintendent: means the chief executive officer of a supervisory union and each school board within it. 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
• Teacher: means an individual licensed under this chapter the majority of whose employed time in a public school district or supervisory union is assigned to furnish to students direct instructional or other educational services, as defined by rule of the Standards Board, or who is otherwise subject to licensing as determined by the Standards Board. See
• Teacher: shall mean any licensed teacher, principal, supervisor, superintendent, or any professional licensed by the Vermont Standards Board for Professional Educators who is regularly employed, or otherwise contracted if following retirement, for the full normal working time for his or her position in a public day school or school district within the State, or in any school or teacher-training institution located within the State, controlled by the State Board of Education, and supported wholly by the State; or in certain public independent schools designated for such purposes by the Board in accordance with section 1935 of this title. See
• Town: includes "city. See
• Voter: means an individual who is qualified to vote in an election in this State or a political subdivision of this State, and whose name is registered on the checklist of a political subdivision of the State. See
• Year: means a calendar year. See