Vermont H.454 mandates minimum class sizes starting in 2026, requiring at least 18 students per class in high school. While exceptions are granted for Advanced Placement (AP) classes and career and technical education (CTE), plus other courses, world language did not make the list. As it is highly unlikely that foreign language rosters in small rural schools will meet the quota at any given level from novice to advanced, these offerings may be cut altogether.
While a provision in H.454 grants schools a grace period of three years before forcing a closure on the basis of insufficient class size numbers, unless world language courses are explicitly named on the list of exceptions, the path to preserving them in our school programs will be precarious — and if the law is enforced as written, under-filled classes could be canceled or not offered at all.
The benefits of studying languages are widely recognized as going well beyond vocabulary and grammar concepts. According to the Vermont Agency of Education, “World language study opens the door to opportunity and provides a competitive edge in our global economy. Research shows a direct correlation between bilingualism and problem-solving, metalinguistic skills, memory, verbal and spatial abilities, intelligence, performance on tests and success at the college level. Recent research also suggests that language learners develop a more positive attitude toward the target language and/or the speakers of that language.” In this moment in history when understanding each other and working with each other regardless of our background is the only way forward as a nation, and globally, Vermont simply cannot afford to cut these programs.
Quality Standard 2120.5 by the Vermont Agency of Education recognizes this. It says that “each school shall enable students to engage annually in rigorous, relevant and comprehensive learning opportunities that allow them to demonstrate proficiency in global citizenship (including the concepts of civics, economics, geography, world language, cultural studies and history).” If H.454’s class-size mandate forces schools to cease offering these courses due to low enrollment, how can we expect to achieve the goal of producing bilingual, nationally and globally competent graduates? The impact on students with college aspirations would be pronounced, as between two and four years of foreign language studies are usually required in order to be considered for admission.
Vermont lawmakers should carefully consider the future of our children and fix this problem. I urge legislators to include an amendment or clarifying language in the law that explicitly exempts world language courses from minimum class sizes, treating them as the essential, enriching content subjects they are. By doing so, our leaders will be saying yes to global competency and no to a narrow cost-cutting metric that could impoverish our educational offerings — and our students’ opportunities.
Carmenza Montague, a native of Colombia, is a teacher at Blue Mountain Union School in Wells River. She lives in West Burke, Vt.