Fairness is a level playing field, a basic expectation. Whether it’s a soccer game or a courtroom, the same rules should apply to everyone. That’s how public systems are supposed to work.

But in Vermont education, that field is grossly tilted. Private schools that receive public funds play by a different set of rules. They can decide which students to admit, and which to turn away. They can dismiss students without explanation, without cause and without recourse. They are not required to follow Vermont’s Education Quality Standards, hire licensed teachers, or publicly report statewide assessment results. They do not have to report their finances, and there is no public accountability for how they spend taxpayer money. Yet they receive public dollars from the same pool that funds schools open to everyone.

Public schools have an obligation to serve every child who walks through their doors, no matter who they are or what they need. They are held to rigorous academic standards, required to employ licensed teachers and are accountable to taxpayers and the state.

Public schools are transparent about how they spend money, how they educate students, and how they support families. They don’t get to pick and choose. They take all comers and make it work.

It’s not a level playing field. It isn’t fair. And it’s not what Vermonters expect when they invest in education.

Gov. Scott’s latest proposal, delivered by the Secretary of Education, makes this imbalance worse. Under his plan, Vermont would expand a statewide voucher and lottery system, directing more public money to private schools that are not accountable to Vermont families or taxpayers. There’s no clear plan for improving outcomes, no assurances for taxpayers, and no guarantees for students who might be left behind. Just a wide-open door for public dollars to flow to private interests with little oversight or consequence.

We’ve seen this before, in other states. Promises of bold reform turn into systems that drain resources from public schools and widen gaps in equity. Costs go up. Student outcomes do not. And those with the fewest options, rural families, students with disabilities, children in poverty, are the ones who lose.

Vermont’s Constitution demands better. It requires the state to provide a system of public education for all children. It ensures that public resources serve the common good. It even prohibits taxpayer money from funding religious education.

And yet, every year, public dollars in Vermont are used to support private schools that are free to exclude students, sidestep public standards, and discriminate, while answering to no one.

What we are demanding is nothing less and nothing more than fairness, accountability and transparency. If a school receives public money, it should meet the same expectations as public schools. That means open enrollment without selective admissions. It means protections against dismissal without cause and fair, consistent discipline policies. It means licensed teachers in every classroom. It means participating in standardized assessments and sharing the results publicly. It means transparency in their finances and how they spend public tax dollars. It means meeting Vermont’s Education Quality Standards and being subject to oversight and enforcement.

This is how we make sure public money serves the public good. No exemptions. No special treatment.

Vermont’s education system doesn’t need more risk, more confusion, or more inequity. It needs real reform that strengthens our public schools, restores public trust and puts students first. The governor’s proposal doesn’t do that. It undermines the very principles that have guided Vermont’s schools for generations.

Let’s focus on what works: policies grounded in data, facts and the lived experiences of Vermont families and educators. Not ideology. Not slogans. One field. One set of rules. That’s what our kids deserve.

Neil Odell is a member of the board of directors of Friends of Vermont Public Education, for whom this column was submitted. He lives in Norwich.