In 2018, Drs. Garnett & Smith were invited to provide expert testimony on H 675, a bill related to restorative practices implementation in Vermont schools.
In 2021, Drs. Garnett & Smith were invited to provide expert testimony on Vermont S.16, an act relating to the creation of the Task Force on Equitable and Inclusive School Environments. Our testimony emphatically addresses the need to center the role of institutional racism and “the need for critically conscious school discipline policies and data collection systems in Vermont.
At a time when students nationwide are physically, emotionally, and socially separated from this safety net, Dr. Garnett remains hopeful that schools can provide critical leverage, even outside the traditional academic paradigm, to set children on positive trajectories. Read more about her research agenda in the UVM CESS faculty spotlight.
For the past three years, the VT Agency of Education and Project CORE UVM partners have been working closely with the pilot schools so awardees have data they can use to refine their programming and inform future state CS legislation. Read more about UVM, Project CORE, and the Community Schools movement in Vermont.