Stowe, Vermont. Photo by Sadia Afreen on Unsplash.
Vermont's House Bill 705 (PDF), which, if enacted, would have established a "student secular bill of rights," protecting students in the state's public schools against "any religious instruction as part of a school curriculum, including creationism and intelligent design," died in committee when a March 13, 2026, deadline for bills to pass committee expired.
The bill was one of five bills based on model legislation drafted by a national coalition of secular organizations, including American Atheists, the American Humanist Association, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation Action Fund, as NCSE previously reported. Also now dead are Kansas's House Bill 2431 and the identical Senate Bill 424 as well as Oklahoma's House Bill 3488 (PDF). Still active is Kentucky's Senate Bill 240 (PDF).
