Christopher McVeigh v. Vermont School Boards Association, 266 A.3d 763

McVeigh requested VSBA emails (Jan 1, 2016–Jun 18, 2019) between the VSBA executive director and leaders of the Principals and Superintendents Associations; VSBA refused as a private nonprofit.
VSBA is a voluntary membership, private Vermont nonprofit of school boards (membership optional), governed by an executive director and board (currently all public school board members).
VSBA provides advocacy, training, policy research, model policies, consulting, and appointments to certain statutorily created boards, and receives dues, service fees, and contracts (major revenue from member school boards and education-related agreements).
Statutes authorize VSBA to appoint representatives to various state boards and to provide recommendations or staff support, but do not delegate authority to operate schools or provide education to pupils.
The superior court granted summary judgment for VSBA, concluding it was not the functional equivalent of a public agency under the Vermont Public Records Act (PRA). The Supreme Court affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the PRA incorporates a general "functional-equivalency" test to cover private entities	McVeigh: courts should apply a functional-equivalency test to capture private entities performing public functions	VSBA: PRA's text lists specific government forms; no textual basis for general functional-equivalency test	Court: PRA contains no general functional-equivalency concept; must follow statutory text; only listed forms apply
Whether VSBA is a "public agency"/"instrumentality" under the PRA	McVeigh: VSBA is functionally equivalent because it advances public education, is governed by elected public board members, and receives majority funding from public school boards	VSBA: Private nonprofit that is not delegated the governmental duty to provide education; statutory mentions (appointments, advice) do not make it an instrumentality	Court: VSBA is not an instrumentality; it was not delegated a uniquely governmental function and merely supports—not performs—public education; funding and elected-board composition alone are insufficient

Progressive N. Ins. Co. v. Muller, 249 A.3d 24 (Vt. 2020) (standard of review for summary judgment)
Nolan v. Fishman, 218 A.3d 1034 (Vt. 2019) (summary judgment review; no genuine dispute of material fact requirement)
Doyle v. City of Burlington Police Dep’t, 219 A.3d 326 (Vt. 2019) (apply plain statutory text in PRA interpretation)
Long v. City of Burlington, 199 A.3d 542 (Vt. 2018) (discussed functional-equivalency in PRA context)
Brigham v. State, 692 A.2d 384 (Vt. 1997) (recognizing education as a fundamental governmental obligation)