Existing law establishes the Department of Education, which consists of the State Board of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction. (NRS 385.010) Existing law: (1) requires the State Board to prepare a plan to improve the academic achievement of pupils; and (2) sets forth the required contents of the plan. (NRS 385.111, 385.112) Existing law also requires the board of trustees of each school district and the governing bodies of certain charter schools to prepare an annual report of accountability that contains certain information, including, without limitation, information regarding teachers, other licensed educational personnel and paraprofessionals. (NRS 385A.070, 385A.230)
Section 1.3 of this bill: (1) requires each public elementary school to prepare a plan to improve the academic achievement of pupils enrolled in public elementary schools; (2) sets forth the required contents of the plan, including, without limitation, certain goals for public elementary schools; and (3) establishes requirements governing the consequences for the principal of a public elementary school that does not meet such goals. Sections 4 and 5 of this bill make changes regarding the entity required to prepare such a plan pursuant to existing law. (NRS 385.111)
Section 1.7 of this bill establishes a procedure by which the superintendent of schools of a school district or the Superintendent of Public Instruction is authorized to modify, suspend or eliminate a requirement for a public school or school district to report information or data that is redundant or duplicative or does not provide information or data that is used by the Department, the State Board or any other person or entity to support educational outcomes.
Existing law creates the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education for the purpose of developing a statewide vision and implementation plan to improve public education in this State. (NRS 385.920) Section 5.5 of this bill revises the duties of the Commission.
Section 6.1 of this bill requires that the annual report of accountability include information on the plans to improve academic achievement prepared pursuant to existing law and section 1.3. (NRS 385.111) Section 7 of this bill applies certain requirements governing the annual report of accountability to the reporting requirements set forth in section 6.1. Section 8 of this bill revises the manner by which teacher vacancies are measured for inclusion in the annual report of accountability.
Existing law establishes a statewide system of accountability for public schools that includes, without limitation, a method to annually rate each public school based on the performance of the school and on whether each public school meets the school achievement targets and performance targets established pursuant to the statewide system of accountability. (NRS 385A.600) Sections 6.2-6.4 and 8.5 of this bill establish a similar system of accountability for school districts and charter schools in this State. Section 6.5 of this bill establishes criteria and procedures for the Superintendent to designate a school district or sponsor of a charter school as low-performing or underperforming. Section 9.3 of this bill requires: (1) the Superintendent to place a school district or sponsor of a charter school designated as underperforming on probation if the designation is based on certain findings; and (2) such a school district or sponsor to submit to the Department a school district or sponsor of a charter school performance improvement plan and a school board or sponsor of a charter school improvement plan. Section 9.5 of this bill authorizes the Superintendent to take certain actions if the board of trustees of a school district or sponsor of a charter school does not make adequate progress toward meeting the goals and benchmarks necessary to improve the performance of the school district or charter school. Section 9.7 of this bill requires: (1) the Superintendent to place a school district or sponsor of a charter school designated as underperforming on probation if the designation was based on certain findings relating to the performance of pupils; and (2) such a school district or sponsor to submit certain plans to the Superintendent. Section 9.7 also establishes the actions that the Superintendent is authorized to take if the school district or sponsor of a charter school does not make adequate progress toward improving the performance of pupils.
Section 6.6 of this bill establishes criteria for designating a public school as low-performing, and sections 14.25-14.4 of this bill prescribe the actions that may be taken with respect to a public school designated as low-performing or persistently underperforming. Section 14.3 requires the Superintendent to initiate a process for state intervention to implement certain corrective measures for a school that is designated as persistently underperforming. Section 14.35 establishes provisions governing the corrective measure of replacing the principal and key members of the staff of a school. Section 14.4 establishes provisions governing the corrective measure of the direct management of a school by the Department. Section 56.5 of this bill: (1) creates the Education Service Center; (2) provides for the appointment of a governing body for the Center; and (3) requires the Center to provide certain assistance and guidance to public schools and school districts that are experiencing low performance.
Section 9.3 requires the Superintendent to place certain underperforming school districts or sponsors of charter schools on probation.
Section 84.5 of this bill requires the Legislative Counsel to, in preparing the Nevada Revised Statutes, substitute the term: (1) “focus” for the term “low-performing” as previously used in reference to a low-performing school district, sponsor of a charter school or school; and (2) “priority” for the term “underperforming” as previously used in reference to an underperforming school district or sponsor of a charter school or persistently underperforming school. (NRS 220.120)
Existing law provides that, on or before December 31 of each year, the board of trustees of each school district and the State Public Charter School Authority is required to prepare for the immediately preceding school year a report of accountability concerning the educational goals and objectives of the school district or charter school. (NRS 385A.070) Sections 7.4 and 7.5 of this bill revise certain provisions governing the report.
Existing law: (1) creates county school districts; and (2) provides that such school districts are political subdivisions of this State. (NRS 386.010) Section 9.1 of this bill provides for the impaneling of a Public Education Oversight Board under certain circumstances and provides the Board, if impaneled, with the authority granted to the board of trustees of a school district to take actions necessary to remedy the cause of recommendations submitted by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Section 9.1 additionally sets forth: (1) the membership of the Board; and (2) requirements for meetings of the Board.
Existing law: (1) sets forth the membership of the board of trustees in each county school district in which more than 75,000 pupils are enrolled (currently only the Clark County School District); (2) provides that four members of such a board of trustees are appointed, nonvoting members; and (3) sets forth requirements for electing officers of any board of trustees of a school district. (NRS 386.120, 386.165, 386.310) Section 10 of this bill: (1) provides that such appointed, nonvoting members are instead voting members; and (2) eliminates the prohibition on the ability of such members to vote for or serve as officers. Section 11 of this bill makes a conforming change to authorize the previously nonvoting members to serve as officers.
Existing law creates the Commission on School Funding and establishes the duties of the Commission. (NRS 387.1246, 387.12463) Section 12 of this bill requires the Commission to: (1) review and propose any necessary revisions to the method of calculating the percentage of at-risk pupils in this State; and (2) select a third party to verify such methods and to submit a report containing the findings and recommendations for using a different method. Section 62 of this bill authorizes the Commission to request the drafting of not more than 1 legislative measure for a regular session. Section 63 of this bill applies existing provisions governing the drafting of such measures to the drafting of a legislative measure pursuant to section 62. Section 81 of this bill directs the Commission to conduct an interim study concerning certain subjects relating to school funding.
Existing law creates the Early Childhood Literacy and Readiness Account and authorizes the Department to award grants to school districts, sponsors of charter schools and nonprofit organizations to support early childhood literacy and readiness programs. (NRS 387.1271-387.1277) Existing law additionally requires the Department, to the extent money is available, to award grants to school districts, sponsors of charter schools and nonprofit organizations to support prekindergarten programs. (NRS 387.652) Section 13 of this bill: (1) extends eligibility to receive grants to support early childhood literacy and readiness programs to institutions within the Nevada System of Higher Education; and (2) expands the categories of children served by such a program. Section 13.5 of this bill creates similar provisions for grants to support prekindergarten programs.
Existing law: (1) requires that the ratio of pupils per licensed teacher in certain classes not exceed certain ratios; and (2) authorizes the State Board to grant a variance to a school district that does not meet such ratios in a quarter of a school year. (NRS 388.700). Section 16 of this bill requires requests for, and reports concerning, variances of requirements for the ratio of pupils per licensed teacher to be submitted annually rather than quarterly. Sections 17 and 18 of this bill make conforming changes to reflect the change to the timelines for such submissions. (NRS 388.723, 388.725)
Existing law requires an elementary school to provide intervention services and intensive instruction to a pupil during the time the pupil attends the school if the pupil does not obtain a score in the subject area of reading on the criterion-referenced examination in reading that meets the score prescribed by the State Board. (NRS 388A.487, 392.760) Section 8.3 of this bill requires the statewide system of accountability for public schools to include, for elementary schools, targets for the proportion of pupils demonstrating adequate proficiency in the subject area of reading and adequate progress to achieving such proficiency.
Existing law requires the board of trustees of a school district or the governing body of a charter school to prepare a plan to improve the literacy of pupils enrolled in an elementary school that includes procedures to assess the proficiency of a pupil in reading by using assessments that have been approved by the State Board. (NRS 388.157) Section 15.6 of this bill removes the requirement that such assessments be approved by the State Board thereby allowing the board of trustees of a school district or the governing body of a charter school, as applicable, to include in the plan any valid and reliable standards-based assessment to assess proficiency in reading. This bill also authorizes the Department of Education to: (1) adopt regulations prescribing how the results of any assessment used by a school district or charter school to assess proficiency in reading are collected and reported; and (2) prescribe the assessments which must be used in a school district or charter school if no assessment is included in the plan.
Existing law makes certain requirements governing the minimum number of days in a school year. (NRS 388.090) Section 15.5 of this bill requires each school year to contain at least 4 days of professional development for elementary school staff and prescribes the focus of such professional development.
Existing law requires a public school, to the extent that money is available, to employ a school counselor on a full-time basis and provide for a comprehensive program for school counseling. (NRS 388.055) Section 15 of this bill requires each public school located in a county whose population is 100,000 or more (currently Clark and Washoe Counties) to provide for the availability of a school counselor or an equivalent service.
Existing law creates the State Public Charter School Authority and prescribes the membership of the Authority. (NRS 388A.150, 388A.153) Existing law additionally sets forth the requirements for the process of applying to form a charter school and amending a charter contract. (NRS 388A.243-388A.258, 388A.276, 388A.279) Existing law further requires the sponsor of a charter school to submit a report containing certain information to the Department. (NRS 388A.351) Section 20 of this bill changes the membership of the Authority. Section 19 of this bill authorizes the board of trustees of certain school districts to object to the placement of a proposed charter school. Sections 21 and 23 of this bill revise certain requirements relating to: (1) the contents of an application to form a charter school; (2) the review of such an application; and (3) a public meeting for the consideration of such an application. Section 25 of this bill requires the Authority to take certain actions regarding a proposed amendment to a charter contract for a charter school it sponsors. Section 26 of this bill requires a report prepared by the sponsor of a charter school to include a description of the expenditures and sources of all revenues for the charter school.
Existing law also requires the sponsor of a charter school to terminate the charter contract or restart the charter school under a new charter contract if the charter school receives certain ratings indicating underperformance of the charter school in 3 years out of any 5 consecutive years. (NRS 388A.300) Section 25.3 of this bill: (1) instead provides that the sponsor of a charter school is required to terminate the charter contract or restart the charter school under a new charter contract if the charter school receives certain ratings indicating underperformance of the charter school in 3 consecutive years; and (2) eliminates the prohibition on using the rating of a charter school issued for any school year before the 2015-2016 school year for making such a determination. Sections 25.3 and 25.5 of this bill also provide that, until October 1, 2027, the sponsor of such a charter school is not required to terminate the charter contract or restart the charter school under a new charter contract if, pursuant to the statewide system of accountability for public schools, the charter school receives certain ratings or increases a rating from the immediately preceding school year by a certain percentage.
Existing law requires at least 80 percent of the teachers who provide instruction at a charter school to hold a license or endorsement to teach in this State. (NRS 388A.518) Section 28 of this bill instead requires, with certain exceptions, that any teacher who provides instruction at a charter school to hold such a license or endorsement. Section 27 of this bill provides that the governing body of a charter school may adopt rules relating to the truancy of pupils if the rules are not more restrictive than those set forth for pupils enrolled in traditional public schools, thereby removing the authority under existing law for the governing body of a charter school to adopt more restrictive rules relating to the truancy of pupils. (NRS 392.130-392.220)
Existing law provides that each public school within a school district in this State which has more than 100,000 pupils enrolled in its public schools (currently the Clark County School District) is deemed to be a local school precinct. (NRS 388G.530, 388G.600) Under existing law, a local school precinct is required to operate using site-based decision-making in which certain responsibilities are transferred from the large school district to the local school precinct. (NRS 388G.600) Section 85 of this bill repeals this authority. Sections 33.2-33.54 and 33.9 of this bill make conforming changes to reflect this change. Sections 33.57-33.59 of this bill revise provisions governing certain duties of the superintendent of schools of a large school district.
Existing law: (1) authorizes a local school precinct to carry forward its year-end balance to the next school year for use by the local school precinct; and (2) requires a local school precinct that carries forward a balance that exceeds 5 percent of its actual expenditures to use the money for certain purposes. (NRS 388G.650) Section 33.56 of this bill authorizes a large school district to intervene to require a local school precinct to spend any money carried forward for certain purposes.
Existing law sets forth requirements governing the involvement of an organizational team for a local school precinct when a vacancy occurs in the position of principal for a local school precinct (NRS 388G.740) Section 33.8 of this bill revises these provisions.
Existing law: (1) creates the Nevada Educational Choice Scholarship Program; (2) establishes requirements for a scholarship organization that provides grants on behalf of a pupil to a school in which the pupil is enrolled; and (3) requires such a scholarship organization to submit an annual report to the Department containing certain information. (NRS 388D.250-388D.280) Section 30 of this bill establishes certain reporting requirements for schools that receive such grants. Section 31 of this bill requires such schools to administer certain examinations and assessments to certain pupils. Section 33 of this bill requires each school that receives such a grant to comply with the provisions of sections 30 and 31. Section 32 of this bill applies the definition of “scholarship organization” in existing law to sections 30-31.7 of this bill. (NRS 388D.260)
Existing regulations include provisions governing the operation of the Nevada Educational Choice Scholarship Program. (NAC 388D.030-388D.130) Sections 31.2-31.7 codify certain provisions of these regulations into the Nevada Revised Statutes. Section 31.2 requires a scholarship organization to register with the Department by submitting certain information. Section 31.3 requires: (1) a registered scholarship organization to provide to the Department certain information concerning each pupil on behalf of whom it awards a grant; and (2) the Department to compile certain information submitted by each scholarship organization and review the information to determine whether to recommend a change to the Legislature in the priority for awarding grants. Section 31.5 requires a registered scholarship organization to notify the Department of Taxation of each donation received and prohibits a scholarship organization from carrying forward a donation for more than 5 years. Section 31.6 requires the Department of Education to: (1) maintain a directory of each scholarship organization registered with the Department; (2) submit a list of scholarship organizations registered with the Department to the Department of Taxation each quarter; and (3) submit a summary of certain reports made to the Department of Education to certain entities annually. Section 31.7 authorizes the parent or guardian of a pupil to apply directly to a scholarship organization for a grant and establishes the order of priority in which a scholarship organization is required to award grants. Section 31.7 also requires a scholarship organization to establish written procedures for determining