Section 2 of this bill requires the Department of Education, to the extent that money has been appropriated for that purpose, to make awards to school districts to provide compensation, in addition to base pay, for hard-to-fill positions in the public schools of this State. Section 2 defines “hard-to-fill position” as including: (1) teacher positions at certain Title I schools; and (2) teacher positions and other positions filled by licensed educational personnel whose duties include actively teaching pupils in certain subjects which are suffering from a critical labor shortage. Section 2 requires each school district to submit a biennial report to the Office of Finance in the Office of the Governor and the Interim Finance Committee regarding the number of teachers receiving such additional compensation, the total amount of such additional compensation being provided in the school district and the number of hard-to-fill positions in public schools in the school district. Section 8.9 of this bill imposes certain requirements for the contents of this report which are applicable only to the report that is required to be submitted on or before December 1, 2026. Existing law requires the Governor, to the extent practicable, to include in the proposed executive budget certain recommendations concerning education funding, including recommendations for the statewide base per pupil funding amount and the multiplier for each category of pupils. (NRS 387.12455) Section 8.1 of this bill additionally requires the Governor, to the extent practicable, to include in the proposed executive budget recommendations for the amount of money to appropriate to the Department to make awards to school districts pursuant to section 2. Section 8.5 of this bill appropriates $45,000,000 in both Fiscal Year 2025-2026 and Fiscal Year 2026-2027 to the Interim Finance Committee for allocation to the Department to distribute to school districts to provide compensation, in addition to base pay, for hard-to-fill positions in public schools. Section 8.5 establishes certain requirements which must be satisfied before the money is allocated by the Interim Finance Committee. Under the Pupil-Centered Funding Plan, existing law requires a public school that receives weighted funding for one or more at-risk pupils or pupils who are English learners to use such funding only to provide services to such pupils, which are referred to as “Victory services” and “Zoom services,” respectively. (NRS 387.121, 387.12445) Existing law authorizes the use of this weighted funding to provide incentives for hiring and retaining teachers and other licensed educational personnel who provide such services. (NRS 387.12445) Section 8 of this bill eliminates the authority to use weighted funding to pay for such incentives in a school district located in a county whose population is 700,000 or more (currently the Clark County School District). Existing law creates the Subcommittee on Educational Accountability of the Interim Finance Committee and authorizes the Subcommittee to study various matters related to accountability in public education. (NRS 218E.415) Section 8.3 of this bill additionally authorizes the Subcommittee to study the compensation paid to teachers at public schools to determine whether such compensation is sufficient to ensure competitiveness with other states and optimal educational achievements and outcomes for pupils. Section 8.7 of this bill appropriates $19,314,297 in both Fiscal Year 2025-2026 and Fiscal Year 2026-2027 to the Interim Finance Committee for allocation to the State Public Charter School Authority to provide money to charter schools for salary increases for teachers and education support professionals. Section 8.7 requires each charter school in this State to submit certain information to the State Public Charter School Authority, including the number of teachers and education support professionals employed by the charter school on October 1, 2024, and October 1, 2025, and a plan to provide such salary increases in each fiscal year. Section 8.7 requires the State Public Charter School Authority to compile and submit such information to the Interim Finance Committee as a condition for receiving an allocation by the Interim Finance Committee from the appropriation made by section 8.7. Section 8.7 provides the method for calculating the amount of money from the appropriation which the State Public Charter School Authority may distribute to each charter school.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 387.1212, 387.1213, 387.1214, 387.124, 387.12445
Reprint 1: 387.12445, 387.12455, 218E.415
As Enrolled: 387.12445, 387.12455, 218E.415
BDR: 387.1212, 387.1213, 387.1214, 387.124, 387.12445