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. Such a plan must include procedures to assess the proficiency of a pupil in reading during each grade level of elementary school, as is determined to be necessary, by using assessments that have been approved by the State Board of Education by regulation. (NRS 388.157) This bill authorizes the Board of Trustees of the Washoe County School District to establish and administer a pilot program during the 2025-2026 school year to administer an assessment other than the statewide assessment to assess the proficiency of pupils in reading if the State Board approves the assessment. Under this bill, the State Board is required to approve such an assessment if the assessment is a valid and reliable standards-based assessment to assess proficiency in reading and the Department of Education has established a method to establish an equivalent score to a score on the statewide assessment. This bill further provides that, if the Board of Trustees of the Washoe County School District administers such an assessment to assess proficiency in reading other than the statewide assessment, the Department is required to award a grant to the School District in an amount equal to the savings to the Department for not administering the statewide assessment to pupils in the School District. Finally, this bill requires the Washoe County School District to submit a report to the Department and the Joint Interim Standing Committee on Education concerning the pilot program.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 388.157
Reprint 1: 388.157
Reprint 2: 388.157
Reprint 3: 388.157
BDR: 388.157