Nevada Ed-Watch: 07/07/22

What is the State Board of Education & what are they responsible for? The Nevada State Board of Education adopts regulations based on Nevada laws, which are passed down to individual school districts in Nevada to implement. The Board has 11 total (7 appointed and 4 publicly elected) members.

How often does the State Board meet? The Nevada State Board of Education meets once per month on Thursdays at 9:00 AM or 2:00 PM. Click here to see the 2022 Board Meeting Schedule. Click here to visit Hope For Nevada’s #NVEd Calendar.

Can community members engage at State Board Meetings? A time for public comment is provided at the beginning (for agenda items) and at the conclusion (on any matter) of each Board meeting. Members of the public may provide public comment in writing via email; public comment will be accepted via email for the duration of the meeting and shared with the State Board of Education during the public comment periods. Public comment may be emailed to NVBoardED@doe.nv.gov.

Click here for a list of all State Board Members.

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Thursday, July 7, 2022

Nevada State Board of Education Meeting

Click here to see the regular SBOE meeting agenda.

Click here to watch the meeting playback.

What happened at the regular meeting?

Comentario público nº 1

Public comment was heard on the following subjects: 

• AB 469 implementation
• College and career assessments
• Carryover funds
• Teacher licensure requirements

President’s Report

Highlights included:

• The Board welcomed two new Board Members: Malia Poblete, the new student representative on the Board, and Dr. Summer Stephens, Superintendent of Churchill County School District.
• President Ortiz attended at the National Association of Latino Elected Officials.

Superintendent’s Report

Highlights included:

• The Nevada Department of Education (NDE) team presented at the Nevada Association on School Administrators spring conference.
• The NDE team presented on multiple topics to the Interim Committee on Education, including competency-based learning, evidence-based evaluation methods, and early education costs (determined through a modeling exercise to be $8,410 per student), class size, workforce analysis, and teacher retention and recruitment. The Interim Committee has 16 recommendations in advance of the 2023 legislative session.
• The NDE has invested $12 million in college and career readiness through ARP and ESSER funds.

Board Approved Consent Agenda 

Consent agenda items included:

• Approval of the Private School Consent Agenda
• Approval of Dual Credit Courses for Leadership Academy of Nevada
• Approval of Law Enforcement Standards
• Approval of Early Childhood Education Standards
• Approval of meeting minutes

Board Presentation to Milken Educator Award Recipient

The 2022 Milken Educator Award (MEA) winner Ali Jun was presented with the MEA Obelisk.

Explore the presentation and more information on the Milken Educator Award here.

Board Received a Presentation on Clark County School District’s Progress Related to the Allocation of 85 Percent of Unrestricted Funds to Local School Precincts

CCSD has a requirement to allocate 85% of unrestricted funds to local school precincts, pursuant to AB 469 and NRS. District staff provided an overview on how restricted funds are identified and district responsibilities under NRS 388G.610, as well as costs for each of these responsibilities.

In summary, total resources from the General Fund is $3.1 billion, with $1.1 billion in the restricted funds category, and $2.0 billion in unrestricted funds. Of those unrestricted funds, 93% are allocated to schools and 7% are allocated to central services.

Explore the presentation here.

Board Received a Presentation Regarding K-12 Student Achievement Rankings

The Board received a presentation from the Guinn Center of the results of the first two phases of a three-phase study related to the methodologies behind national education rankings by Education Week, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and the Fordham Institute. The presentation addressed Nevada’s and the Las Vegas Metro area’s standings on these rankings and provide a preview of the final and third phase of the work to be completed.

In its most recent rankings, Education Week’s “Quality Counts” ranking places Nevada 18^th in K-12 achievement, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s “Kids Count” ranking places Nevada 45^th in K-12 achievement.

Key findings by the Guinn Center include that data sets are dated, and any new programs intended to improve Nevada rankings will not be reflective in these reports; rankings are relative, in that improving outcomes does not necessarily guarantee an improvement in rankings; each ranking is unique and should not be compared to one another; and data points used (or excluded) impact the results of each respective report.

Explore the presentation here and the Nevada Education Rankings report here.

Board Received a Presentation on a Recommendation of the College and Career Ready Assessment Request for Proposals (RFP) Process

The Board received a presentation on the College and Career Ready (CCR) High School Assessment RFP process and the resulting recommendation. The RFP sought a qualified vendor to administer CCR assessment to all students enrolled in Grade 11, including development, delivery, administration, scoring, and reporting services. The initial term is four years, from FY 2023-2026, with an option to extend into FY 2027-2028.

Four vendors responded (Data Recognition Corporation, Pearson Education, ACT, and The College Board), and an evaluation committee with representatives from Douglas, Clark, and Washoe County School Districts, Carson City School District, the Nevada Department of Education, and the Nevada Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation reviewed all responses using criteria in demonstrated competence, conformance with the terms of the RFP, cost, experience in comparable engagements, and expertise.

The Committee’s recommendation was to award Data Recognition Corporation and its Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortia (SBAC) to move forward with the vendor selection process. After discussion, a split vote resulted in the Board having to hold this item for a future meeting.

Explore the recommendation here and the RFP here. Score summaries can be found here and evaluator comments can be found here.

Board Held a Public Hearing on and Approved Regulation #R069-22 – Expanding the Ability of School Districts to Hire Paraprofessionals to Work in Hard-to-Staff Title I Schools (NAC 388G.100)

The Board held a public hearing on and approved a Notice of Intent expanding the ability of school districts to hire paraprofessionals to work in hard-to-staff Title I schools.

Explore the Notice of Intent materials here.

Board Held a Public Hearing on and Approved Regulation #R063-22 – Creating Regulatory Language to Define a Principal’s Ability to Hire Teachers and Substitute Teachers in Place of a Licensed Teacher, and Revise the Dispute Resolution Process (NAC 388G.100)

The Board held a public hearing on and approved a Notice of Intent that requires a large school district to provide annual training on certain topics; requires a school district and local school precinct to develop and follow certain procedures in the selection of teachers; and revises provisions relating to dispute resolution process. A modification to the proposed language was made to place “to the greatest extent possible” language back into the regulation.

Explore the Notice of Intent materials here.

Board Held a Public Hearing on and Approved Regulation #R064-22 – Creating Regulatory Language to Define “Other Staff Who Work Under the Direct Supervision of the Principal” (NAC 388G.610)

The Board held a public hearing on and approved a Notice of Intent that interprets the term “other staff who work under the direct supervision of the principal” to mean any employee who is assigned to the local school precinct; evaluated by the principal or a designee of the principal; and not a member of central services.

Explore the Notice of Intent materials here.

Board Held a Public Hearing on and Approved Regulation #R065-22 – Creating Regulatory Language Related to Non-Compliance of NRS 388G.500 Through 388G.910 and Any Regulations Thereof

The Board held a public hearing on and approved a Notice of Intent that establishes certain powers of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to carry out the reorganization of a large school district; sets forth the qualifications, powers, and duties of a compliance monitor to oversee the reorganization of a large school district; authorizes the Superintendent of Public Instruction to place certain large school districts in a receivership due to noncompliance with certain requirements relating to reorganization; and sets forth the powers and duties of the receiver of a large school district.

After discussion, the Board approved the regulation, removing the last sentence from Paragraph 5 and all text thereafter, to remove possible receivership from the regulatory language. The struck language can be added or reviewed at a later date.

Explore the Notice of Intent materials here.

Future Agenda Items

Future agenda items will include a discussion regarding the 2023 legislative session, as well as an update on Workforce Connections and Praxis/licensing issues.

Comentario público nº 2

Public comment was heard on the following subject:

• Fiscal management pursuant to AB 469

The next Board of Education meeting is scheduled at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 1, 2022.