Nevada Ed-Watch: State Board of Education 5/14/25

Nevada State Board of Education

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 Wednesdays at 9:00 AM. Click here to see the 2024 meeting materials.

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.

Thursday, May 14, 2025

Nevada State Board of Education Special Meeting

Click here to see the regular SBOE meeting agenda.

Click here to watch the meeting playback.

What happened at the regular meeting?

Public Comment #1

Public comment was heard on the following subjects: 

• Concerns regarding the public hearing at today’s meeting
• Read by Grade 3 assessment waiver for Washoe County School District
• Concerns for continuing existing Board goals regarding career and college readiness, as well as academic rankings

President’s Report

Highlights included:

• President Dockweiler and other Board members honored Member Keyes for his contributions.
• AB469 Subcommittee: The subcommittee is taking time to understand the context of AB469 and have developed parameters for adding new members (awaiting feedback from the Deputy Attorney General).
• At-Risk Subcommittee: There will be a hearing next week on May 20, at 2:00 p.m., for additional community feedback on funding at-risk student populations.
• Curriculum Working Group: The working group has brought forth recommendations and took those recommendations to a larger group of stakeholders to be able to improve curriculum selection process. By December 2025, the group will have completed the process, looking at data, best practices, and survey data, and will ultimately, in 2026, use that new process to select curricula.
• STIP Working Group: The group has met with NDE’s Chief Strategy Officer on ways to strengthen the framework of the STIP. The group is also working on updating Board goals and is keeping up with legislative update. Additional updates following the legislative session may take place.
• Updates from Board Members:
  • A student town hall will be hosted at Las Vegas Academy this Sunday, May 18, from 12:00 – 3:00 p.m.
  • Student Farmers Market from Green Our Planet, which happened last week
  • Participating as a judge for the Dawson School’s capstone presentations
  • Celebrating educators participating in UNLV’s Project Pueblo program

Interim Superintendent’s Report

Highlights included:

• Celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week and State Workers Appreciation Week with a number of staff activities and recognitions
• Developmental Delay Update: If the State Board decides to change when a student exits this category, the preference is to set the age at seven, based on direct experience and input from professionals throughout Nevada.
• Celebrating Purple Star Schools throughout Nevada
• Commemorating Deputy Superintendent Ann Marie Dickson on her upcoming retirement

Board Approved Consent Agenda 

Consent agenda items included:

• Approval of private school license renewals
• Approval of the FY25 Q2 CSR report
• Approval of the SPCSA’s request for Thrive Point to be rated on the Nevada Alternative Performance Framework

Review the consent agenda.

Board Held a Public Hearing for the Repeal of Regulations Pertaining to NAC 388.460 – 388.488

The Board held a public hearing on, then approved a repeal of regulations tied to a program for individuals with disabilities with unique needs that was already removed in statute. A workshop on this regulation was held on May 2, 2025.

Explore the Notice of Intent.

Board Approved a Recommendation to Extend the Existing Read by Grade 3 Assessment for One Year

The Board approved a Staff recommendation to extend the existing Read by Grade 3 assessment (i.e. MAP) for one additional year, citing training challenges with the timeline for a new assessment, continuity concerns, giving the State Board time to revisit the item following the legislative session, and giving the Board and staff more time to design a procurement approach that meets the Board’s needs and operates within the constraints of the State.

Explore the recommendation.

Board Revised and Approved State Superintendent Search Criteria

The Board discussed the stakeholder survey results. There were 183 responses, with key themes including:

• An overview of what experience the next State Superintendent must have, including a strong, practical understanding of Nevada’s education system stemming from significant teaching experience, administrative and leadership experience, deep awareness of Nevada’s diverse educational environments, the capacity to manage complex organizations, and a genuine, lived connection to the educational community
• Additional skill sets to be effective, including strong communication and interpersonal skills, a clear vision and strategic leadership, and deep understanding of education policy and law, as well as a strong commitment to equity and student success, integrity, transparency, and ethical leadership
• A critical need for the next State Superintendent to have effective communication and stakeholder engagement skills, as well as an ability to navigate Nevada’s political and education landscapes and consistently focus on students and a commitment to equity
• The importance of a student-centered leader with a clear vision to embrace innovation in teaching and assessment

Board members discussed depth of expertise, classroom experience, student voice, disaggregating the data from the survey, in-state vs. out-of-state candidates, giving a performance task to candidates, and blind review of certain applicant questions.

Three options were presented by the Board after discussion:

• Option 1: Board individual scoring and pre-ranking against a rubric with no deliberation ahead of the July Board meeting. A ranked list would be compiled for discussion at the July Board meeting. Top applicants would be interviewed.
• Option 2: Board would create an application review subcommittee to review applications in July. The group would meet publicly and review applications, bringing recommendations for interviews to the full board meeting in July.
• Option 3: Department staff would score applicants in advance and provide anonymous summaries in the materials for the July board meeting. Board members would nominate up to three finalists each, and top ranked candidates would be selected for interviews.

Next steps include Board members providing additional information and insights from the community and their constituents by June 6, and the June 25 Board meeting will finalize the position description and approach to designing questions for the interview process. In July, the Board will select candidates to interview.

Explore the stakeholder survey analysis.

Board Reviewed its Current Vision and Goals

The Board’s current vision and goals were set in July 2021, and are centered on the vision statement, “All Nevada students are equipped and feel empowered to attain their vision of success.” The two five-year goals set by the Board are moving up in State rankings from 18^th in September 2020 to the top 10 by July 2026, as measured by the Academic portions of Quality Counts K-12 Student Achievement; and more than 50% of students achieving a College and Career Ready Diploma by July 2026.

Discussion points on a new vision statement and goals included Interim Superintendent Canavero highlighting the need for collaboration, specificity on a blueprint for an approach for education in Nevada, and addressing opportunity gaps. Additional discussion around broadly defining what student success might look like, academic achievement, addressing student needs, aligning actions with goals, early literacy and closing gaps in literacy, vision planning, student safety and wellbeing, the importance of progress monitoring of goals, the importance of community listening and input, mental health, disciplinary disparities, teacher retention and recruitment, early learning experiences, and the use of artificial intelligence.

Next steps include a trend analysis and developing a focused approach to revising the STIP.

Explore the current vision and goals statements.

Public Comment #2

Public comment was heard on the following subjects: 

• Concerns around how the legislature is determining at-risk funding and students
• Keeping a focus on reorganization strategies and laws as the board considers its new vision and goals
• Including an element of “fun” as a goal for students
• Encouraging districts to choose between MAP and iReady for their Read By Grade 3 assessment
• Concerns regarding per-pupil funding and rural areas, as well as areas with small school populations

Future Agenda Items

Suggestions for future agenda items include Read by Grade 3 assessment, a recap of the legislative session, AI policy and community education, potential flexibility on the state testing calendar, and results of the efficiency and effectiveness study.

The next meeting of the State Board of Education will be held on Wednesday, June 25, at 9:00 a.m.