Nevada Ed-Watch: SPCSA 6/27/25

State Public Charter School Authority (SPCSA)

What is the SPCSA & what are they responsible for? Considered one of Nevada’s school districts, the SPCSA sponsors and oversees public charter schools. The Authority consists of seven appointed members responsible for overseeing educational and operational standards and holding sponsored schools accountable to the academic achievement of students.

How often does the SPCSA Board meet? The SPCSA typically meets once a month, generally on Fridays.

Click here for SPCSA meeting schedule and materials.

Can community members engage at SPCSA Board Meetings? Meetings of the SPCSA are typically held publicly at the Nevada Department of Education building in Carson City and the Nevada Department of Education building in Las Vegas (1st floor boardroom). Members of the public may view the meeting online via the link on the SPCSA’s Public Notice web page and the agenda and any supporting materials can be found here. Public comment may be given on any agenda item at the beginning of the meeting, or public comment regarding any matter that is SPCSA-related may be given at the conclusion of each Board meeting. Members of the community giving public comment can utilize the following conference call line: 1-775-321-6111; Phone Conference ID: 894 302 869#. During the public comment periods, callers will dial *5 to raise their hand. The moderator will call out the last 4 numbers of the caller’s phone number, at that time you will dial *6 to unmute and make comment. There is a time limit of three minutes per speaker. Alternatively, public comment may be submitted in writing to publiccomment@spcsa.nv.gov, and any such public comment received prior to the meeting will be provided to the Authority and included in the written minutes of the meeting.

Click here for a list of all SPCSA Members.

Click here for a list of all SPCSA sponsored schools.

Friday, June 27, 2025

State Public Charter School Authority Board Meeting

Access the meeting agenda and playback.

What happened at this meeting?

Public Comment

Public comment highlights included:

• Rebuttal to a previous public comment regarding Sage Collegiate Public Charter School
• Request for Pioneer Technology and Arts Academy to have their enrollment audit in order to open for the 2025-26 school year

Board Approved the Consent Agenda

Highlights included:

• Approvals of transportation plans for CIVICA Academy, Pinecrest Academy of Nevada, Western Youth Leadership, Engagement, and Empowerment Middle School, and Democracy Prep at the Agassi Campus

SPCSA Executive Director’s Report

Highlights from the report include:

• School Highlight: Elko Institute for Academic Achievement serves about 200 students in grades K-8, and recently purchased a building. The school leader is involved in charter school policy, and was highly engaged during the legislative session.
• PERS Contributions: Three schools are on payment plans, and all have made June payments.
• Legislative Update: Accomplishments include the passage of SPCSA’s clean-up bill (AB 39), charter school teacher raises (AB 398), working to mitigate concerns of SB 460, passage of SB 468 to increase transportation funding, and mitigating issues with special education funding (SB 500). For more information, see the full report. SB 460 also changes the composition of the SPCSA board, and an analysis can be found here. The updated board composition will take effect July 1, 2026. Staff also reviewed school-level changes as a result of legislation, which will be circulated to schools next week.
• New Schools Opening: Do and Be Arts Academy of Excellence, WYLEES, and Nevada Classical Academy – Elko, reached their enrollment targets established as a condition of opening, and are on track. Two schools did not meet those requirements and will not be opening: Rooted School and Pioneer Technology & Arts Academy.
• New Charter School Amendment Template: A new amendment application has been drafted.
• Student Representative Birru shared his appreciation for his time on the SPCSA board, as this meeting was his last as student representative.

Board Approved the Voluntary Charter Surrender of Battle Born Academy

The Board voted to accept the Battle Born Academy Board’s decision to surrender the charter contract and close the school.

Members also approved the appointment of Joshua Kern as the closing administrator, and approved the closure plan submitted by Mr. Kern. SPCSA staff will work with Mr. Kern to ensure all closure requirements are met.

Explore the recommendation memo.

Board Heard an Update on the Competency-Based Pilot Program from Mater Academy Mountain Vista

Mater Academy of Mountain Vista leaders gave an overview of a competency-based pilot program. The program is a next step from the Portrait of a Learner initiative from the former State Superintendent. The school is the only charter participant of the statewide pilot program.

As part of the pilot, there were two cohorts: a district transform cohort, where district/LEA teams built district capacity to activate shared aspirations of learners and deepened how districts support personalized, competency-based learning; and a school launch cohort, where school teams implemented competencies through personalized, competency-based learning strategies in the classroom and school settings, prioritizing demonstrating mastery, flexibility, and student voice.

Board Selected a Chair and Vice Chair

The Board selected Kurt Thigpen as Chair and Patricia Haddad Bennett for the Vice Chair of the SPCSA, for two-year terms.

Long-Range Calendar (next 3 months):

Agenda items over the next three SPCSA board meetings are anticipated to include:

• Adoption of Final Performance Framework
• New charter school applications
• Organizational Performance Framework results

Explore the calendar.

Public Comment #2

• Request to reconsider Item 5D regarding Pioneer Technology and Arts Academy’s opening

The next Meeting of the SPCSA Board is scheduled for Friday, July 25, @ 9:00 a.m.