5 issues in K-12 education await lawmakers next week
Schools and their students are in for major changes if Nevada lawmakers pass several bills hanging in the balance for the last week of the 2015 legislative session, ending June 1.
The state would have the power to take over low-performing local schools and hand them over to charter school operators. Third-graders would be held back for not earning a passing score in the state’s reading test.
And the state of Nevada would have to pay a few thousand dollars to families who want to take their children to private school instead of public school, making for “the broadest school choice measure in American history” if it passes, according to Seth Rau, policy director for educational advocacy nonprofit Nevada Succeeds.
“That bill would do more to affect schools in the state than any other bill,” said Rau, not taking any stance on the proposal.
All these bills are an attempt to improve a failing public school system. Nevada commonly ranks near the bottom in the nation for the performance of its public schools. It’s been that way for years.
State-paid private school
The state would pay for private school under Assembly Bill 302. The bill provides students with 90 percent of the usual state education funding to instead be taken for private school tuition. Students in poverty or special education would get 100 percent of the funding that schools would receive from the state for them. The bill hasn’t made it through the Senate or Assembly, so it will be a sprint next week for proponents. The bill has a hearing planned Monday in the Senate Finance Committee.
Ready by 3, or else
Students would have to earn a passing score in the state’s reading test at the end of third grade or be held back, according to Senate Bill 391, better known as the “Read By 3” bill. The Senate has passed the bill 19-0, leaving it up to the Assembly next week.
State takeover of schools
Gov. Brian Sandoval’s plan to create a state-run Achievement School District has received support from local school districts and lawmakers despite Assembly Bill 448 granting the Achievement District power to take over low-performing schools. Local school districts would lose control of these schools and be forced to hand over the campuses to a charter school operator hired by the state. The Assembly passed AB448 in a 25-17 vote on Friday, moving the bill to the Senate for a vote likely to occur Tuesday.
Another year without revamped teacher evaluations
Implementation of Nevada’s first statewide teacher evaluation system would be stalled yet another year to 2016-17 under Assembly Bill 447. Currently, close to 100 percent of Nevada’s teachers are rated satisfactory.
The new evaluation system is supposed to provide a truer representation using student performance statistics as half a teacher’s evaluation. However, education officials are struggling to find these statistics since only a third of teachers have students taking standardized tests in their material.
The Assembly recently passed the bill in a 39-1 vote, and the Senate did the same in a 20-0 vote on Friday.
Zooming to victory
Legislation also seeks to provide millions of dollars for more “Zoom Schools,” which are campuses with many English-learning students, and “Victory Schools,” which are high-poverty but successful campuses across Nevada.
The Assembly passed the Zoom School bill on Friday, following the lead of the Senate. The Victory School bill has cleared the Senate but still needs to pass the Assembly5 issues in K-12 education await lawmakers next week:
