S.B. 71
- *SB71*
SENATE BILL NO. 71–COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
(ON BEHALF OF THE JOINT INTERIM STANDING
COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION)
PREFILED JANUARY 23, 2023
____________
Referred to Committee on Education
SUMMARY—Creates the Nevada State Education Support
Professional Recruitment and Retention Advisory
Task Force. (BDR 34-439)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.
Effect on the State: Yes.
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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
AN ACT relating to education; creating the Nevada State Education
Support Professional Recruitment and Retention Advisory
Task Force; prescribing the membership, powers and
duties of the Task Force; and providing other matters
properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law creates the Nevada State Teacher Recruitment and Retention 1
Advisory Task Force for the purpose of evaluating and addressing the challenges in 2
attracting and retaining teachers throughout this State. (NRS 391.490-391.496) This 3
bill similarly creates the Nevada State Education Support Professional Recruitment 4
and Retention Advisory Task Force for the purpose of evaluating and addressing 5
the challenges throughout this State in attracting and retaining education support 6
professionals. Section 3 of this bill defines education support professionals to 7
include paraprofessionals, security officers, school nurses, counselors, 8
psychologists and social workers, school bus drivers and clerical, food service, 9
custodial and maintenance staff. Section 4 of this bill defines the term “Task 10
Force” to refer to the Task Force. Sections 5 and 7 of this bill set forth the 11
membership, powers and duties of the Task Force. Section 5 requires the Task 12
Force to meet quarterly and, in its fourth meeting in even-numbered years, present 13
its findings and recommendations to the Joint Interim Standing Committee on 14
Education. Section 7 requires the Task Force to: (1) evaluate the challenges in 15
attracting and retaining education support professionals throughout this State; (2) 16
make recommendations to the Joint Interim Standing Committee on Education to 17
attract and retain education support professionals; and (3) submit a report of the 18
findings and recommendations of the Task Force to the Director of the Legislative 19
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Counsel Bureau for transmittal to the Legislature. Section 6 of this bill establishes 20
certain requirements for membership on the Task Force. 21
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Chapter 391 of NRS is hereby amended by adding 1
thereto the provisions set forth as sections 2 to 7, inclusive, of this 2
act. 3
Sec. 2. As used in sections 2 to 7, inclusive, of this act, unless 4
the context otherwise requires, the words and terms defined in 5
sections 3 and 4 of this act have the meanings ascribed to them in 6
those sections. 7
Sec. 3. “Education support professional” means a person, 8
other than a teacher or administrator, who is employed to work at 9
a public school. The term incudes, without limitation: 10
1. Paraprofessionals; 11
2. School police officers, school resource officers and other 12
providers of security services at a school; 13
3. School nurses; 14
4. School counselors; 15
5. School psychologists; 16
6. School social workers; 17
7. Drivers of school buses; 18
8. Secretaries; 19
9. Members of the custodial or maintenance staff; and 20
10. Workers in food services. 21
Sec. 4. “Task Force” means the Nevada State Education 22
Support Professional Recruitment and Retention Advisory Task 23
Force created by section 5 of this act. 24
Sec. 5. 1. There is hereby created the Nevada State 25
Education Support Professional Recruitment and Retention 26
Advisory Task Force consisting of the following members 27
appointed by the Joint Interim Standing Committee on Education: 28
(a) One education support professional employed by each 29
school district located in a county whose population is less than 30
100,000; 31
(b) Two education support professionals employed by each 32
school district located in a county whose population is 100,000 or 33
more but less than 700,000; and 34
(c) Three education support professionals employed by each 35
school district located in a county whose population is 700,000 or 36
more. 37
2. Each member of the Task Force serves a term of 2 years 38
and may be reappointed to one additional 2-year term following 39
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the initial term of the member. If any member of the Task Force 1
ceases to be qualified for the position to which the member was 2
appointed, the position shall be deemed vacant and the Joint 3
Interim Standing Committee on Education shall appoint a 4
replacement for the remainder of the unexpired term. A vacancy 5
must be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. 6
3. The Task Force shall, at its first meeting and each odd-7
numbered year thereafter, elect a Chair from among its members. 8
4. The Task Force shall meet at least quarterly and may meet 9
at other times upon the call of the Chair or a majority of the 10
members of the Task Force. In even-numbered years, the Task 11
Force shall have three meetings before the final meeting of the 12
Joint Interim Standing Committee on Education. In even-13
numbered years, the fourth meeting of the Task Force must be a 14
presentation to the Joint Interim Standing Committee on 15
Education of the findings and recommendations of the Task Force 16
made pursuant to section 7 of this act. 17
5. Ten members of the Task Force constitute a quorum, and 18
a quorum may exercise all the power and authority conferred on 19
the Task Force. 20
6. Members of the Task Force serve without compensation, 21
except that for each day or portion of a day during which a 22
member of the Task Force attends a meeting of the Task Force or 23
is otherwise engaged in the business of the Task Force, the 24
member is entitled to receive the per diem allowance and travel 25
expenses provided for state officers and employees generally. 26
7. Each member of the Task Force who is an officer or 27
employee of the State or a local government must be relieved from 28
the duties of the member without loss of regular compensation so 29
that the member may prepare for and attend meetings of the Task 30
Force and perform any work necessary to carry out the duties of 31
the Task Force in the most timely manner practicable. A state 32
agency or local government shall not require an officer or 33
employee who is a member of the Task Force to make up the time 34
the member is absent from work to carry out his or her duties as a 35
member, and shall not require the member to take annual 36
vacation or compensatory time for the absence. 37
8. The Department shall provide administrative support to the 38
Task Force. 39
Sec. 6. 1. Each member of the Task Force must: 40
(a) Have at least 5 consecutive years of experience working as 41
an education support professional in a public school in this State; 42
(b) Be currently employed as an education support 43
professional and actively working as an education support 44
professional in a public school in this State, and remain employed 45
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as an education support professional in a public school in this 1
State for the duration of the term of the member; and 2
(c) Not be currently serving on any other education-related 3
board, commission, council, task force or similar governmental 4
entity. 5
2. On or before December 1, 2023, the Department shall 6
prescribe a uniform application for an education support 7
professional to use to apply to serve on the Task Force. 8
3. An education support professional who wishes to serve on 9
the Task Force must submit an application prescribed pursuant to 10
subsection 2 to the Joint Interim Standing Committee on 11
Education on or before January 15 of an even-numbered year. On 12
or before February 15 of each even-numbered year, the Joint 13
Interim Standing Committee on Education shall select one or 14
more education support professionals, as applicable, to serve as a 15
member of the Task Force. To the extent possible from those that 16
applied to serve on the Task Force, the Joint Interim Standing 17
Committee on Education shall select education support 18
professionals from a variety of education support professions. 19
Sec. 7. The Task Force shall: 20
1. Evaluate the challenges in attracting and retaining 21
education support professionals throughout the State. 22
2. Make recommendations to the Joint Interim Standing 23
Committee on Education to address the challenges in attracting 24
and retaining education support professionals throughout this 25
State, including, without limitation, providing incentives to attract 26
and retain education support professionals. 27
3. On or before February 1 of each odd-numbered year, 28
submit a report to the Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau 29
for transmission to the Legislature describing the findings and 30
recommendations of the Task Force. 31
Sec. 8. The provisions of subsection 1 of NRS 218D.380 do 32
not apply to any provision of this act which adds or revises a 33
requirement to submit a report to the Legislature. 34
Sec. 9. This act becomes effective on July 1, 2023. 35
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