EXEMPT
(Reprinted with amendments adopted on April 13, 2023)
FIRST REPRINT S.B. 71
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SENATE BILL NO. 71–COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
(ON BEHALF OF THE JOINT INTERIM STANDING
COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION)
PREFILED JANUARY 23, 2023
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Referred to Committee on Education
SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to the recruitment and
retention of school staff. (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; renaming the Nevada State Teacher
Recruitment and Retention Advisory Task Force; revising
the membership of the Task Force to include education
support professionals; revising the 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) 3
Under existing law, the Task Force is composed of 20 teachers from various school 4
districts in this State. (NRS 391.492) Section 3 of this bill defines the term 5
“education support professional” for the purpose of the Task Force to include 6
paraprofessionals, security officers, school nurses, counselors, psychologists and 7
social workers, school bus drivers and clerical, food service, custodial and 8
maintenance staff. Sections 7.2 and 7.4 of this bill revise the name of the Task 9
Force to the Nevada State Teacher and Education Support Professional Recruitment 10
and Retention Advisory Task Force. Section 7.4 requires the Task Force be 11
composed of 20 members employed by a school district in this State. To the extent 12
practicable, section 7.4 requires 10 of those members to be teachers and 10 to be 13
education support professionals. Section 7.6 of this bill establishes: (1) the 14
qualifications for membership on the Task Force; and (2) the procedure for 15
appointment to the Task Force. Section 7.8 of this bill expands the duties of the 16
Task Force to include evaluating and addressing the challenges throughout the State 17
in attracting and retaining education support professionals. 18
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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 NRS 391.490 to 391.496, inclusive, and 4
sections 2 and 3 of this act, unless the context otherwise requires, 5
the words and terms defined in NRS 391.490 and section 3 of this 6
act have the meanings ascribed to them in 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. (Deleted by amendment.) 22
Sec. 5. (Deleted by amendment.) 23
Sec. 6. (Deleted by amendment.) 24
Sec. 7. (Deleted by amendment.) 25
Sec. 7.2. NRS 391.490 is hereby amended to read as follows: 26
391.490 [As used in NRS 391.490 to 391.496, inclusive,] 27
“Task Force” means the Nevada State Teacher and Education 28
Support Professional Recruitment and Retention Advisory Task 29
Force created by NRS 391.492. 30
Sec. 7.4. NRS 391.492 is hereby amended to read as follows: 31
391.492 1. There is hereby created the Nevada State Teacher 32
and Education Support Professional Recruitment and Retention 33
Advisory Task Force consisting of the following 20 members: 34
(a) One licensed teacher or education support professional 35
employed by each school district located in a county whose 36
population is less than 100,000, appointed by the Joint Interim 37
Standing Committee on Education; 38
(b) Two licensed teachers or education support professionals 39
employed by each school district located in a county whose 40
population is 100,000 or more but less than 700,000, appointed by 41
the Joint Interim Standing Committee on Education; and 42
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(c) Three licensed teachers or education support professionals 1
employed by each school district located in a county whose 2
population is 700,000 or more, appointed by the Joint Interim 3
Standing Committee on Education. 4
To the extent practicable, the Joint Interim Standing Committee 5
shall appoint 10 licensed teachers and 10 education support 6
professionals to the Task Force. 7
2. After the initial terms, each member of the Task Force 8
serves a term of 2 years and may be reappointed to one additional 2-9
year term following his or her initial term. If any member of the 10
Task Force ceases to be qualified for the position to which he or she 11
was appointed, the position shall be deemed vacant and the Joint 12
Interim Standing Committee on Education shall appoint a 13
replacement for the remainder of the unexpired term. A vacancy 14
must be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. 15
3. The Task Force shall, at its first meeting and each odd-16
numbered year thereafter, elect a Chair from among its members. 17
4. The Task Force shall meet at least quarterly and may meet at 18
other times upon the call of the Chair or a majority of the members 19
of the Task Force. In even-numbered years, the Task Force shall 20
have three meetings before the final meeting of the Joint Interim 21
Standing Committee on Education. In even-numbered years, the 22
fourth meeting of the Task Force must be a presentation to the Joint 23
Interim Standing Committee on Education of the findings and 24
recommendations of the Task Force made pursuant to NRS 391.496. 25
5. Ten members of the Task Force constitute a quorum, and a 26
quorum may exercise all the power and authority conferred on the 27
Task Force. 28
6. Members of the Task Force serve without compensation, 29
except that for each day or portion of a day during which a member 30
of the Task Force attends a meeting of the Task Force or is 31
otherwise engaged in the business of the Task Force, the member is 32
entitled to receive the per diem allowance and travel expenses 33
provided for state officers and employees generally. 34
7. Each member of the Task Force who is an officer or 35
employee of the State or a local government must be relieved from 36
his or her duties without loss of his or her regular compensation so 37
that the member may prepare for and attend meetings of the Task 38
Force and perform any work necessary to carry out the duties of the 39
Task Force in the most timely manner practicable. A state agency or 40
local government shall not require an officer or employee who is a 41
member of the Task Force to make up the time the member is absent 42
from work to carry out his or her duties as a member, and shall not 43
require the member to take annual vacation or compensatory time 44
for the absence. 45
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8. The Department shall provide administrative support to the 1
Task Force. 2
Sec. 7.6. NRS 391.494 is hereby amended to read as follows: 3
391.494 1. Each member of the Task Force must: 4
(a) Be a licensed teacher or an education support professional 5
with at least 5 consecutive years of experience teaching or serving 6
as an education support professional, as applicable, in a public 7
school in this State; 8
(b) Be currently employed as a teacher or an education support 9
professional and actively teaching or serving as an education 10
support professional, as applicable, in a public school in this State, 11
and remain employed as a teacher or an education support 12
professional, as applicable, in a public school in this State for the 13
duration of the member’s term; and 14
(c) Not be currently serving on any other education-related 15
board, commission, council, task force or similar governmental 16
entity. 17
2. On or before December 1, [2019,] 2023, the Department 18
shall prescribe a uniform application for a teacher or an education 19
support professional to use to apply to serve on the Task Force. 20
3. A teacher or an education support professional who wishes 21
to serve on the Task Force must submit an application prescribed 22
pursuant to subsection 2 to the Joint Interim Standing Committee on 23
Education on or before January 15 of an even-numbered year. On or 24
before February [1] 15 of each even-numbered year, the Joint 25
Interim Standing Committee on Education shall select one or more 26
teachers [,] or education support professionals, as applicable, to 27
serve as a member of the Task Force. 28
Sec. 7.8. NRS 391.496 is hereby amended to read as follows: 29
391.496 The Task Force shall: 30
1. Evaluate the challenges in attracting and retaining teachers 31
and education support professionals throughout this State; 32
2. Make recommendations to the Joint Interim Standing 33
Committee on Education to address the challenges in attracting and 34
retaining teachers and education support professionals throughout 35
this State, including, without limitation, providing incentives to 36
attract and retain teachers [;] and education support professionals; 37
and 38
3. On or before February 1 of each odd-numbered year, submit 39
a report to the Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau for 40
transmission to the Legislature describing the findings and 41
recommendations of the Task Force. 42
Sec. 7.9. The amendatory provisions of this act do not affect 43
the current term of appointment of any person who, on June 30, 44
2023, is a member of the Nevada State Teacher Recruitment and 45
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Retention Advisory Task Force created by NRS 391.492, as that 1
section existed on June 30, 2023, and each such member continues 2
to serve until the expiration of his or her term or until the member 3
vacates his or her office, whichever occurs first. On and after 4
February 15, 2024, the Joint Interim Standing Committee on 5
Education shall make appointments to the Nevada State Teacher and 6
Education Support Professional Recruitment and Retention 7
Advisory Task Force in accordance with NRS 391.492, as amended 8
by section 7.4 of this act. 9
Sec. 8. The provisions of subsection 1 of NRS 218D.380 do 10
not apply to any provision of this act which adds or revises a 11
requirement to submit a report to the Legislature. 12
Sec. 9. This act becomes effective on July 1, 2023. 13
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