EXEMPT
(Reprinted with amendments adopted on May 27, 2023)
SECOND 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; making an appropriation; 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. Section 7.85 of this bill 18
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makes an appropriation to the Department of Education for travel costs for the 19
members of and staff costs for the Task Force. 20
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
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(b) Two licensed teachers or education support professionals 1
employed by each school district located in a county whose 2
population is 100,000 or more but less than 700,000, appointed by 3
the Joint Interim Standing Committee on Education; and 4
(c) Three licensed teachers or education support professionals 5
employed by each school district located in a county whose 6
population is 700,000 or more, appointed by the Joint Interim 7
Standing Committee on Education. 8
To the extent practicable, the Joint Interim Standing Committee 9
shall appoint 10 licensed teachers and 10 education support 10
professionals to the Task Force. 11
2. After the initial terms, each member of the Task Force 12
serves a term of 2 years and may be reappointed to one additional 2-13
year term following his or her initial term. If any member of the 14
Task Force ceases to be qualified for the position to which he or she 15
was appointed, the position shall be deemed vacant and the Joint 16
Interim Standing Committee on Education shall appoint a 17
replacement for the remainder of the unexpired term. A vacancy 18
must be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. 19
3. The Task Force shall, at its first meeting and each odd-20
numbered year thereafter, elect a Chair from among its members. 21
4. The Task Force shall meet at least quarterly and may meet at 22
other times upon the call of the Chair or a majority of the members 23
of the Task Force. In even-numbered years, the Task Force shall 24
have three meetings before the final meeting of the Joint Interim 25
Standing Committee on Education. In even-numbered years, the 26
fourth meeting of the Task Force must be a presentation to the Joint 27
Interim Standing Committee on Education of the findings and 28
recommendations of the Task Force made pursuant to NRS 391.496. 29
5. Ten members of the Task Force constitute a quorum, and a 30
quorum may exercise all the power and authority conferred on the 31
Task Force. 32
6. Members of the Task Force serve without compensation, 33
except that for each day or portion of a day during which a member 34
of the Task Force attends a meeting of the Task Force or is 35
otherwise engaged in the business of the Task Force, the member is 36
entitled to receive the per diem allowance and travel expenses 37
provided for state officers and employees generally. 38
7. Each member of the Task Force who is an officer or 39
employee of the State or a local government must be relieved from 40
his or her duties without loss of his or her regular compensation so 41
that the member may prepare for and attend meetings of the Task 42
Force and perform any work necessary to carry out the duties of the 43
Task Force in the most timely manner practicable. A state agency or 44
local government shall not require an officer or employee who is a 45
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member of the Task Force to make up the time the member is absent 1
from work to carry out his or her duties as a member, and shall not 2
require the member to take annual vacation or compensatory time 3
for the absence. 4
8. The Department shall provide administrative support to the 5
Task Force. 6
Sec. 7.6. NRS 391.494 is hereby amended to read as follows: 7
391.494 1. Each member of the Task Force must: 8
(a) Be a licensed teacher or an education support professional 9
with at least 5 consecutive years of experience teaching or serving 10
as an education support professional, as applicable, in a public 11
school in this State; 12
(b) Be currently employed as a teacher or an education support 13
professional and actively teaching or serving as an education 14
support professional, as applicable, in a public school in this State, 15
and remain employed as a teacher or an education support 16
professional, as applicable, in a public school in this State for the 17
duration of the member’s term; and 18
(c) Not be currently serving on any other education-related 19
board, commission, council, task force or similar governmental 20
entity. 21
2. On or before December 1, [2019,] 2023, the Department 22
shall prescribe a uniform application for a teacher or an education 23
support professional to use to apply to serve on the Task Force. 24
3. A teacher or an education support professional who wishes 25
to serve on the Task Force must submit an application prescribed 26
pursuant to subsection 2 to the Joint Interim Standing Committee on 27
Education on or before January 15 of an even-numbered year. On or 28
before February [1] 15 of each even-numbered year, the Joint 29
Interim Standing Committee on Education shall select one or more 30
teachers [,] or education support professionals, as applicable, to 31
serve as a member of the Task Force. 32
Sec. 7.8. NRS 391.496 is hereby amended to read as follows: 33
391.496 The Task Force shall: 34
1. Evaluate the challenges in attracting and retaining teachers 35
and education support professionals throughout this State; 36
2. Make recommendations to the Joint Interim Standing 37
Committee on Education to address the challenges in attracting and 38
retaining teachers and education support professionals throughout 39
this State, including, without limitation, providing incentives to 40
attract and retain teachers [;] and education support professionals; 41
and 42
3. On or before February 1 of each odd-numbered year, submit 43
a report to the Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau for 44
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transmission to the Legislature describing the findings and 1
recommendations of the Task Force. 2
Sec. 7.85. 1. There is hereby appropriated from the State 3
General Fund to the Department of Education for travel costs for 4
members of and staff costs for the Nevada State Teacher and 5
Education Support Professional Recruitment and Retention 6
Advisory Task Force created by NRS 391.492 as amended by 7
section 7.4 of this act the following sums: 8
For the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 ...................................... $5,998 9
For the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 ...................................... $5,998 10
2. Any balance of the sums appropriated by subsection 1 11
remaining at the end of the respective fiscal years must not be 12
committed for expenditure after June 30 of the respective fiscal 13
years by the entity to which the appropriation is made or any entity 14
to which money from the appropriation is granted or otherwise 15
transferred in any manner, and any portion of the appropriated 16
money remaining must not be spent for any purpose after 17
September 20, 2024, and September 19, 2025, respectively, by 18
either the entity to which the money was appropriated or the entity 19
to which the money was subsequently granted or transferred, and 20
must be reverted to the State General Fund on or before 21
September 20, 2024, and September 19, 2025, respectively. 22
Sec. 7.9. The amendatory provisions of this act do not affect 23
the current term of appointment of any person who, on June 30, 24
2023, is a member of the Nevada State Teacher Recruitment and 25
Retention Advisory Task Force created by NRS 391.492, as that 26
section existed on June 30, 2023, and each such member continues 27
to serve until the expiration of his or her term or until the member 28
vacates his or her office, whichever occurs first. On and after 29
February 15, 2024, the Joint Interim Standing Committee on 30
Education shall make appointments to the Nevada State Teacher and 31
Education Support Professional Recruitment and Retention 32
Advisory Task Force in accordance with NRS 391.492, as amended 33
by section 7.4 of this act. 34
Sec. 8. The provisions of subsection 1 of NRS 218D.380 do 35
not apply to any provision of this act which adds or revises a 36
requirement to submit a report to the Legislature. 37
Sec. 9. This act becomes effective on July 1, 2023. 38
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