Nevada 2023 Regular Session

Nevada Senate Bill SB71 Compare Versions

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2	2
3	3	- 82nd Session (2023)
4	4	Senate Bill No. 71–Committee on Education
5	5
6	6	CHAPTER..........
7	7
8	8	AN ACT relating to education; renaming the Nevada State Teacher
9	9	Recruitment and Retention Advisory Task Force; revising the
10	10	membership of the Task Force to include education support
11	11	professionals; revising the powers and duties of the Task
12	12	Force; making an appropriation; and providing other matters
13	13	properly relating thereto.
14	14	Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
15	15	Existing law creates the Nevada State Teacher Recruitment and Retention
16	16	Advisory Task Force for the purpose of evaluating and addressing the challenges in
17	17	attracting and retaining teachers throughout this State. (NRS 391.490-391.496)
18	18	Under existing law, the Task Force is composed of 20 teachers from various school
19	19	districts in this State. (NRS 391.492) Section 3 of this bill defines the term
20	20	“education support professional” for the purpose of the Task Force to include
21	21	paraprofessionals, security officers, school nurses, counselors, psychologists and
22	22	social workers, school bus drivers and clerical, food service, custodial and
23	23	maintenance staff. Sections 7.2 and 7.4 of this bill revise the name of the Task
24	24	Force to the Nevada State Teacher and Education Support Professional Recruitment
25	25	and Retention Advisory Task Force. Section 7.4 requires the Task Force be
26	26	composed of 20 members employed by a school district in this State. To the extent
27	27	practicable, section 7.4 requires 10 of those members to be teachers and 10 to be
28	28	education support professionals. Section 7.6 of this bill establishes: (1) the
29	29	qualifications for membership on the Task Force; and (2) the procedure for
30	30	appointment to the Task Force. Section 7.8 of this bill expands the duties of the
31	31	Task Force to include evaluating and addressing the challenges throughout the State
32	32	in attracting and retaining education support professionals. Section 7.85 of this bill
33	33	makes an appropriation to the Department of Education for travel costs for the
34	34	members of and staff costs for the Task Force.
35	35
36	36	EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
37	37
38	38
39	39	THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
40	40	SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
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42	42	Section 1. Chapter 391 of NRS is hereby amended by adding
43	43	thereto the provisions set forth as sections 2 to 7, inclusive, of this
44	44	act.
45	45	Sec. 2. As used in NRS 391.490 to 391.496, inclusive, and
46	46	sections 2 and 3 of this act, unless the context otherwise requires,
47	47	the words and terms defined in NRS 391.490 and section 3 of this
48	48	act have the meanings ascribed to them in those sections.
49	49	Sec. 3. “Education support professional” means a person,
50	50	other than a teacher or administrator, who is employed to work at
51	51	a public school. The term incudes, without limitation:
52	52	1. Paraprofessionals;
53	53	– 2 –
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55	55
56	56	- 82nd Session (2023)
57	57	2. School police officers, school resource officers and other
58	58	providers of security services at a school;
59	59	3. School nurses;
60	60	4. School counselors;
61	61	5. School psychologists;
62	62	6. School social workers;
63	63	7. Drivers of school buses;
64	64	8. Secretaries;
65	65	9. Members of the custodial or maintenance staff; and
66	66	10. Workers in food services.
67	67	Secs. 4-7. (Deleted by amendment.)
68	68	Sec. 7.2. NRS 391.490 is hereby amended to read as follows:
69	69	391.490 [As used in NRS 391.490 to 391.496, inclusive,]
70	70	“Task Force” means the Nevada State Teacher and Education
71	71	Support Professional Recruitment and Retention Advisory Task
72	72	Force created by NRS 391.492.
73	73	Sec. 7.4. NRS 391.492 is hereby amended to read as follows:
74	74	391.492 1. There is hereby created the Nevada State Teacher
75	75	and Education Support Professional Recruitment and Retention
76	76	Advisory Task Force consisting of the following 20 members:
77	77	(a) One licensed teacher or education support professional
78	78	employed by each school district located in a county whose
79	79	population is less than 100,000, appointed by the Joint Interim
80	80	Standing Committee on Education;
81	81	(b) Two licensed teachers or education support professionals
82	82	employed by each school district located in a county whose
83	83	population is 100,000 or more but less than 700,000, appointed by
84	84	the Joint Interim Standing Committee on Education; and
85	85	(c) Three licensed teachers or education support professionals
86	86	employed by each school district located in a county whose
87	87	population is 700,000 or more, appointed by the Joint Interim
88	88	Standing Committee on Education.
89	89	 To the extent practicable, the Joint Interim Standing Committee
90	90	shall appoint 10 licensed teachers and 10 education support
91	91	professionals to the Task Force.
92	92	2. After the initial terms, each member of the Task Force
93	93	serves a term of 2 years and may be reappointed to one additional 2-
94	94	year term following his or her initial term. If any member of the
95	95	Task Force ceases to be qualified for the position to which he or she
96	96	was appointed, the position shall be deemed vacant and the Joint
97	97	Interim Standing Committee on Education shall appoint a
98	98	replacement for the remainder of the unexpired term. A vacancy
99	99	must be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
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103	103	- 82nd Session (2023)
104	104	3. The Task Force shall, at its first meeting and each odd-
105	105	numbered year thereafter, elect a Chair from among its members.
106	106	4. The Task Force shall meet at least quarterly and may meet at
107	107	other times upon the call of the Chair or a majority of the members
108	108	of the Task Force. In even-numbered years, the Task Force shall
109	109	have three meetings before the final meeting of the Joint Interim
110	110	Standing Committee on Education. In even-numbered years, the
111	111	fourth meeting of the Task Force must be a presentation to the Joint
112	112	Interim Standing Committee on Education of the findings and
113	113	recommendations of the Task Force made pursuant to NRS 391.496.
114	114	5. Ten members of the Task Force constitute a quorum, and a
115	115	quorum may exercise all the power and authority conferred on the
116	116	Task Force.
117	117	6. Members of the Task Force serve without compensation,
118	118	except that for each day or portion of a day during which a member
119	119	of the Task Force attends a meeting of the Task Force or is
120	120	otherwise engaged in the business of the Task Force, the member is
121	121	entitled to receive the per diem allowance and travel expenses
122	122	provided for state officers and employees generally.
123	123	7. Each member of the Task Force who is an officer or
124	124	employee of the State or a local government must be relieved from
125	125	his or her duties without loss of his or her regular compensation so
126	126	that the member may prepare for and attend meetings of the Task
127	127	Force and perform any work necessary to carry out the duties of the
128	128	Task Force in the most timely manner practicable. A state agency or
129	129	local government shall not require an officer or employee who is a
130	130	member of the Task Force to make up the time the member is absent
131	131	from work to carry out his or her duties as a member, and shall not
132	132	require the member to take annual vacation or compensatory time
133	133	for the absence.
134	134	8. The Department shall provide administrative support to the
135	135	Task Force.
136	136	Sec. 7.6. NRS 391.494 is hereby amended to read as follows:
137	137	391.494 1. Each member of the Task Force must:
138	138	(a) Be a licensed teacher or an education support professional
139	139	with at least 5 consecutive years of experience teaching or serving
140	140	as an education support professional, as applicable, in a public
141	141	school in this State;
142	142	(b) Be currently employed as a teacher or an education support
143	143	professional and actively teaching or serving as an education
144	144	support professional, as applicable, in a public school in this State,
145	145	and remain employed as a teacher or an education support
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149	149	- 82nd Session (2023)
150	150	professional, as applicable, in a public school in this State for the
151	151	duration of the member’s term; and
152	152	(c) Not be currently serving on any other education-related
153	153	board, commission, council, task force or similar governmental
154	154	entity.
155	155	2. On or before December 1, [2019,] 2023, the Department
156	156	shall prescribe a uniform application for a teacher or an education
157	157	support professional to use to apply to serve on the Task Force.
158	158	3. A teacher or an education support professional who wishes
159	159	to serve on the Task Force must submit an application prescribed
160	160	pursuant to subsection 2 to the Joint Interim Standing Committee on
161	161	Education on or before January 15 of an even-numbered year. On or
162	162	before February [1] 15 of each even-numbered year, the Joint
163	163	Interim Standing Committee on Education shall select one or more
164	164	teachers [,] or education support professionals, as applicable, to
165	165	serve as a member of the Task Force.
166	166	Sec. 7.8. NRS 391.496 is hereby amended to read as follows:
167	167	391.496 The Task Force shall:
168	168	1. Evaluate the challenges in attracting and retaining teachers
169	169	and education support professionals throughout this State;
170	170	2. Make recommendations to the Joint Interim Standing
171	171	Committee on Education to address the challenges in attracting and
172	172	retaining teachers and education support professionals throughout
173	173	this State, including, without limitation, providing incentives to
174	174	attract and retain teachers [;] and education support professionals;
175	175	and
176	176	3. On or before February 1 of each odd-numbered year, submit
177	177	a report to the Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau for
178	178	transmission to the Legislature describing the findings and
179	179	recommendations of the Task Force.
180	180	Sec. 7.85. 1. There is hereby appropriated from the State
181	181	General Fund to the Department of Education for travel costs for
182	182	members of and staff costs for the Nevada State Teacher and
183	183	Education Support Professional Recruitment and Retention
184	184	Advisory Task Force created by NRS 391.492 as amended by
185	185	section 7.4 of this act the following sums:
186	186	For the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 ...................................... $5,998
187	187	For the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 ...................................... $5,998
188	188	2. Any balance of the sums appropriated by subsection 1
189	189	remaining at the end of the respective fiscal years must not be
190	190	committed for expenditure after June 30 of the respective fiscal
191	191	years by the entity to which the appropriation is made or any entity
192	192	to which money from the appropriation is granted or otherwise
193	193	– 5 –
194	194
195	195
196	196	- 82nd Session (2023)
197	197	transferred in any manner, and any portion of the appropriated
198	198	money remaining must not be spent for any purpose after
199	199	September 20, 2024, and September 19, 2025, respectively, by
200	200	either the entity to which the money was appropriated or the entity
201	201	to which the money was subsequently granted or transferred, and
202	202	must be reverted to the State General Fund on or before
203	203	September 20, 2024, and September 19, 2025, respectively.
204	204	Sec. 7.9. The amendatory provisions of this act do not affect
205	205	the current term of appointment of any person who, on June 30,
206	206	2023, is a member of the Nevada State Teacher Recruitment and
207	207	Retention Advisory Task Force created by NRS 391.492, as that
208	208	section existed on June 30, 2023, and each such member continues
209	209	to serve until the expiration of his or her term or until the member
210	210	vacates his or her office, whichever occurs first. On and after
211	211	February 15, 2024, the Joint Interim Standing Committee on
212	212	Education shall make appointments to the Nevada State Teacher and
213	213	Education Support Professional Recruitment and Retention
214	214	Advisory Task Force in accordance with NRS 391.492, as amended
215	215	by section 7.4 of this act.
216	216	Sec. 8. The provisions of subsection 1 of NRS 218D.380 do
217	217	not apply to any provision of this act which adds or revises a
218	218	requirement to submit a report to the Legislature.
219	219	Sec. 9. This act becomes effective on July 1, 2023.
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