- 82nd Session (2023)
Senate Bill No. 72–Committee on Education
CHAPTER..........
AN ACT relating to education; directing the Joint Interim Standing
Committee on Education to conduct certain studies during the
2023-2024 interim and report its findings to the Legislature;
and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law creates the Joint Interim Standing Committee on Education. (NRS
218E.320) Existing law authorizes the Committee to: (1) evaluate, review and
comment upon issues related to education in Nevada; (2) conduct investigations
and hold hearings; (3) conduct studies as directed by the Legislature or the
Legislative Commission; and (4) make certain recommendations to the Legislature.
(NRS 218E.330, 218E.615) This bill directs the Committee to conduct six separate
studies during the 2023-2024 interim and report its findings for each study to the
Legislature. Specifically, this bill directs the Committee to study: (1) the mental
health and wellness of pupils; (2) the workload of teachers, including any relevant
statutory and regulatory requirements; (3) requirements governing the licensing and
authorization to work of teachers and administrators and the effect of such
requirements on the diversity and effectiveness of teachers and administrators and
the recruitment of local teachers and administrators; (4) trends in graduation and
achievement of pupils enrolled in high school and any divergence between those
trends; (5) groups of pupils that may require additional resources, and policies and
strategies that may address the needs of such groups; and (6) waivers of registration
fees, laboratory fees and other fees at institutions within the Nevada System of
Higher Education.
EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. 1. The Joint Interim Standing Committee on
Education shall, during the 2023-2024 interim:
(a) Conduct a study concerning the mental health and wellness
of pupils in this State and programs to improve the mental health
and wellness of such pupils, including, without limitation, evidence-
based mental health therapies and practices.
(b) Conduct a study concerning the workload of teachers in this
State, including, without limitation, provisions of law and
regulations that affect the workload of teachers in this State, to
better understand and evaluate the workload of teachers in this State.
(c) Conduct a study concerning requirements governing the
licensing and authorization to work of teachers and administrators in
this State, including, without limitation, requirements for the
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- 82nd Session (2023)
authorization of a holder of a J-1 visa issued pursuant to 8 U.S.C. §
1101(a)(15)(J) to work as a teacher or administrator, in order to:
(1) Identify whether such requirements are barriers to
increasing the diversity of teachers or administrators, as applicable,
in this State and increasing the number of pupils in the public
schools in this State and students at institutions of higher education
in this State who eventually become teachers and administrators in
this State; and
(2) Ensure that requirements concerning the competency of
applicants for a license as a teacher or administrator, as applicable,
are reasonable indicators of the future effectiveness of such an
applicant as a teacher or administrator.
(d) Conduct a study concerning:
(1) Trends in the graduation rates of, and the types of
diplomas awarded to, pupils enrolled in high school in this State,
based on the information included in the annual report of
accountability pursuant to NRS 385A.260;
(2) Trends in achievement of pupils enrolled in high school
in this State, including, without limitation, information relating to
such trends that is included in the annual report of accountability
pursuant to NRS 385A.200;
(3) A comparison of the trends described in subparagraphs
(1) and (2); and
(4) Any factors which may be responsible for the trends
described in subparagraphs (1) and (2) and any divergence between
the trends described in subparagraph (1) and the trends described in
subparagraph (2).
(e) Conduct a study concerning:
(1) Groups of pupils who may require additional resources to
receive a reasonably equal educational opportunity;
(2) The specific educational needs of such groups of pupils;
(3) Policies and strategies that target such groups of pupils,
address specific needs and provide specific interventions, including,
without limitation, policies and strategies to increase enrollment in
postsecondary education or vocational training; and
(4) Long-term strategies to fund and implement such policies
and programs.
(f) Conduct a study concerning waivers of registration fees,
laboratory fees and other fees at institutions within the Nevada
System of Higher Education, including, without limitation, any such
waivers granted by the Board of Regents of the University of
Nevada pursuant to NRS 396.544 to 396.54495, inclusive.
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- 82nd Session (2023)
2. On or before February 1, 2025, for each study listed in
subsection 1, the Joint Interim Standing Committee on Education
shall submit a report of its findings and any recommendations for
legislation to the Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau for
transmittal to the 83rd Session of the Legislature.
Sec. 2. This act becomes effective on July 1, 2023.
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