A.B. 49
- *AB49*
ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 49–COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
(ON BEHALF OF THE WASHOE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT)
PREFILED NOVEMBER 19, 2024
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Referred to Committee on Education
SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to educational personnel.
(BDR 34-519)
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 educational personnel; authorizing a person
who holds a license to teach in certain states to be hired as
a teacher in this State if he or she satisfies certain
requirements; authorizing a person to simultaneously
enroll in multiple programs for an alternative route to
licensure; requiring the Commission on Professional
Standards in Education to prescribe certain regulations
concerning the licensure of teachers, school nurses and
school social workers; and providing other matters
properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law creates the Commission on Professional Standards in Education 1
and requires the Commission to prescribe regulations for licensing teachers and 2
other educational personnel. (NRS 391.011, 391.019) Under existing law, such 3
regulations are required to provide for the reciprocal licensure of educational 4
personnel from other states. (NRS 391.032) Section 1 of this bill requires the 5
Commission to compile a list of states in which the requirements and qualifications 6
to obtain a license to teach are equivalent to the requirements and qualifications to 7
obtain a license to teach in this State. Section 1 additionally authorizes the board of 8
trustees of a school district or the governing body of a charter school to employ as a 9
teacher a person not licensed as a teacher in this State if the person: (1) holds a 10
license in good standing from a state included on the list compiled by the 11
Commission; (2) has submitted an application to receive a license to teach in this 12
State; and (3) has completed the background investigation the employing school 13
district is required to conduct. 14
Section 2 of this bill requires that the regulations adopted by the Commission 15
also prescribe qualifications for a person who holds certain licenses to teach to 16
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receive a license to teach elementary education without repeating previously 17
completed requirements or satisfying additional requirements. Section 2 18
additionally requires such regulations to prescribe qualifications for a person to use 19
work experience or a license in an area of career and technical education to receive 20
an endorsement in career and technical education without repeating certain 21
requirements. Section 2 also requires such regulations to authorize a person to 22
serve as a school nurse or school social worker without the applicable endorsement 23
if the person: (1) has applied for such an endorsement but the endorsement has not 24
yet been approved or denied; and (2) holds certain valid licenses issued by the State 25
Board of Nursing or the Board of Examiners for Social Workers, as applicable. 26
Section 4 of this bill makes a conforming change to authorize such a registered 27
nurse to be employed as a school nurse without an endorsement as a school nurse. 28
Existing law requires the Commission to prescribe regulations that set forth the 29
qualifications for licensing teachers through an alternative route to licensure. (NRS 30
391.019) Section 2 requires such regulations to authorize a person to 31
simultaneously enroll in multiple programs for an alternative route to licensure. 32
Section 3 of this bill requires a reduction in the fee for a license to teach for 33
certain applicants who are substitute teachers. 34
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 a new section to read as follows: 2
1. The Commission shall develop, and on an annual basis, 3
update a list of each state that the Commission determines has 4
requirements and qualifications for a license to teach early 5
childhood education, elementary education, middle school or 6
junior high school education, secondary education or special 7
education that are substantially equivalent to the requirements 8
and qualifications for such a license in this State. 9
2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the board of 10
trustees of a school district or the governing body of a charter 11
school may, on a provisional basis not to exceed 1 year, employ as 12
a teacher a person who is not licensed to teach pursuant to this 13
chapter if the person: 14
(a) Is licensed in good standing as a teacher in a state included 15
on the most recent list developed or updated by the Commission 16
pursuant to subsection 1; 17
(b) Has submitted an application for the issuance of a license 18
to teach pursuant to this chapter; 19
(c) Is employed to teach in a position that corresponds to the 20
license of the teacher in the other state; 21
(d) Complies with the requirements of NRS 391.104; and 22
(e) Is not otherwise prohibited from being employed as a 23
teacher in this State. 24
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Sec. 2. NRS 391.019 is hereby amended to read as follows: 1
391.019 1. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 391.027, 2
the Commission shall adopt regulations: 3
(a) Prescribing the qualifications for licensing teachers and other 4
educational personnel and the procedures for the issuance and 5
renewal of those licenses. The regulations: 6
(1) Must include, without limitation, the qualifications for 7
licensing teachers and administrators pursuant to an alternative route 8
to licensure which provides that the required education and training 9
may be provided by any qualified provider which has been approved 10
by the Commission, including, without limitation, institutions of 11
higher education and other providers that operate independently of 12
an institution of higher education. The regulations adopted pursuant 13
to this subparagraph must: 14
(I) Establish the requirements for approval as a qualified 15
provider; 16
(II) Require a qualified provider to be selective in its 17
acceptance of students; 18
(III) Authorize a person to simultaneously enroll in 19
multiple programs for an alternative route to licensure; 20
(IV) Require a qualified provider to provide in-person or 21
virtual supervised, school-based experiences and ongoing support 22
for its students, such as mentoring and coaching; 23
[(IV)] (V) Significantly limit the amount of course work 24
required or provide for the waiver of required course work for 25
students who achieve certain scores on tests; 26
[(V)] (VI) Allow for the completion in 2 years or less of 27
the education and training required under the alternative route to 28
licensure; 29
[(VI)] (VII) Provide that a person who has completed the 30
education and training required under the alternative route to 31
licensure and who has satisfied all other requirements for licensure 32
may apply for a regular license pursuant to sub-subparagraph [(VII)] 33
(VIII) regardless of whether the person has received an offer of 34
employment from a school district, charter school or private school; 35
and 36
[(VII)] (VIII) Upon the completion by a person of the 37
education and training required under the alternative route to 38
licensure and the satisfaction of all other requirements for licensure, 39
provide for the issuance of a regular license to the person pursuant 40
to the provisions of this chapter and the regulations adopted 41
pursuant to this chapter. 42
(2) Must require an applicant for a license to teach middle 43
school or junior high school education or secondary education to 44
demonstrate proficiency in a field of specialization or area of 45
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concentration by successfully completing course work prescribed by 1
the Department or completing a subject matter competency 2
examination prescribed by the Department with a score deemed 3
satisfactory. 4
(3) Must not prescribe qualifications which are more 5
stringent than the qualifications set forth in NRS 391.0315 for a 6
licensed teacher who applies for an additional license in accordance 7
with that section. 8
(4) Must prescribe, for a person who holds a license to 9
teach middle school or junior high school education or secondary 10
education and is an applicant for a license to teach elementary 11
education, qualifications to receive the additional license without 12
satisfying additional requirements or repeating requirements that 13
were previously completed. 14
(5) Must prescribe qualifications for the receipt of a 15
secondary license with an endorsement in career and technical 16
education that authorize an applicant to use work experience or a 17
license in an area of career and technical education to satisfy 18
requirements on the application if he or she has previously listed 19
the information on an application for such a license that is no 20
longer valid. 21
(b) Identifying fields of specialization in teaching which require 22
the specialized training of teachers. 23
(c) Except as otherwise provided in NRS 391.125, requiring 24
teachers to obtain from the Department an endorsement in a field of 25
specialization to be eligible to teach in that field of specialization. 26
(d) Setting forth the educational requirements a teacher must 27
satisfy to qualify for an endorsement in each field of specialization. 28
(e) Setting forth the qualifications and requirements for 29
obtaining a license or endorsement to teach American Sign 30
Language, including, without limitation, being registered with the 31
Aging and Disability Services Division of the Department of Health 32
and Human Services pursuant to NRS 656A.100 to engage in the 33
practice of sign language interpreting in a primary or secondary 34
educational setting. 35
(f) Requiring teachers and other educational personnel to be 36
registered with the Aging and Disability Services Division pursuant 37
to NRS 656A.100 to engage in the practice of sign language 38
interpreting in a primary or secondary educational setting if they: 39
(1) Provide instruction or other educational services; and 40
(2) Concurrently engage in the practice of sign language 41
interpreting, as defined in NRS 656A.060. 42
(g) Prescribing course work on parental involvement and family 43
engagement. The Commission shall: 44
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(1) Work in cooperation with the Office of Parental 1
Involvement and Family Engagement created by NRS 385.630 in 2
developing the regulations required by this paragraph. 3
(2) Establish standards for professional development training 4
which may be used to satisfy any course work requirement 5
prescribed pursuant to this paragraph. 6
(h) Establishing the requirements for obtaining an endorsement 7
on the license of a teacher, administrator or other educational 8
personnel in cultural competency. 9
(i) Authorizing the Superintendent of Public Instruction to issue 10
a license by endorsement to an applicant who holds an equivalent 11
license or authorization issued by a governmental entity in another 12
country if the Superintendent determines that the qualifications for 13
the equivalent license or authorization are substantially similar to 14
those prescribed pursuant to paragraph (a). 15
(j) Establishing the requirements for obtaining an endorsement 16
on the license of a teacher, administrator or other educational 17
personnel in teaching courses relating to financial literacy. 18
(k) Authorizing a person who is employed as a paraprofessional 19
and enrolled in a program to become a teacher to complete an 20
accelerated program of student teaching in the same or a 21
substantially similar area in which the person is employed as a 22
paraprofessional while remaining employed as a paraprofessional. 23
(l) Requiring the Department to accept a program of student 24
teaching or other teaching experience completed in another state or 25
foreign country by an applicant for a license if the Department 26
determines that the program or experience substantially fulfills the 27
standards of a program of student teaching in this State. 28
(m) Authorizing a person who is employed by a public school to 29
provide support or other services relating to school psychology, if 30
the person does not hold a license or endorsement as a school 31
psychologist but is enrolled in a program that would allow the 32
person to obtain such a license or endorsement, to complete a 33
program of internship in school psychology while remaining 34
employed in such a position. 35
(n) If a person has applied for an endorsement as a school 36
nurse or school social worker but the endorsement has not been 37
issued or denied, authorizing the applicant to, as applicable: 38
(1) Serve as a school nurse without an endorsement as a 39
school nurse if he or she holds a valid license as a registered nurse 40
issued by the State Board of Nursing; or 41
(2) Serve as a school social worker without an endorsement 42
as a school social worker if he or she holds a valid license as a 43
social worker issued by the Board of Examiners for Social 44
Workers. 45
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(o) To carry out the provisions of NRS 391B.010. 1
2. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 391.027, the 2
Commission may adopt such other regulations as it deems necessary 3
for its own government or to carry out its duties. 4
3. Any regulation which increases the amount of education, 5
training or experience required for licensing: 6
(a) Must, in addition to the requirements for publication in 7
chapter 233B of NRS, be publicized before its adoption in a manner 8
reasonably calculated to inform those persons affected by the 9
change. 10
(b) Must not become effective until at least 1 year after the date 11
it is adopted by the Commission. 12
(c) Is not applicable to a license in effect on the date the 13
regulation becomes effective. 14
Sec. 3. NRS 391.040 is hereby amended to read as follows: 15
391.040 1. The Commission shall fix fees of not less than 16
$100 for the: 17
(a) Initial issuance of a license, which must include the fees for 18
processing the fingerprints of the applicant by the Central 19
Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History and the Federal 20
Bureau of Investigation; and 21
(b) Renewal of a license, which must include the fees for 22
processing the fingerprints of the applicant for renewal by the 23
Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History and the 24
Federal Bureau of Investigation. 25
2. The fee for issuing a duplicate license is the same as for 26
issuing the original. 27
3. The portion of each fee which represents the amount charged 28
by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for processing the 29
fingerprints of the applicant must be deposited with the State 30
Treasurer for credit to the appropriate account of the Department of 31
Public Safety. The remaining portion of the money received from 32
the fees must be deposited with the State Treasurer for credit to the 33
appropriate account of the Department of Education. 34
4. The Department of Education [may] : 35
(a) May waive any fee for the initial issuance of a license, the 36
renewal of a license or the issuance of a duplicate license for an 37
applicant or licensee who is a veteran of the Armed Forces of the 38
United States, an applicant or licensee who is a member of the 39
Armed Forces of the United States who is on active duty or an 40
applicant or licensee who is the spouse of such a veteran or member 41
of the Armed Forces of the United States. 42
(b) Shall waive all or part of the fee for the initial issuance of a 43
license to teach for an applicant who holds a license or 44
endorsement as a substitute teacher and who paid the fee to apply 45
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for and be issued such a license or endorsement within 1 year 1
preceding the date on which the applicant submits the application 2
for the initial issuance of a license to teach. The amount of the fee 3
waiver pursuant to this paragraph must equal the amount by 4
which the fee for the initial issuance of a license to teach exceeds 5
the amount paid by the applicant for the license or endorsement as 6
a substitute teacher. 7
Sec. 4. NRS 391.291 is hereby amended to read as follows: 8
391.291 1. The provision of nursing services in a school 9
district by school nurses and other qualified personnel must be 10
under the direction and supervision of a chief nurse who is a 11
registered nurse as provided in NRS 632.240 and who: 12
(a) Holds an endorsement to serve as a school nurse issued 13
pursuant to regulations adopted by the Commission; or 14
(b) Is employed by a state, county, city or district health 15
department and provides nursing services to the school district in the 16
course of that employment. 17
2. [A] Except as otherwise provided in regulations adopted by 18
the Commission pursuant to NRS 391.019, a school district shall 19
not employ a person to serve as a school nurse unless the person 20
holds an endorsement to serve as a school nurse issued pursuant to 21
regulations adopted by the Commission. 22
3. The chief nurse shall ensure that each school nurse: 23
(a) Coordinates with the principal of each school to designate: 24
(1) Employees of the school who are authorized to 25
administer auto-injectable epinephrine; and 26
(2) If the school has obtained an order for an opioid 27
antagonist pursuant to subsection 2 of NRS 386.870, at least two 28
employees of the school who are authorized to administer the opioid 29
antagonist. 30
(b) Provides the employees so designated with training 31
concerning the proper storage and administration of auto-injectable 32
epinephrine or opioid antagonists, as applicable. 33
4. As used in this section, “opioid antagonist” has the meaning 34
ascribed to it in NRS 453C.040. 35
Sec. 5. This act becomes effective on July 1, 2025. 36
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