EXEMPT
(Reprinted with amendments adopted on April 16, 2025)
FIRST REPRINT S.B. 277
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SENATE BILL NO. 277–SENATORS CRUZ-CRAWFORD AND DOÑATE
MARCH 5, 2025
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JOINT SPONSORS: ASSEMBLYMEMBERS
JACKSON; ANDERSON AND D’SILVA
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Referred to Committee on Education
SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to education.
(BDR 34-786)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: May have Fiscal Impact.
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; requiring certain public schools to
employ a school social worker to the extent that money is
available for that purpose; requiring the Commission on
Professional Standards in Education to adopt regulations
relating to the licensure of school psychologists, school
counselors and school social workers; and providing other
matters properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law establishes various requirements governing educational personnel, 1
including requirements governing the licensing, qualifications, employment, 2
powers, duties, supervision and evaluation of such personnel. (Chapter 391 of 3
NRS) Under existing law, the Commission on Professional Standards in Education 4
is required to adopt regulations relating to the qualifications for licensure of 5
teachers and other educational personnel, including: (1) regulations relating to the 6
qualifications for licensure of school counselors and school social workers; and (2) 7
regulations that allow a person who is currently employed by a public school in a 8
position to provide support or other services relating to school psychology to 9
simultaneously complete a program of internship in psychology. (NRS 391.019, 10
391.0349) Section 2 of this bill requires the Commission to adopt regulations that 11
allow a person who is employed by a public school in a position relating to school 12
counseling or school social work, as applicable, and is enrolled in a program that 13
would allow the person to obtain a license or endorsement as a school counselor or 14
school social worker, as applicable, to simultaneously complete any required 15
internship or practicum hours for the purpose of obtaining such a license or 16
endorsement. Section 2 further requires the Commission to adopt regulations that 17
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allow a person who is employed by a public school in a position relating to school 18
psychology and is enrolled in a program that would allow the person to obtain a 19
license or endorsement as a school psychologist to simultaneously complete any 20
required practicum hours. 21
Existing law establishes the powers and duties of a school counselor and school 22
social worker. (NRS 391.293, 391.296) Existing law requires each public school, 23
including each charter school, to the extent that money is available for that purpose, 24
to employ a school counselor at the school on a full-time basis. (NRS 388.055) 25
Section 1 of this bill additionally requires each public school in a county whose 26
population is 700,000 or more (currently only Clark County), to the extent that 27
money is available for that purpose, to employ a school social worker at the school 28
on a full-time basis. Section 1 also prohibits, insofar as is practicable, each public 29
school from entering into a contract with an independent contractor for the 30
provision of the services that a school social worker is authorized to perform. 31
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Chapter 388 of NRS is hereby amended by adding 1
thereto a new section to read as follows: 2
Each public school, including, without limitation, each charter 3
school, in a county whose population is 700,000 or more: 4
1. Shall, to the extent that money is available for that 5
purpose, employ a school social worker at the school on a full-time 6
basis. 7
2. Shall not, insofar as is practicable, enter into a contract 8
with an independent contractor for the provision of the services 9
that a school social worker is authorized to perform pursuant to 10
NRS 391.296. 11
Sec. 2. NRS 391.019 is hereby amended to read as follows: 12
391.019 1. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 391.027, 13
the Commission shall adopt regulations: 14
(a) Prescribing the qualifications for licensing teachers and other 15
educational personnel and the procedures for the issuance and 16
renewal of those licenses. The regulations: 17
(1) Must include, without limitation, the qualifications for 18
licensing teachers and administrators pursuant to an alternative route 19
to licensure which provides that the required education and training 20
may be provided by any qualified provider which has been approved 21
by the Commission, including, without limitation, institutions of 22
higher education and other providers that operate independently of 23
an institution of higher education. The regulations adopted pursuant 24
to this subparagraph must: 25
(I) Establish the requirements for approval as a qualified 26
provider; 27
(II) Require a qualified provider to be selective in its 28
acceptance of students; 29
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(III) Require a qualified provider to provide in-person or 1
virtual supervised, school-based experiences and ongoing support 2
for its students, such as mentoring and coaching; 3
(IV) Significantly limit the amount of course work 4
required or provide for the waiver of required course work for 5
students who achieve certain scores on tests; 6
(V) Allow for the completion in 2 years or less of the 7
education and training required under the alternative route to 8
licensure; 9
(VI) Provide that a person who has completed the 10
education and training required under the alternative route to 11
licensure and who has satisfied all other requirements for licensure 12
may apply for a regular license pursuant to sub-subparagraph (VII) 13
regardless of whether the person has received an offer of 14
employment from a school district, charter school or private school; 15
and 16
(VII) Upon the completion by a person of the education 17
and training required under the alternative route to licensure and the 18
satisfaction of all other requirements for licensure, provide for the 19
issuance of a regular license to the person pursuant to the provisions 20
of this chapter and the regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter. 21
(2) Must require an applicant for a license to teach middle 22
school or junior high school education or secondary education to 23
demonstrate proficiency in a field of specialization or area of 24
concentration by successfully completing course work prescribed by 25
the Department or completing a subject matter competency 26
examination prescribed by the Department with a score deemed 27
satisfactory. 28
(3) Must not prescribe qualifications which are more 29
stringent than the qualifications set forth in NRS 391.0315 for a 30
licensed teacher who applies for an additional license in accordance 31
with that section. 32
(b) Identifying fields of specialization in teaching which require 33
the specialized training of teachers. 34
(c) Except as otherwise provided in NRS 391.125, requiring 35
teachers to obtain from the Department an endorsement in a field of 36
specialization to be eligible to teach in that field of specialization. 37
(d) Setting forth the educational requirements a teacher must 38
satisfy to qualify for an endorsement in each field of specialization. 39
(e) Setting forth the qualifications and requirements for 40
obtaining a license or endorsement to teach American Sign 41
Language, including, without limitation, being registered with the 42
Aging and Disability Services Division of the Department of Health 43
and Human Services pursuant to NRS 656A.100 to engage in the 44
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practice of sign language interpreting in a primary or secondary 1
educational setting. 2
(f) Requiring teachers and other educational personnel to be 3
registered with the Aging and Disability Services Division pursuant 4
to NRS 656A.100 to engage in the practice of sign language 5
interpreting in a primary or secondary educational setting if they: 6
(1) Provide instruction or other educational services; and 7
(2) Concurrently engage in the practice of sign language 8
interpreting, as defined in NRS 656A.060. 9
(g) Prescribing course work on parental involvement and family 10
engagement. The Commission shall: 11
(1) Work in cooperation with the Office of Parental 12
Involvement and Family Engagement created by NRS 385.630 in 13
developing the regulations required by this paragraph. 14
(2) Establish standards for professional development training 15
which may be used to satisfy any course work requirement 16
prescribed pursuant to this paragraph. 17
(h) Establishing the requirements for obtaining an endorsement 18
on the license of a teacher, administrator or other educational 19
personnel in cultural competency. 20
(i) Authorizing the Superintendent of Public Instruction to issue 21
a license by endorsement to an applicant who holds an equivalent 22
license or authorization issued by a governmental entity in another 23
country if the Superintendent determines that the qualifications for 24
the equivalent license or authorization are substantially similar to 25
those prescribed pursuant to paragraph (a). 26
(j) Establishing the requirements for obtaining an endorsement 27
on the license of a teacher, administrator or other educational 28
personnel in teaching courses relating to financial literacy. 29
(k) Authorizing a person who is employed as a paraprofessional 30
and enrolled in a program to become a teacher to complete an 31
accelerated program of student teaching in the same or a 32
substantially similar area in which the person is employed as a 33
paraprofessional while remaining employed as a paraprofessional. 34
(l) Requiring the Department to accept a program of student 35
teaching or other teaching experience completed in another state or 36
foreign country by an applicant for a license if the Department 37
determines that the program or experience substantially fulfills the 38
standards of a program of student teaching in this State. 39
(m) Authorizing a person who is employed by a public school in 40
a position to provide support or other services relating to [school] : 41
(1) School psychology, if the person does not hold a license 42
or endorsement as a school psychologist but is enrolled in a program 43
that would allow the person to obtain such a license or endorsement, 44
to complete a program of internship in school psychology or any 45
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required practicum hours for the purpose of obtaining a license or 1
endorsement as a school psychologist while remaining employed in 2
such a position. 3
(2) School counseling, if the person does not hold a license 4
or endorsement as a school counselor but is enrolled in a program 5
that would allow the person to obtain such a license or 6
endorsement, to complete any required internship or practicum 7
hours for the purpose of obtaining a license or endorsement as a 8
school counselor while remaining employed in such a position. 9
(3) School social work, if the person does not hold a license 10
or endorsement as a school social worker but is enrolled in a 11
program that would allow the person to obtain such a license or 12
endorsement, to complete any required internship or practicum 13
hours for the purpose of obtaining a license or endorsement as a 14
school social worker while remaining employed in such a position. 15
(n) To carry out the provisions of NRS 391B.010. 16
2. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 391.027, the 17
Commission may adopt such other regulations as it deems necessary 18
for its own government or to carry out its duties. 19
3. Any regulation which increases the amount of education, 20
training or experience required for licensing: 21
(a) Must, in addition to the requirements for publication in 22
chapter 233B of NRS, be publicized before its adoption in a manner 23
reasonably calculated to inform those persons affected by the 24
change. 25
(b) Must not become effective until at least 1 year after the date 26
it is adopted by the Commission. 27
(c) Is not applicable to a license in effect on the date the 28
regulation becomes effective. 29
H