"School choice would be limited to only those (students) who can fund the cost of transportation. It would be a have and have-not situation." WALT RULFFES CLARK COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT

CARSON CITY -- Parents could send their children to the public school of their choice under a bill proposed Wednesday, but lawmakers would have to come up with the bus fare.

The measure was introduced on behalf of the Clark County School District by the Assembly Committee on Education because the district wants to offer school choice but needs money to transport students, district lobbyist Craig Kadlub said.

"We know there are people who want greater choice, but we can't do it for free," Kadlub said. "If you don't provide transportation, you don't provide choice. It all depends on whether the Legislature wants to fund it."

Assembly Bill 211 would allow, but not require, school districts statewide to start school choice. Also, the measure would require the Legislature to appropriate money to transport students. The bill gives no dollar figure for the costs.

The bill appears to be the first statewide school choice measure introduced at the Legislature, said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Keith Rheault.

"We keep hearing the state doesn't offer choice," Rheault said. "This would do it."

The transportation costs could be steep, Rheault said, but he does not think they are a "poison pill" deliberately placed in the measure to kill it.

Gov. Jim Gibbons is a "strong supporter" of school choice, spokesman Brent Boynton said. But the governor first wants to see details before supporting such a measure, Boynton said.

Gibbons' proposed $6.8 billion budget does not recommend setting aside any money for transporting children to the schools of their choice.

Bills that call for money beyond what is included in the budget usually are not decided until the final days of a legislative session, when lawmakers receive a report on whether they will have additional money.

Terry Hickman, executive director of the Nevada State Education Association, wondered how legislators could pay for school choice when they have not found the $1 billion in additional money that a study determined was needed to support public education adequately.

"We need to take care of that before we launch onto something else," he said. "People like to think money isn't an issue, but it is."

Mary Jo Parise-Malloy, vice president of the nonprofit Nevadans for Quality Education, had not seen the bill draft but had reservations about starting school choice, particularly in Clark County with its crowded classrooms and teacher shortage.

"It sounds good on paper, but I'm concerned about how the logistics would play out in Clark County," she said. "If we're going to have school choice, does that mean we're going to have a bunch of people going to what they believe is a good school and leaving behind a bunch of empty schools?"

The bill does not give specifics on how students would transfer to the schools of their choice.

Schools that are above capacity -- such Rancho High School, which is 900 students beyond its capacity -- would not be able to accept additional students, Rheault said.

Schools that are seen as desirable, such as Green Valley High School, could reach capacity quickly, he said.

In such cases, a lottery probably would be used to decide which students can enroll, he said.

"You can't have 6,000 kids sign up for Green Valley," Rheault said.

Kadlub said the majority of parents would want their children to attend the school closest to their home.

About 30,000 Clark County students are attending schools other than the one for which they are zoned, Kadlub said. They include students in special academies and technical schools and those granted zone variances.

Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, school systems must allow parents with children attending failing schools to transfer to better schools. At the end of November, 93 students had transferred to better-performing schools in Clark County.

In November, the Clark County School Board approved a pilot program that would allow students in Northeast Region schools to choose the school they attend. The program was approved on the condition that the Legislature pay for transportation costs.

The program would be at risk without the funding because it's unlikely the district could provide buses for students attending faraway schools, Clark County School District Superintendent Walt Rulffes said.

"School choice would be limited to only those (students) who can fund the cost of transportation," Rulffes said. "It would be a have and have-not situation."

If the Northeast Region pilot program proves successful, it would pave the way for an open enrollment policy throughout the school system, he said.

"Choice is part of my market-based philosophy," Rulffes said.