While lawmakers significantly altered the education landscape in the state, they did not add as much money for public schools as some education advocates had sought.
Education
After Nevada lawmakers used marijuana excise tax money to boost per-pupil funding in schools, they were at pains to find money to fund school safety and the popular Millennium Scholarship.
Gov. Steve Sisolak and legislative Democrats are advancing a two-pronged plan to add money to schools: First, use a 10 percent excise tax on recreational marijuana sales, and second, authorize county governments to raise the local sales tax.
The Clark County School District is opposing every bill before the Nevada Legislature that has a financial impact to the state in an attempt to bring attention to the need for more money for education.
Even before it has received its first hearing in Carson City, the measure barring authorizing agencies from granting applications for new charter contracts until Jan. 1, 2021 is running into strong political headwinds.
State prekindergarten programs would expand under an Assembly bill that would allocate $4 million in each of the next two years for the state’s youngest students.
Nevada teachers would not be required to study the state’s Constitution and state laws governing schools under a new Senate bill heard before the Senate Committee on Education on Monday.
The measure would require every school board and charter school to ensure that all licensed staff receive training, including warnings signs that a pupil may be suicidal and on how to refer students to the appropriate services.