State Board of Education views CCSD overhaul regulations as valid

State Board of Education members remained at odds Thursday with Clark County School Board trustees over a legal dispute concerning the district’s reorganization.

The state board voted unanimously to say they believe regulations linked to the reorganization law are valid. Members made their stance official after hearing from legal counsel regarding a petition filed by school board trustees. The petition had asked state board members to address the validity of certain provisions.

Thursday was the first time the state board considered a vote on the complaints, although it had declined to reopen the regulation process in December. The district and trustees subsequently sued the state board and Department of Education, citing a list of disputed regulati0ns.

“I don’t think any of the eight points raised in the petition invalidate the regulations. That’s a short synopsis of my thinking,” Deputy Attorney General Greg Ott, the state board’s legal counsel, said.

Ott worked through the eight points raised by Clark County school officials, which included concerns that provisions for the law are invalid because they create an unfunded mandate. They also say the process to create the regulations was crafted improperly.

Other issues include a lack of a weighted student funding formula, the accelerated timeline and the excessive involvement of the Advisory Committee for AB394 — the group of legislators overseeing the rollout.

State board president Elaine Wynn said she trusted the legal counsel’s opinion that the regulations were valid.

“I feel very satisfied with the response that’s been given,” she said.

The state Attorney General’s office was served the lawsuit on behalf of the Department of Education last week. No additional information on the case was provided by the attorney general’s office.

Contact Meghin Delaney at 702-383-0281 or mdelaney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @MeghinDelaney on Twitter.