The Ed-Watch series is designed to increase access to information on what decisions
are being made regarding public education in Clark County and Nevada.
Nevada State Board of Education
What is the State Board of Education & what are they responsible for? The Nevada State Board of Education adopts regulations based on Nevada laws, which are passed down to individual school districts in Nevada to implement. The Board has 11 total (7 appointed and 4 publicly elected) members.
How often does the State Board meet? The Nevada State Board of Education meets once per month on Wednesdays at 9:00 AM or 2:00 PM. Click here to see the 2024 meeting materials.
Can community members engage at State Board Meetings? A time for public comment is provided at the beginning (for agenda items) and at the conclusion (on any matter) of each Board meeting. Members of the public may provide public comment in writing via email; public comment will be accepted via email for the duration of the meeting and shared with the State Board of Education during the public comment periods. Public comment may be emailed to NVBoardED@doe.nv.gov.
Click here for a list of all State Board Members.
Wednesday, October 2, 2024
Nevada State Board of Education Meeting
Click here to see the regular SBOE meeting agenda.
Click here to watch the meeting playback.
What happened at the regular meeting?
Public Comment #1
- Concerns regarding budget shortfalls at CCSD
President’s Report
Highlights included:
- Student representative heading to a national conference
- How Nevada is leading the way in terms of demographic diversity
Superintendent’s Report
Highlights included:
- Hosting the NOW of Summit Learning for Portrait of a Learner
- 22 of 23 of the proposed regulations submitted to the Legislative Commission passed, with one coming back for Board consideration today
- The release of the 2023-24 Nevada Report Card data
- All Department staff coming together for a day of convening and collaboration
- Recognition for teacher preparation programs at UNLV
- Celebrating Pre-K Teachers of the Year
- Several schools receiving $100,000 fitness grants
- Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month
Board Approved the Consent Agenda
Consent agenda items included:
- Several approvals related to the Commission on Professional Standards in Education
- Meeting minutes
Review the consent agenda.
Board Approved the Framework for the 2025 Statewide Plan for the Improvement of Pupils
Staff members introduced the proposed Statewide Plan for the Improvement of Pupils (STIP): 2030. The purpose of the STIP is to measure student improvement through identified performance indicators. The STIP develops a common language relating to Department efforts and activities, helps align expectations, and provides annual updates on public education.
Below is a set of the proposed targets and initiatives for the STIP: 2030 implementation:
Indicators for Target 1 include access to evidence-based instructional materials, programmatic improvement in State-Funded Pre-K, K-3 literacy growth and proficiency, Grades 4-8 math growth and proficiency, rigorous high school coursework enrollment, college and career ready diploma graduates, and proficiency rates.
Indicators for Target 2 include fully licensed and certified staff percentages, distribution of vacancy and long-term substitutes within a District, and budget allocation for recruitment and retention.
Indicators for Target 3 include fiscal risk ratings and grant implementation rates.
Next steps include data, identifying deliverables, hosting community workshops, and presenting the final draft to the Board for approval in January 2025.
Board members discussed how literacy measures in Grades 3-8 would be incorporated in the STIP, increasing community involvement and engagement, mental health services and supports, build-out of the implementation guide, policy implications of some of the targets, infrastructure of some of the indicators, and alignment of Portrait of a Learner with Acing Accountability.
Explore the presentation. Explore the Governor’s “New Nevada” framework and the structure and processes that will be used to analyze the performance of the provided metrics.
Board Discussed Read by Grade 3 Initiative Progress
The Read by Grade 3 team discusses progress thus far, including providing an overview on key components of the State’s Read by 3 initiative at the January board meeting and providing responses to questions posed by the Board. The team also reviewed these responses, which can be found in the update linked below.
Next steps for the group include convening a work group of state and national experts to explore the current understanding of Read by 3 in statute, as well as through AB 289 (2019) and AB 400 (2023), responses to clarifying questions pose by the State Board, and recommendations for further research and actions.
In November, the team will provide a presentation to the Board summarizing the recommendations of the work group.
Explore the Read by 3 team update.
Board Discussed the Procurement Process for Selecting the Read by Grade 3 Assessment
The Board discussed the procurement process and timeline for the Read by Grade 3 assessment. The process includes the Department seeking input for the assessment, the Read by 3 Working Group and stakeholders providing input on components they would like in the assessments, Board providing input, the State purchasing team facilitating the RFP process, the State Board reviewing the RFP committee’s recommendation, and following approval, sending the recommendation to the Board of Examiners for review. Vendor selection is due to take place in January 2025, with a contracted start date of May 2025.
Board members asked about different forms of the assessment (standard and alternate), good cause exemptions portfolio, regulatory authority of the Board to address interventions, criterion-referenced testing, technology, and language access. Board members will send feedback directly to the Department.
Explore the presentation.
Board Discussed Read by Grade 3 and MAP Assessment Data
The Board heard an update regarding Nevada’s Read by Grade 3 program and Spring ’23 – Spring ’24 MAP growth results. The 40th percentile and below on the MAP growth reading assessment has been identified as the indicator which generates support for students reading below grade level. Over a large enough sample size, it is expected that about 40% of students would be at or below the 40th percentile, and about 60% of students would be above the 40th percentile.
In Spring of ’24, 129,457 students in grades K-3 were tested, slightly fewer than 2023.
- Thirty-eight percent of kindergarten students were at or below the 40th percentile, and 62% were above the 40th percentile.
- Forty-four percent of first grade students were at or below the 40th percentile, and 56% were above the 40th percentile.
- Forty-five percent of second grade students were at or below the 40th percentile, and 55% were above the 40th percentile.
- Forty-five percent of third grade students were at or below the 40th percentile, and 55% were above the 40th percentile.
Student subgroup data can be found in the presentation linked below.
Explore the presentation.
Board Discussed the Release of the Nevada Report Card, Including Indicator Data from Acing Accountability
Participation rates for the SBAC increased among most school districts and in most student groups.
- ELA proficiency rates for Grades 3-8 were 41.3% (41% for the 2022-23 school year).
- Math proficiency rates for Grades 3-8 were 32.6% (31.3% for the 2022-23 school year).
- Grade 5 science proficiency was 13.9% (19.1% for the 2022-23 school year), and Grade 8 science proficiency was 36.3% (32.7% for the 2022-23 school year). High school science proficiency was 20.2% (20.1% for the 2022-23 school year).
SBAC proficiency by student groups is available in the presentation.
Staff also reviewed school star ratings for the 2023-24 school year.
Source: Nevada Department of Education
Staff provided a brief overview and orientation to the Acing Accountability data, also available in the presentation. No key results for Acing Accountability were reviewed during the presentation.
The Board reviewed Acing Accountability goals around its charge for school districts to use innovative solutions to meet the needs of students for all school districts. Those individual district reports can be found in the presentation here.
Humboldt County submitted a narrative regarding their Acing Accountability results, available here.
Board Discussed the Regulatory Authority of the State Board to Oversee and Enforce Compliance with the Reorganization Mandates of Large School Districts
Board members discussed regulatory authority of the State Board to oversee and enforce compliance regarding the budget shortfall of Clark County School District. The Department of Education sent a memo to the District, specifying responses should be submitted to questions posed by the Department no later than Thursday, October 3.
Staff clarified that the Superintendent has the ability to enforce the reorganization law under NRS 388G to obtain information from Districts, enforce the law, and enforce District compliance. The Superintendent can issue plans of correction following noncompliance notices, and has the ability to place a compliance monitor within districts that are not in compliance. The State Board has the ability to approve regulations and provide additional clarifications to the power of the Superintendent.
Additional discussion will take place following CCSD’s submission of responses to the Department’s questions.
Board Held a Public Hearing On and Approved Proposed Regulation R096-24 Regarding the Use of a Pupil’s Social Security Number
The Board held a public hearing on and approved a proposed regulation aligned to NRS and existing Board practices, that removes the use of a pupil’s social security number as an identification number for the records of a pupil from regulatory language; requires a school district to assign to each pupil an identification number to identify the records of the pupil by use of the school district; and requires the Department of Education to assign to each pupil an identification number to identify the records of the pupil for the duration of the pupil’s enrollment in the public school system in Nevada.
Explore the proposed regulation.
Board Held a Public Hearing On and Approved Proposed Regulation R095-24P Regarding Amending the Location for a Copy of the Crisis Response Plan for Renewal of a Private School License
The Board held a public hearing on and approved a proposed regulation that requires an applicant for renewal of a license of a private school to submit to the Division of Emergency Management of the Office of the Military an emergency operation plan, regardless of whether the plan was updated in the term immediately preceding the application for renewal.
Explore the proposed regulation.
Board Held a Public Hearing On and Approved Proposed Regulation R099-23P Relating to the Adult and Regular High School Diploma
The Board held a public hearing on and approved a proposed regulation that revises the requirements from a Board of Trustees of a school district for adults to earn a high school diploma. These revisions include authorizing a person who meets the statutory requirements for enrollment in courses for an adult to earn a high school diploma to enroll in an adult high school program, and makes additional changes related to these revised requirements to comply with recent legislation, clarify courses of study in computer science, and apply certain sections retroactively to August 1, 2022.
Explore the proposed regulation.
Future Agenda Items
Suggestions for future agenda items include Read by Grade 3 cut scores and event planning for recognition and award ceremonies. Items include:
- Dual credit programs from the Nevada System of Higher Education
- CCSD teacher exit/transfer survey
- CCSD Reorganization Compliance Report NRS 388G
- ESSER update
- Grad Score/Infinite Campus updates
- Developmental delay, Disabilities Education Act
- STIP progress
- Curriculum adoption committee
The next Board of Education meeting is scheduled on Wednesday, November 6, at 2:00 p.m.
