The Ed-Watch series is designed to increase access to information on decisions 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 Thursdays at 9:00AM. Click here to see the 2021 Board Meeting Schedule. Click here to visit Hope For Nevada’s #NVEd Calendar.
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.
Thursday, March 11, 2021
Nevada State Board of Education Meeting
Click here to see the meeting agenda
What happened at this meeting?
Public Comment
- Support for adopting new science curriculum for grades 6-8
- Support for delaying action on the Pupil Centered Funding Formula until after pandemic recovery
- Support for reconsidering the assessment used for Read by Grade Three
- Support for continuing the use of the current assessment for Read by Grade Three
President’s Report
President Ortiz report highlights:
- Two Clark County Schools and one Nevada charter school were nominated as 2021 Blue Ribbon Schools.
- The application to serve as the State Board appointee on the State Public Charter School Authority Board is open through April 1, 2021. Members of the public can click here to apply.
Superintendent’s Report
State Superintendent Ebert report highlights:
- The Commission on School Funding is currently identifying ways to utilize existing revenue streams, rather than recommending new revenue streams to support the Pupil Centered Funding Formula. The Commission continues to develop a public summary of their work, to be published in multiple languages.
- Five of Six bills sponsored by the Department have been introduced at the Nevada Legislature.
- The Blue Ribbon Commission for Globally Prepared Nevada met last week to refine their recommendations to be shared with the public and legislators for consideration.
- Department staff is currently gathering information to update the Board on the implementation of the reorganization of the Clark County School District. The Department is specifically looking at how any excess carry-over funds from the last school year are being spent.
Board Approved Consent Agenda
Consent agenda highlights:
- Approval of private school licenses
- Approval of Leadership Academy of Nevada Dual Credit Request
- Approval of Career and Technical Education Report of Local Activities and Expenditures for Fiscal Year 2020
- The Board also approved a motion to postpone the approval of FOSS Science curriculum and return to the Nevada Instructional Materials Steering Committee for additional review. Board members expressed concerns that the outcomes related to this curriculum are unsatisfactory.
Board Heard Guidance on Engaging at the Legislature
Department staff provided Board members with guidelines to ensure that any public comment or testimony any individual board member engages in must be done as a public citizen rather than as a representative of the Board or Department, and must be stated as such on the public record. The Board also approved Member Gallegos, the Board’s student representative, to represent the Board throughout the 2021 Legislative Session.
Click here to see the full memo.
Board Heard Update on Strengthening Nevada’s Career and Technical Education Programs of Study
Department staff provided a presentation to the board on the structure and access to Nevada’s Career and Technical Education programs. The current program structure requires students to join in 9th or 10th grade and remain in the same program of study for three years in order to be considered a CTE completer, making them eligible for CTE college credit. Students who stay in the CTE program for two years are considered CTE concentrators. After two years in the CTE program they are reported as a CTE concentrator.
However, the proposed program structure will only require two years in order to be considered a CTE “completer” and receive college credit. The new program structure will require 2 years to be considered a CTE completer. This new structure will increase access to CTE programs for students by providing additional flexibility. It also allows students to join CTE pathways in the 11th grade.
Board members discussed the need for deeper data collection related to completion rates. They also discussed the need to expand CTE programs to rural communities.
Click here to see the full presentation.
Board Approved Read by Grade Three Statewide Assessment
Representatives from the Nevada Department of Education gave an overview of the impact of the Read by Grade 3 initiative, which improved scores on the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
After conducting a standard acquisition process, a survey of approximately 1400 respondents, and implementation of review committees that included Districts, the Department, and other stakeholders, the committee recommended continuing to use NWEA as the Read by Grade Three Assessment.
Board members discussed concerns about the efficacy and fidelity of NWEA MAP as a tool to outline student growth. Two board members chose to abstain from this vote.
Click here to view the full presentation.
Board Approved Addendum to Statewide Plan for Improvement of Pupils (STIP)
Department staff provided an update to the board on progress to date on the goals included in the STIP.
- Goal 1: All children, birth through third grade, have access to quality early care and education.
- The NDE is focused on increasing enrollment of children from families experiencing poverty in State pre-K programs. Due to state funding, it is likely that enrollment of children from families experiencing poverty will not increase. The NDE plans to collaborate with partners to increase enrollment of students with families with income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level in state pre-K by 500 students per year.
- Goal 2: All students have access to effective educators.
- Data analyzed from the 2017-18 and 2018-19 school years suggest that students of color and students from families experiencing poverty do not have the same access to experienced educators as their white peers from higher-income households.
- Goal 3: All students experience continued academic growth.
- In the 2018-19 school year, for schools indicating that under 50% of their student population is made up of underrepresented students of color, 60% of the students were enrolled in a computer science class. For schools with over 50% of the population made up of underrepresented students of color, 57% of the students were enrolled in computer science.
- Goal 4: All students graduate future-ready and globally prepared for postsecondary success and civic life.
- Participation in college-level and CTE coursework is increasing by at least 5% year over year.
- Goal 5: students have access to new and continued educational opportunities supported by funding that is administered transparently, consistently, and in accordance with legislative or grant guidelines.
- Specific to equitable funding under the Pupil Centered Funding Formula transition, the Commission’s recommendations will be under consideration for adoption during the 81st Legislative Session from February – June 2021.
- Goal 6: All students and adults learn and work together in safe schools where identities and relationships are valued and celebrated.
- NDE is addressing systemic bias in Nevada’s student discipline system by partnering with districts and universities to transition to restorative practices in discipline.
Click here to view the full presentation.
Click here to see the Addendum to the State Plan for the Improvement of Pupils (STIP).
Board Heard Update on Silver State Governance Board Training
President Ortiz shared the Silver State Training solidified the necessity for board memes to be self-reflective, as well as ensure that goals set by the board are reflective of values shared by the community. Utilizing a rubric, the board completed a self-evaluation. The rubric will also be used to evaluate the board over time. that self-reflection as well a SMART goals are reflective of the values in the community. The rubric will be used to evaluate the board over time. The rubric has four rating options related to the work of the Board:
- Not student outcomes focused
- Approaching student outcomes focus
- Meeting student outcomes focus
- Mastering student outcomes focus
| Category | Board Self Evaluation Rating |
| Vision & Goals | Not Student Outcomes Focused |
| Values & Guardrails | Not Student Outcomes Focused |
| Monitoring & Accountability | Not Student Outcomes Focused |
| Communication & Collaboration | Not Student Outcomes Focused |
| Unity & Trust | Not Student Outcomes Focused |
| Continuous Improvement | Not Student Outcomes Focused |
The Board shared that once SMART goals are established they are looking forward to their ratings improving across each domain.
Click here to see the Silver State Governance Board Rubric
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