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. 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, January 8, 2025
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
Public comment was heard on the following subjects:
- At-risk funding model prioritization
- CCSD reorganization compliance and accountability
- Education priorities for the upcoming legislative session, including per pupil funding and class size reductions
- Concerns regarding privacy relating to the teacher data dashboard
Vice President’s Report
Highlights included:
- Board Member Updates: The curriculum subcommittee will resume in 2025. The Innovation and Excellence committee has a final set of recommendations that will be sent to the Legislature. Several members attended the Nevada Association of School Boards conference. Student applications for the student representative to the State Board of Education are open and due by February 14, 2025.
- Nevada System of Higher Education Updates: The inaugural Nevada FAFSA Challenge has launched and will run through March 31, 2025. UNLV announced the Sands Institute for Chinese Language and Culture. Three leadership searches are currently taking place, including one for a permanent Chancellor.
Superintendent’s Report
Highlights included:
- Introducing new staff members
- Preparing for the legislative session, as well as the State of the State Address
- Positive trends in the Smarter Balanced Assessment in both math and English Language Arts, as well as positive trends in attendance
- An increase of four and five-star schools throughout Nevada
- Nevada Superintendent of the Year was awarded to Pam Teel with the Lincoln County School District.
Board Elected Officers
The Board elected Dr. Katherine Dockweiler to serve as President, Tim Hughes to serve as Vice President, and Tamara Hudson to serve as Clerk of the State Board of Education.
Board Approved Consent Agenda
Consent agenda items included:
- Approval of four private school relicensings
Board Approved Moving Forward with Revisions to the Statewide Plan for the Improvement of Pupils
Board members received an update on the Statewide Plan for the Improvement of Pupils, or STIP, to guide the Department in its next five years of addressing the needs of Nevada’s education system. It focuses on three critical areas: equitable access to high-quality PK-12 learning; strengthening educator development, retention, and recruitment; and strategic resource utilization. Each area, or target, has performance indicators to measure improvement. A community survey is in the process of being developed. Additional engagement and feedback will be obtained as part of next steps in moving the plan forward.
Review the draft document.
Board Received an Update on the Educator Data Dashboard
Representatives from Data Insight Partners provided an update on the development of the Educator Data Dashboard. The goals are to ensure it is simple for community members to use, robust for national researchers, and practical to inform strategy and monitor progress. The dashboard will feature staffing rates, retention rates, and comparison tools for districts and schools in drop-down menus. For class sizes, users can find class sizes at schools, with teachers, and compare across schools and districts. Users can download the files and access business rules from the dashboard, as well. The portal is due to debut by the end of January.
Review the presentation.
Board Received a Presentation on Clark County School District’s Reorganization Compliance Report under NRS 388G
The Board received a presentation on the Clark County School District’s reorganization compliance report, dated September 25, 2024. Items not in compliance include not providing reports to the State Board of Education regarding vacancies for which a substitute teacher was selected, and incomplete information collected from principals and bargaining groups related to election of SOT members, as well as incomplete participation reports.
Additional staff capacity has been brought on to address the SOT collection issues, and a subcommittee is addressing the report preparation issue.
Explore the presentation and the report.
Board Received a Presentation of the iNVest Plan
The Board received a presentation on the Nevada Association of School Superintendents on the iNVest Plan, a strategic initiative focusing on funding, innovation, accountability, mental health investments, and secure learning environments, in advance of the 2025 Legislature.
Explore the iNVest Plan and the presentation.
Board Discussed the Nevada State Literacy Plan
The Board received a presentation on the Nevada State Literacy Plan, revised due to the existing plan being almost 10 years old, in addition to seeking additional collaboration with state and national partners. The Plan is a framework for implementing instructional practices for literacy, and guides statewide efforts to improve literacy. Key enhancements to the Plan include:
- Vertical alignment that provides a more comprehensive approach to literacy across grade levels
- Multi-Tiered Systems of Support to address literacy needs
- Updated scientific research
- Adolescent literacy to focus on complex demands of older students
An Executive Steering Committee, Advisory Council, and writers collaborated to draft the Plan. Following the timeline of the project, the Plan is due to be implemented statewide in Spring 2025.
Explore the Plan.
Board Received a Presentation on Dual Credit Programs from the Nevada System of Higher Education
The Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) and the Nevada Department of Education have established a policy advisory group, Align and Shine Nevada, to develop proposed concurrent enrollment policies and procedures. A dual credit program is one in which a high school student is also enrolled in a college course, either through concurrent enrollment or dual enrollment.
The number of dual credit students has increased year-over-year, with 14,861 students in the 2022-23 NSHE academic year, an increase from the 12,389 students in the 2021-22 NSHE academic year. Dual credit students also have an increased rate of persistence to next fall in NSHE institutions, at a rate of 77.1% for dual enrollment students, over 66.5% for non-dual credit students. An increase is also observed in high school graduates that complete a credential or award within six years, with 56.7% of dual credit students, vs. 37.9% of non-dual credit students.
Align and Shine Nevada will develop a policy-based framework that provides a structure and additional clarity around the process, as well as promoting access, student success, and program completion.
Explore the presentation.
Board Received an Update on ESSER Funds
The Board heard an update on ESSER funds expended, including a summary on ESSER, GEER, and EANS funding. The total allocation to Nevada is $1,743,337,529, with $48,008,863 remaining, or 97.26% of the total amount expended.
The funds budgeted, expensed/spent, and remaining can be found on the Nevada Department of Education’s Federal Relief Tracker.
Explore the presentation.
Future Agenda Items
Suggestions for future agenda items include Read by Grade 3 cut scores and event planning for recognition and award ceremonies. Goals include:
- State Board of Education bylaws
- Absenteeism and truancy
- Developmental Delay, Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
- Reconvening the AB 469 Subcommittee
- Innovation Committee recommendations
- Structure and process to agendize items
- Naming prohibitions with schools
- STIP timeline and State Board involvement
- Possible endorsement of the iNVest platform
- Updates regarding the legislative session
- Literacy Plan implementation work
- At-risk funding
- Read by Grade 3 assessment
- State testing timeline
Public Comment #2
Public comment was heard on the following subjects:
- Special education teacher endorsements
- Nevada Reading Week
The next meeting of the State Board of Education will be held on Wednesday, March 12, at 9:00 a.m.
