Tag: Bill draft request

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.

Clark County School District Board of Trustees 

What is the Board of Trustees & what are they responsible for? The CCSD Trustees are publicly elected decision-makers for the school district. They are responsible for providing oversight to the Superintendent and establishing District-wide policy. Trustees are accountable to work with their communities to improve student achievement.

Click here to learn more and see a list of current Trustees
Click here to find your Trustee District

How often does the Board of Trustees meet? Trustees meet twice per month (second and fourth Thursdays) at 5 pm both virtually and at the Las Vegas Academy of the Arts High School, Lowden Theater: 875 E. Clark Avenue Las Vegas, Nevada, 89101

Click here for a full list of Trustees meetings and agendas
Click here to visit Hope For Nevada’s #NVEd Calendar

Can community members engage at Trustee Meetings? Decision-making bodies benefit greatly from hearing public input and multiple perspectives. Currently, members of the public can submit comments on agenda and non-agenda items through email or voice recording. Public comment can be submitted by email to Boardmtgcomments@nv.ccsd.net. To submit a voice recording on items listed on the meeting agenda, call 702-799-1166. Voice recorded public comment is limited to 1 minute 30 seconds.

Thursday, March 25, 2021

Clark County School District Board of Trustees Meeting

Click here to see the meeting agenda

What happened at this meeting?

Public Comment

Members of the public commented in-person, through voice recorded messages, and written public comment on non-agenda items regarding: 

• Concerns about the health and safety of teachers and specialists returning to school buildings
• Concerns that an agreement for specialists that facilitate Art, Music, Library, P.E., S.T.E.A.M., etc. is not being honored by CCSD 
• Concerns that specialists are not being allowed to follow an MOA to teach in their content areas
• Concerns that the district’s policy of random, mandatory COVID-19 testing limits access to testing for some staff
• Concerns about employee morale
• Concerns that an anti-racism and anti-bias policy has not been added to a CCSD Trustee meeting agenda
• The need to address racial issues and restoration in West Las Vegas 
• Support for the Nevada Legislature and Trustees to take action on anti-racism policies
• The need for suicide prevention in the community
• Concerns that the district is billing Medicaid for services to students that have not been rendered, and a request for an audit on Medicaid billing

Click here & here to view public comments submitted online.

Trustees Approved Consent Agenda With Adjustments

Trustees approved the consent agenda (6-0) with the deletion of agenda item 3.03 regarding Professional Services: Title IV, Part A Grant, Nevada Department of Education. One trustee was not present to vote.

Consent Agenda Highlights: 

• Addendum to the Memorandum of Agreement between CCSD and Eye Care 4 Kids to extend access to school-based vision services to siblings under 18 years of age who reside with students enrolled in CCSD
• Authorization to accept additional grant funding for The Social Workers in Schools grant project in the amount of $3,451,747.57 from the Nevada Department of Education to provide added social work and mental health support services to schools for a total grant amount of $17,193,033.37 
• Purchase awards totaling $2,151,531.32
• Authorization to extend the Contract for Services for Thunder Road Productions/Commercial Talent Agency to host 20 episodes of the Vegas PBS series Outdoor Nevada 

Trustees Heard Update on 2021 Budget 

The 2021 Amended Final Budget forecast has not changed since the Board was last updated at the February meeting. The forecast focuses on the ending fund balance which indicates CCSD’s anticipated reserves. Additional budget updates include:

• Revenues have declined due to a decrease in enrollment and this has been taken into consideration for the budget.
• CCSD is experiencing significant savings in all areas, including payroll, supplies, and services. This is primarily in school budgets–school carryover supplies, service level agreements (SLAs), and vacancy savings are now anticipated to be approximately just over $200 million in restricted fund balance.
• The potential revenue shortfall due to lower than anticipated costs throughout the year is approximately $43.3 million. 
• The unassigned fund balance is still at $54.3 million which is 2.25% of the revenues.

The district still anticipates significant fiscal impacts due to the pandemic. Uncertainties related to COVID-19’s impact on the budget persevere, including possible impacts of a recession and enrollment uncertainties. State funding reductions have been incorporated into the budget for this year, with additional anticipated changes going into next year.

CCSD has been allocated approximately $374 million through ESSER II federal funding. The district is working to prioritize the use of those funds in anticipation of any funding changes from the state as well as address additional needs related to COVID-19 and reopening schools.

CCSD has not received a final allocation for the newest round of federal funding through the American Rescue Act. Trustees will be provided with an update when more information on those funds becomes available.

Click here to view the budget update presentation.

Board Heard Update on Proposed Charter Schools

Trustees heard a briefing on the collaborative efforts between the State Public Charter School Authority (SPCSA) and CCSD. The genesis of this collaborative effort was the passage of Assembly Bill 462 in 2019 which mandates that the SPCSA collaborate with districts in which they are planning to place or expand charter schools. Under the bill, the SPCSA must notify the district when the following occurs:

• A group of individuals submits an Intent to Apply to become a charter school
• A group of individuals submits an application to operate a charter school
• A school that is currently in operation submits a request to the SPCSA to amend its current charter contract

SCPSA assesses proposed schools based on six criteria: Demographics, Academic Geographics, Social-Emotional, Academic Learning Models, Financial Plan, and Successful History. Schools must meet standards in all six categories to receive approval to operate a charter school in Nevada.  In February 2021, SPCSA provided applications to CCSD for review and feedback on the following proposed public charter schools:

• Battle Born Academy
• PilotED Schools of Nevada
• OLAM Academy of Nevada (OLAM Academy has recently withdrawn its application for consideration. CCSD anticipates that OLAM will reapply in one year.)

CCSD will submit its assessment questionnaires back to the SCPSA this month. In April 2021, the SPCSA staff will submit its recommendation to the SCPSA board for their approval or denial of the applications. In May 2021, the SPCSA will notify the public and the Nevada Department of Education regarding its decisions.

Trustees approved a motion (6-0) accepting a recommendation not to approve the proposed charter school applications. One trustee was not present to vote.

Click here to view the presentation.

Trustees Approved Notice of Intent to Amend CCSD Regulation 6150 Regarding Instructional Materials and Services

The CCSD K-12 Literacy and Language Development Department convened a task force representing all regions and Trustee districts to provide recommendations for the amendment of Regulation 6150, which provides guidance on the selection and provision of instructional materials and services. The task force is made up of region superintendents, school associate superintendents, principals, teachers, teacher librarians, and central office staff, including the Office of General Counsel, Human Resources, and the Equity and Diversity Education Committee.

Reasons for amendment of Regulation 6150 include:

• Clarification of ambiguous language defining instructional materials
• Better defined procedures for the selection of supplemental textbooks
• The need to address school library staffing, reporting, and resources as approved in the amendment of CCSD Regulation 6161

Members of the public submitted comment in support of Regulation 6150.

Trustees passed a motion (6-0) to approve the Notice of Intent to amend CCSD Regulation 6150. One trustee was not present to vote.

Click here to read the Notice of Intent.
Click here to read public comment on this agenda item.

Board Heard Update on 2021 Legislative Session

As of March 25, 2021, 799 bills have been introduced in the Nevada Legislature, of which CCSD is tracking 265. CCSD staff noted that the deadline for bill introductions has been extended past March 26. By April 9, all bills must pass the committee in the house in which they were introduced. District staff provided an overview of bills that have been introduced in their respective committees: 

• Senate Bill 102: SB102 changes the date by which a child is required to be five years old to attend kindergarten.
• Senate Bill 173: SB173 invites schools to submit a plan to address learning loss by offering free summer school to students.
• Senate Bill 182: SB182 requires P.E. instruction to include activities scientifically shown to reduce obesity.
• Senate Bill 202: SB202 requires school districts to count credits in computer coding as a foreign language credit.
• Senate Bill 220: SB220 requires school districts to establish alternative education opportunities for students to receive elective course credits after the state has identified apprenticeship programs that have certain exemptions.
• Senate Bill 272: SB272 establishes the Nevada Educator Core where NDE will form a database of available tutors to provide in-person or online tutoring for public schools.
• Assembly Bill 67: AB67 makes some changes to the restorative justice bill passed in 2019.
• Assembly Bill 194: AB194 seeks to address the timelines for students appealing a suspension or expulsion.
• Assembly Bill 195: AB195 establishes an English Language Learner Bill of Rights.
• Assembly Bill 215: AB215 allows a 17-year-old to earn a diploma through adult education if they attended high school for four years but were credit deficient.
• Assembly Bill 262: AB262 grants in-state tuition for Native American students. 
• Assembly Bill 265: AB265 provides an alternative route to licensure for the educational administrative pathway.
• Assembly Bill 319: AB319 allows the College of Southern Nevada (CSN) to enter into a cooperative agreement with CCSD for a pilot program targeting populations in under-resourced communities for expanded opportunities in dual enrollment credit courses.

Trustees engaged in a dialogue with staff members on additional bills, including AB176, AB195, AB265, AB319, and AB364. 

Board Approves Resolution to Oppose Appointed School Boards

Assembly Bill 255 (2021) seeks to change the method by which the board of school trustees is chosen from an elected method to a hybrid elected and appointed method. Trustees approved a motion 6-0 opposing changes to the method by which the board of trustees is chosen. One trustee was not present to vote.

Click here to read the resolution.
Click here to read public comment on this agenda item.
Click here to read more about this in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

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