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 5pm at the Edward A. Greer Education Center (Board Room): 2832 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV 89121.
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. Community members can sign up to speak after the agenda has been posted– by calling the Board Office at (702) 799-1072 at least 3 hours before the scheduled meeting, or signing up in-person at the beginning of the meeting. Prior to each agenda item being voted on, speakers can share their perspective after the Board’s discussion and prior to the vote.
Thursday, July 9, 2020
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 submitted comments online. Public comment was not read directly into the record, and rather an oral summary of the comments was provided to Trustees.
Public Comment
Members of the public submitted comments online. Public comment was not read directly into the record, and rather an oral summary of each comment was provided to Trustees.
Click the following to view posted public comment on agenda items.
- Click here to view public comment submitted between July 2 – July 7
- Click here to view public comment submitted between July 7 – July 8
- Click here to view public comment submitted between July 8 – July 9
- Click here to view public comment submitted on July 9 between 10:00AM and 11:00AM
- Click here to view public comment submitted on July 9 between 11:00AM and 12:00PM
There was no public comment provided on non-agenda items.
Trustees Approved the Consent Agenda
Consent Agenda Highlights:
- Grant application for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, funded through the US Department of Education, for a total of $83.9 million.
- Bid award of $350,250 to purchase cloth masks for students
- Update to the CCSD Policy: Programs and Services for English Language Learner Students.
Trustees Approve Continuation of Services with NWEA (5-2)
The services include comprehensive school-based supports to implement the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Growth assessment to improve student achievement. This approval included acceptance of a private donation of $3.15 million dollars to fund the contract. Trustees discussed the need to review policies for accepting anonymous donations.
Click here to view the supplementary material
Trustees Approved School and Facility Name Updates
CCSD policy allows for the renaming of school buildings under certain conditions, and allows for the naming of specific facilities within a school building. Trustees approved the following updates:
- Renaming of K.O. Knudsen Middle School to K.O. Knudsen Academy of the Arts
- Renaming of Jo Mackey Elementary School to Jo Mackey iLead Academy for Digital Sciences
- Naming of the library at Carroll M. Johnston Middle School: Kelda’s Book Garden
- Naming of the Community Room 102 at Vegas PBS: Yao Yuan Sze Community Room
- Naming of the administrative office at Moapa Valley High School: Doc and Jean Moses Administrative Office
- Naming of the cafeteria at C.C. Ronnow Elementary School: Ronaldo Cesa Cafeteria
Trustees Approved Three Year Charter School Site Evaluation Report
Trustees approved the Three Year Report of Charter School Performance to be submitted to the Nevada Department of Education in compliance with NRS 388A.223. The report includes a summary of academic, financial, and organizational/operational ratings for each CCSD authorized public charter school.
Click here to view the report
Click here to view the presentation
Trustees Approved Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Education Support Employees Association (ESEA)
The MOA completes negotiations between CCSD and ESEA for the 2019-2021 contract years. Highlights of the MOA include:
- CCSD will provide duty-free time for all mandatory training.
- CCSD will provide new employee information to the union.
- Changes to Progressive Discipline to provide that the progressive discipline process may start after the (current) twenty-five (25) day limitation if the infraction is considered to be serious.
Click here to view the MOA
Trustees Approved CCSD’s 2021 Legislative Platform
CCSD staff provided Trustees with an updated version of the Legislative Platform that included feedback provided by Trustees at the June 11, 2020 Board Meeting. The approved platform covers priorities related to school funding, improved learning environments, school safety & mental health.
Click here to view the approved legislative platform
Trustees Discussed 2021 Bill Draft Requests
CCSD Trustees are allowed two Bill Draft Requests (BDRs) each regular biennial legislative session. Based on initial input by Trustees, CCSD staff proposed focusing on student mental health supports and internet connectivity. Each BDR proposal included items that will require additional funding. Trustees discussed the plausibility of submitting BDRs that require a fiscal note in a time of economic downturn in Nevada. CCSD staff will present the final bill drafts to trustees for approval at the August 13, 2020 meeting.
Click here to view the presentation
Trustees Heard an Update on the Clark County School Justice Partnership
Trustees were presented with an update on the Social Justice Partnership by the Chief of the Juvenile Division of the office of the Clark County District Attorney. The Clark County School Justice Partnership (SJP), approved August 23, 2018, is a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between CCSD, the Department of Juvenile Justice Services, and the District Attorney’s Office. The purpose of the SJP is to align multiple agencies in order to minimize student involvement with the juvenile justice system, reduce recidivism rates, and holistically address disproportionate punitive discipline for students of color.
The SJP has been attributed to a 28% decrease in student arrests and citations and a 70% decrease in juvenile citations since the 2015-2016 school year.
Most common student referrals to the Juvenile Justice:
- Habitual truancy
- Disturbing the peace
- Loitering on school grounds
- Trespassing
- Minor possession of alcohol
Most common student offense charges:
- Possession of a dangerous weapon
- Other
- Possession of controlled substance with intent to sell
- Affray (fighting)
- Battery
Since 2017, charges for marijuana possession have increased by 8%, and obstruction of an officer performing their duty has increased by 55%.
- CCSD Staff Training: 1,005 administrators and licensed professionals within CCSD have begun training on implementing Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), a layered framework by which students receive academic and behavioral services based on severity of need. An additional 224 licensed professionals and administrators engaged in training on the implementation of Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (PBIS), the behavior component of MTSS that increases behavior support for students based on severity of need. Finally, approximately 12,000 school support staff, 16,000 licenced professionals, and 1,000 administrators engaged in implicit bias training.
- CCSD School Police Use of Force Policy: CCSD School Police’s use of force policy is guided by Supreme Court case law (Graham v. Connor) which stipulates that use of force is allowable by law enforcement with consideration of (1) the severity of crime, (2) whether there is an immediate threat to officers or others in proximity, or (3) if the suspect is actively resisting or evading arrest. CCSD School Police report that the use of force represents .1% of interactions. A representative of the CCSD School Police noted that officers have never been trained in utilizing chokeholds as a deescalation technique.
Click here to view the presentation
Click here to view supplementary data
Click here to read about this in The Nevada Current
Trustees Approve CCSD 2020-2021 School Year Reopening Plan
In order for school to begin as currently scheduled, the Trustees are required to approve a scenario plan for submission to the Nevada Department of Education (NDE) that outlines a framework for reopening. Based on NDE guidelines, the plan must include three specific scenarios for reopening: full distance learning, hybrid-learning, and full in-person learning. Once approved by NDE, the specific scenario will be selected based on the State’s reopening phase set by the Governor, and with consideration of education funding cuts as a result of economic downturn caused by the pandemic.
Trustees discussed the need for a greater level of detail and clarity around teacher schedules, health & safety measures, food service, and technology access in order to implement any scenario effectively. CCSD staff clarified that school site principals will be provided with the autonomy to make common-sense decisions that support the needs of the school community, including changes to the master schedule and assigning specialists to support the supervision of children.
Trustees also discussed their discomfort with moving forward with any plan at this time, but recognized that without approval, the district, including building principals, would be significantly behind on the timeline to put plans in place to reopen schools in August.
A motion to submit an additional plan to NDE alongside the plan presented by staff did not meet state guidelines and was therefore voted down by board members (2-5).
Trustees unanimously approved the plan presented by CCSD, with the caveat that the plan is preliminary.
Click here to view the presentation
Click here to view additional information related to CCSD’s Reopening Our Schools Plan
Click here to read about this in The Nevada Independent
Click here to read about this in The Las Vegas Review-Journal
Click here to read about this in The Nevada Current
Trustees Approved 2020-2021 School Year Calendar
Aligned to the approved reopening scenario plan, Trustees approved the Staff Calendar and Student Calendar for the 2020-2021 school year. Regardless of reopening scenario, staff are expected to begin on August 10th, with students beginning on August 24th.
Click here to view the staff calendar
Click here to view the student calendar