Move over Gov. Joe Lombardo, we’ve got another major education bill coming through. 

Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas) recently introduced a major education bill, SB540, which she said in December would include funding for universal pre-K. But as we reported last week, projected declines in state revenue might put education funding and bills like this one with a price tag at risk. 

Follow along as we report on what this means for schools, students and teachers. 

I want to hear from you! Send questions, comments or suggestions on what I should be covering to [email protected]. 

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News briefs

State board launches public survey on state superintendent — Tomorrow is the last day to weigh in on the upcoming search for the next state superintendent. The position was previously held by Jhone Ebert, now the Clark County School District (CCSD) superintendent. Gov. Joe Lombardo appointed Steve Canavero as the interim superintendent while the State Board of Education launches its search for a permanent superintendent. 

The state superintendent is responsible for setting statewide educational policies, managing resources effectively, and ensuring that all schools meet state and federal mandates.

Under state law, the state superintendent is appointed by the governor from a list of three candidates recommended by the state education board.

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School Spotlight

Nonprofit: Chronic student absenteeism is “everyone’s problem”

Five years after the pandemic, Nevada’s chronic absenteeism rate is still higher than usual.

If left unresolved, it could cost Southern Nevada (where the majority of students reside) billions of dollars in lost wages and increased costs for incarceration and social services over the next 20 years, according to an analysis from research firm Applied Analysis commissioned by a Reno nonprofit called Strengthen our Children, which is working on addressing issues  such as chronic absenteeism and access to pre-kindergarten and child care. 

“It's very easy for people who haven't done the research to say it's the school's problem or it's the parents’ problem, and the reality is it's everyone's problem, and we all need to put our collective hats on and figure out a solution, or we're all going to pay for the problem,” said Mike Kazmierski, founder and executive director of Strengthen our Community.

Students are considered chronically absent when they miss 10 percent or more of school days in an academic year.

Although the Clark County School District (CCSD), the state’s largest, has seen an improvement in its chronic absenteeism rate (31 percent last school year), it's still higher than its 22 percent rate from before the pandemic, according to data from the Nevada Department of Education. 

Chronic absenteeism is associated with lower than average levels of educational attainment, which result in reduced lifetime earnings and tax contributions for those students compared with their peers and a higher reliance on social programs, leading to increased costs for those services. It’s also associated with an increased likelihood of incarceration. 

If the 2024 chronic absenteeism rate persists, the analysis projects the issue could cost Southern Nevada $610 million in economic loss and societal costs over the lifetime of the CCSD Class of 2025, which snowball to $14.4 billion for future CCSD graduation classes over the next 20 years.

“If we don't get them in education, their economic lives are at great risk, and ultimately that drives into other problems between crime and drugs and all the other issues that are associated with the inability to basically pay your rent and feed your family,” Kazmierski said. 

Since the pandemic, Nevada schools have stepped up their efforts to reach chronically absent students. That includes checking in with students through a phone call or home visit and mentorship programs. 

Responses in other states vary; Hawaii proposed offering ice cream to improve student attendance, while states such as Indiana and Oklahoma have proposed fines or jail time for parents of chronically absent students. 

Kazmierski said he thinks there’s no simple solution to this problem, and his nonprofit identified 15 areas that could reduce barriers to attendance. They include:

• Expanding the presence of Communities in Schools, a national organization focused on dropout prevention, in middle schools
• A no-phone policy in teaching areas
• Expanding before- and after-school child care 
• Increasing mental health support
• Providing health care for students on site or near school campuses

Sen. Angie Taylor (D-Reno) is sponsoring a bill this session, SB444, which would require school districts to adopt policies limiting students’ cellphone use. Kazmierski said he thinks the bill and current policies at Clark and Washoe County school districts don't go far enough — he supports outright banning students from using cellphones in schools altogether.

According to the analysis, if officials reduce Southern Nevada’s chronic absenteeism rate to pre-pandemic levels, it would reduce the total loss in revenue and burden to the government associated with Class of 2025, such as cost of increased incarceration and housing assistance,  by $4.7 million, yielding a tax revenue and cost savings of $179.6 million and an overall economic benefit of $4.5 billion to Southern Nevada.

While school districts are already working on some of these efforts, Kazmierski said they aren’t adequately funded to address all of the barriers keeping kids from coming to school.

His organization is raising $4.2 million to add Communities in Schools site coordinators at every middle school in Washoe County School District and support local family resource centers. Kazmierski is confident that the nonprofit will reach its fundraising goal, but he said that’s not a permanent solution. 

He said he’s in support of Assm. Natha Anderson’s (D-Reno) AJR1, a proposed state constitutional overhaul of Nevada’s property tax system that aligns with one of the recommendations from the Commission on School Funding. If passed, the legislation would reset a property’s tax valuation upon sale instead of allowing property tax discounts to stay with the home. 

Proponents say this change would not affect any current homeowners and would help bring in more revenue for schools, which is especially needed as education funding is facing uncertainty after lower than expected revenue projections. But it faces an uphill battle as similar legislation over the years has failed. 

“Right now our state doesn’t appreciate the importance of educating our kids,” Kazmierski said. “The permanent solution is our Legislature stepping up and saying, ‘This is something we think is important, and we're going to do it.’”

Have a student or staffer who we should feature in the next edition of School Spotlight? Share your nominations with me at [email protected].

Reading Assignments

$160M fall in projected Nevada education funding raises questions about program expansion

Nevada’s main budget fund for K-12 education is expected to bring in about $160 million less in revenue for the upcoming budget cycle than projected at the start of the year, raising questions about how much the Legislature can do to expand education funding and programming for the next biennium.

Why Nevada’s attorney general wants to put strict guardrails on youth social media activity

Attorney General Aaron Ford’s proposed legislation would require online platforms to implement age verification systems, limit features such as infinite scrolling for minors and require them to have approval from legal guardians before using social media.

'I feel like I'm abandoning my students:' DOGE cuts up to 200 AmeriCorps jobs in Nevada

From February 2024 to February 2025, AmeriCorps spent $10.1 million and sent 1,865 members to serve in Nevada at close to 200 sites, working on everything from wildfire mitigation to school reading initiatives.

Extra Credit

Nevada Current: Teachers, students push to restrict late work hours for teens on school nights

Events

🍎 Clark County School Board meeting — Thursday, May 8, 5 p.m. 

The agenda includes a presentation on chronic absenteeism data. 

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Education in action.