By David G. Sciarra

There is broad consensus, backed by legislative studies, that Nevada’s school funding formula – called the Nevada Plan – is outmoded, broken and in need of major reform.

Every element of the Nevada Plan formula, which dates back to 1967, is deeply flawed.

The foundation or base funding amount, known as the Basic Support Guarantee or “BSG,” has no relationship to the cost of educating Nevada students to meet today’s academic standards. Based on what districts spent years ago, the BSG for the current 2016-17 school year is an inflation adjusted $5,508 per pupil, below the BSG amount in 2009.  

An effective funding formula begins with a base or foundation amount adequate to support all students achieve Nevada’s outcome standards. The BSG is woefully inadequate. It’s also why district budgets are in chronic deficit from year-to-year.

The Nevada Plan also provides no per-pupil funding for students who need additional services and interventions to succeed in school. There is no funding to address the needs of children at-risk from household and neighborhood poverty, transiency, foster care and homelessness.  

And there is no additional funding for the growing enrollment of students who need to learn English in school. The State Board of Education requires English language instruction for these students.

And while the Nevada Plan provides funds for special education, the funding level is demonstrably insufficient. Special education is underfunded by more than $300 million each year, causing districts to redirect funds from essential programs to cover the funding shortfall.

Lawmakers know the 50-year old Nevada Plan must be scrapped. They also know Nevada needs an up-to-date formula driven by the actual cost of education in urban and rural districts, including the cost of programs and services for at-risk students, English learners, and students with disabilities.

The good news is the Legislature has taken the first step towards setting the stage for school funding reform in the next session in January 2019.

Senate Bill 178 directs the Nevada Department of Education (NDE) to perform a comprehensive review of a 2012 study of the Nevada Plan by the American Institutes for Research and a 2014 report by the legislative Task Force on K-12 Education Funding and make recommendations for reform to Legislature’s Education Committee.

SB 178 authorizes NDE to hire an independent consultant “who is qualified and knowledgeable” on public school finance to prepare a preliminary and final report -- and recommendations -- on several key issues:

⦁ the additional cost and funding for programs to support low income students

⦁ the additional cost and funding for programs to support English learners

⦁ a definition for gifted and talented students and a method for identifying those students  

⦁ a review of the sufficiency of funding for special education for students with disabilities

SB 178 also sets a schedule for NDE to make its report and recommendations to legislators:

⦁ September 2017: enter into contract with independent consultant

⦁ August 2018: consultant submits preliminary report and recommendations

⦁ October 2018: final report and recommendations to Education Committee

⦁ January 2019: biennium session of Legislature begins

The SB 178 process to review and recommend changes to the Nevada Plan offers a real opportunity to set the table for a significant overhaul of the formula. It is incumbent on parents, teachers and those concerned with improving education outcomes for our children to become informed and engaged in this process over the next year.

David G. Sciarra is Executive Director for Education Law Center, a founding partner of Educate Nevada Now.