A major education compromise between Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas) and Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo included more transparency in the Opportunity Scholarship program, transportation subsidies for students trying to leave low-rated schools and stricter accountability measures for underperforming schools and districts.

Details emerged Sunday in the form of an amendment to their dueling education bills, which  was posted to the Nevada Legislature’s website Sunday afternoon, less than 32 hours remaining before the end of the 2025 legislative session. 

The proposed amendment to Cannizzaro’s education bill (SB460) would incorporate aspects of Lombardo’s major education bill, AB584. It would also expand eligibility for state-funded pre-K seats — one of Cannizzaro’s priorities — and implement immunity from city or criminal liability for public and private school employees who intervene during situations such as physical alterations that was originally proposed in Lombardo’s bill. 

“We, as a legislative body in conjunction with the governor’s office, have come to an agreement on some of the things we know are good for students,” Cannizzaro said before the Senate unanimously passed the proposal Sunday night. “We know that accountability is something that has to come.”

Conversations surrounding the amendment are ongoing as representatives from the governor’s office and legislative Democrats have been meeting throughout the session’s final weekend.

Asked about the amendment, Lombardo spokeswoman Elizabeth Ray in a statement said, “the Office of the Governor continues to negotiate education priorities in good faith with legislative leadership.”

The proposal would launch a statewide open enrollment system to make it easier for students to leave the neighborhood school they’re zoned for, and transportation subsidies would be provided to families of students transferring from 1- and 2-star schools. Lombardo pushed for both ideas. It also allocates $7 million to fund grants for organizations to provide transportation for these students to attend a public school different from the one they are zoned for. 

It would also allow the state to impose corrective actions for failing or chronically underperforming schools, including replacing school or district leadership, state control over management foundation and superintendent intervention over an administrator.

It also creates a rating system for school districts and charter schools similar to the rating system for public schools that was proposed in Lombardo’s bill. Currently, the state provides ratings of individual traditional public schools, but not the district overall.

In addition to grading school districts and charter school sponsors for their students’ academic achievement, the amendment would enable the state superintendent of public instruction to rate a school district or charter school sponsor as low performing 

• if their leadership is deemed as being unstable or unsatisfactory 
• if they face multiple resignations or vacancies on their school board 
• if they face equity concerns, or
• if the governor declares a state of emergency at the district or charter school because of a failure to comply with state law.  

Consequences for chronic underperformance for a school district can include being assigned a state monitor.

The amendment would also allow the state superintendent of public instruction to assume responsibility for overseeing a public school deemed to be persistently underperforming and appoint a school turnaround director to manage the school. 

But the amendment cuts out other consequences for chronically underperforming schools proposed in Lombardo’s bill, including:

• Converting chronically underperforming schools to charter schools 
• Transferring management to the city or county where an underperforming school is located
• Converting underperforming schools to an innovation school, which would implement innovative educational practices designed to improve pupil achievement, increase educational equity and address specific challenges within the public school or community it serves
  • School districts would still be allowed the option of piloting innovation schools if at least 25 percent of staff members express interest in the conversion and if the majority of staff members approve the move.

Cannizzaro has long pushed for expanded pre-K. The amendment would appropriate an additional $50 million to increase the capacity of Nevada’s pre-kindergarten system, while retaining her initial bill’s call for $50 million for early childhood literacy. The amendment would also include $10 million for the expansion of early childhood education facilities — which was in Cannizzaro’s original bill, but it would also make charter school sponsors eligible to receive the funds.

It would also increase the household income threshold to enroll in state-funded pre-K seats from not more than 200 percent of the federal poverty level to 250 percent — a 25 percent jump — while providing funding for facilities to increase the capacity of the pre-K system.

“This is the best investment that we can make for kids to make sure that they are successful,” Cannizzaro said.

Off the table? Lombardo’s proposed creation of the Nevada Integrity in Academic Funding Program, which suggested providing state funding to students wishing to transfer out of a school designated as chronically low performing. It would have covered qualifying educational expenses —  such as tuition and fees — and specialized services for students with disabilities. 

The program was a twist on existing school choice programs that have struggled to gain traction in Nevada’s Democrat-controlled Legislature.

The amended bill also includes new reporting requirements for the organizations that grant Opportunity Scholarships, needs-based private school scholarships for low-income students. It’s funded by donations from businesses in exchange for tax credits, but has been criticized by Democrats for administrative and record-keeping issues.

The scholarship organizations would have to register with the Nevada Department of Education (NDE) and report information on scholarship recipients. NDE would be required to review this information to determine whether changes should be made to the process of awarding the scholarships. The organizations would also have to report each donation to the Department of Taxation. 

Here’s what else is in the new deal struck by Lombardo and Cannizzaro.

• Scales back a 2017 bill that reorganized the Clark County School District and shifts authority previously passed down to schools back to the district leaders (both Cannizzaro and Lombardo’s bills had included provisions that would have suspended or gutted schools’ local control) 
• Creates the Education Service Center, which would provide certain assistance and guidance to low-performing schools and school districts (from Lombardo’s bill)
• Requires school district and charter school boards ensure that teachers, paraprofessionals and administrators who work with students in grades K-3 go through science of reading professional development (from Lombardo’s bill)
• Renames the School District Oversight Board (from Cannizzaro’s bill) to the Public School Oversight Board, and lowers the number of members from six to five. The board would to review and act upon recommendations for tiered interventions at a school district or charter school proposed by the superintendent of public instruction 
• Incorporates literacy initiatives (from Lombardo’s bill) such as a pilot program to integrate science, technology, engineering and math into literacy instruction for students in K-3 and requires phonics-based instruction in English language arts for K-3 (from Lombardo’s bill)
• Give greater flexibility to cities and counties located in a district deemed as low performing to sponsor charter schools (from Lombardo’s bill)

This story was updated at 7:15 p.m. on 6/1/25 with additional details from the amendment and the bill’s passage and at 9:05 p.m. to include comments from Cannizzaro.