A new center in the works will support Nevada’s school districts and charter schools as they face new accountability measures for low performance that could range from probation to state takeover.

The Education Service Center — helmed by former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Steve Canavero — is aimed at offering pooled state expertise that districts can tap into instead of hiring their own consultants. 

It comes as state officials are developing a new framework to evaluate the performance of school districts and charter schools as part of a 2025 bill (SB460). Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas) sponsored the bill, which calls for greater school accountability, a vision that was shared by Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo.  

The idea for the center came from Lombardo’s 2025 education omnibus bill, but it was later added to Cannizzaro’s bill as part of a compromise.

Several superintendents have criticized the new accountability measures, questioning the effectiveness of the proposed sanctions. 

Last month, Lombardo issued an executive order that laid out the groundwork necessary to get the center running after the 204-page bill left it unclear how that process would begin.

It includes appointing Canavero — who has served as state superintendent both as an interim and as a full appointee — as the center’s interim executive director effective Oct. 27. 

The executive order also directed State Superintendent of Public Instruction Victor Wakefield to issue emergency regulations that would spell out how the new center will operate. Those regulations are in the works, Canavero said. But other details, such as how much funding the center will need and where that money will come from, are still unclear. 

During a Thursday interview, Canavero said the center would act as a one-stop support service, providing things such as professional development that school districts and charter school sponsors currently have to seek through third-party vendors, regional professional development programs or the Nevada Department of Education. 

Canavero said the department doesn’t always have the time to support the school systems while also being the regulatory arm of the state. 

“So if we have six superintendents who are all utilizing different consultants across the country to provide a particular service … well, might we want to consider doing that here and building our own expertise in this area at the ed service center, then provide that service to those districts that want it?” he said. 

Nevada joins 39 other states that have similar education service agencies, including Utah and California, though Canavero said they don’t all function in the same way. In other states, the agencies are focused on providing services in areas such as special education and human resources. Some even provide career and technical education for students, but Canavero said Nevada’s center will be focused on providing support for school system improvement. 

"It’s actually quite broad what this entity could do,” he said. “We should be careful about what it should start to do first, and what kind of a lane it needs to occupy in our state ecosystem.”

Canavero said he’s working on identifying what kinds of support and services districts and charter school sponsors are interested in. 

He’s also working on compiling a list of experts in areas such as education policy, school finance and teaching who would be qualified to serve on the center’s seven-member board. Members would be appointed by the governor and legislative leaders. 

Carson City School District Superintendent Andrew Feuling, who has been skeptical of the new law, said in a Friday statement that as officials develop the center, he hopes “districts are part of the development conversation so that the support offered is actually meeting the needs.” 

While the bill did not allocate funds earmarked for the center, Canavero said he believes the Nevada Department of Education, with which the center has a memorandum of understanding, can fund its work by tapping into the $6.5 million the law appropriated to the department “to carry out the provisions of the bill.” 

The executive order states Wakefield is allowed to provide the center with the funding, which can include SB460 funds or another source of funding, and resources necessary for the center to carry out its work.

It won’t be the first time that Canavero has helped start a new education agency.

He also oversaw the launch of the now-defunct Achievement School District, an initiative to turn some of the lowest-performing schools into charters that Democratic lawmakers said felt short of its goal.

Canavero also served as the State Public Charter School Authority’s founding director. 

Canavero said he hopes the center makes a positive change by reducing inefficiencies in Nevada’s education systems, and reclaim time back from superintendents’ schedules. 

“It’s less time doing a report and more time providing instructional walkthroughs, or whatever it is that that actually moves the needle for kids,” he said.