NV Department of Education Behind Bill to Eliminate Final Exams, Parental Notification And Involvement

The Legislative Committee on Education on behalf of the Nevada Department of Education has filed Senate Bill 9 that eliminates the forms related to parental notification, involvement, and eliminates final exams.

Large sections of existing law have been entirely removed as highlighted as noted in the Legislative Counsel’s Digest:

Existing law requires the State Board to prescribe criterion–referenced 18 examinations to measure the achievement of pupils who are enrolled in grades 3 to 12, inclusive. (NRS 390.105) Existing law also requires the State Board to select a 20 college and career readiness assessment to be administered to pupils who are enrolled in grade 11. (NRS 390.610) Existing law additionally requires the State Board to adopt regulations regarding end–of–course finals, including the courses for which an end–of–course final must be administered. (NRS 390.700) Sections 3 and 245 of this bill eliminate end–of–course finals. The federal Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 requires local educational agencies to develop a written policy for meaningful parental and family involvement with the education of the pupil. (20 U.S.C. § 6318) Existing state law also requires all public schools in the State to use educational involvement accords,  which are agreements between the schools and parents concerning the responsibilities of the parents, pupils and schools. Existing law requires: (1) the Department of Education to prescribe a form for educational involvement accords that complies with the policies of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 and the policies of this State to involve parents and families in the education of the pupil; and (2) the board of trustees of each school district to adopt a policy providing for the development and distribution of educational involvement accords (NRS 392.4575)  Section 4 of this bill removes the requirement for the Department  to prescribe such a form and, instead, requires the Department to ensure that public schools use educational involvement accords that comply with certain federal and state policies. Section 5 also eliminates a form prescribed by the Department that teachers in elementary schools are authorized to use to provide reports to parents and legal guardians concerning parental involvement and compliance by pupils with certain school policies. (NRS 392.456).

Additionally, this bill delays the deadline for financial, human resources and services reporting and more than doubles the funding for career/technical education and certain leadership and training activities.

Per the bill’s language:

This bill extends the deadline for the creation and posting of the report to on or before January 1 of each year. Existing law prohibits the State Board of Education from using more than 7.5 percent of the money appropriated for programs of career and technical education to provide certain leadership and training activities, including: (1) activities by or for a pupil organization; (2) training and conferences for teachers; (3) marketing of career and technical education classes; and (4) the development of standards and assessments of career and technical education. (NRS 388.392) Section 2 of this bill increases this limitation to 20 percent of such appropriated money and expands the activities for which money within the 20 percent limitation may be used to include: 1) certain specific training activities for teachers of classes or programs of career and technical education; and (2) certain activities relating to work-based learning, industry-recognized credentials and career exploration.

As reported by The Globe, Nevada has one of the worst public school systems in the nation.

According to the second edition of Scholaroo’s  States with the Best & Worst Education report – the first national study to analyze the nation’s public school system through 43 metrics ranging from high school graduation rate, expulsion rate, and college entrance – Nevada students have one of the worst student performances in the entire country, ranking 45th for Student Success, 50th for School Safety, and 46th for School Quality, lending to an overall score of 49th in the nation. In comparison, Arizona ranks dead last, Louisiana is 48th, and New Jersey takes home the gold, ranking number one.

Key finding from the study conclude:

• Nevada students have the worst performance in reading, math, and science tests;
• Only 87% of high school students graduate, one of the lowest rates in the entire country;
• Nevada students have the lowest ACT test scores in 2022.

Without final exams, how does the Legislative Committee and state Board of Education measure teaching effectiveness and student learning? Critics of this bill, like Janine Hanson, Director of Nevada Families for Freedom, told The Globe:  “Its appalling to think that Nevada’s Department of Education is seeking to abolish this end-of-course test when there is so little accountability in our schools and our children are failing. In addition, to take away the standard form for teachers to communicate with parents will fail to increase parental involvement and is counter productive.”

The Globe has reached out to the Board of Education for comment.  We will update the story with their comments when received.