SB 259 revises Nevada's tax law to change how funds from a county-imposed 0.25% sales tax must be spent. It restricts the use of these funds to only programs reducing homelessness and building/maintaining public transit systems, effective October 1, 2025. The bill prohibits counties from using this tax revenue for early childhood education, adult education, truancy programs, affordable housing projects, teacher recruitment incentives, or hospitality workforce training. This directly affects counties and school districts that previously used these tax proceeds for the banned programs. The change applies to all tax revenue collected on or after the effective date.
SB 161 revises Nevada's collective bargaining rules for school districts and teachers' unions. It creates new timelines for binding arbitration when teacher contract negotiations stall: either 75 days before school starts (if no agreement exists) or after an expired contract. The bill also prohibits school districts from requiring teachers to work more hours than specified in an expired contract. Additionally, it changes strike rules by removing penalties for individual teachers during disputes and excluding teachers from existing requirements like written no-strike pledges. These changes apply specifically to teachers represented by employee organizations in Nevada school districts.
SB 59 revises Nevada's licensing rules for educators to enhance student safety. It allows the Superintendent of Public Instruction to place a temporary hold on a teacher's license immediately after certain arrests or charges (like crimes affecting student safety), without a hearing, pending full disciplinary review - this hold lasts up to one year. The bill also explicitly prohibits teachers from engaging in "sexual impropriety" or "grooming" with students (defined as inappropriate touching, sexual comments, or manipulative behavior), with no defense of student consent, and adds these violations to grounds for license suspension. Additionally, it removes the Superintendent's authority to issue provisional licenses while waiting for criminal background checks. These changes directly affect licensed educators in Nevada public and private schools.
SB 400 ensures continuity of special education services for students with disabilities who transfer schools. It requires schools to provide comparable services to the previous Individualized Education Program (IEP) during transition, until a new IEP is adopted (for in-state transfers) or an evaluation and new IEP are completed (for out-of-state transfers). The bill also mandates that teachers must pass subject-specific competency tests and obtain Department of Education endorsements to teach music or art in most schools, with exceptions for small districts (under 200,000 students) and very small schools (under 500 students), plus temporary exemptions during teacher shortages. These changes align Nevada’s policies with federal special education requirements and update teacher certification standards.
SB 444 requires Nevada school districts to update their policies on student electronic device use by including specific provisions. The bill mandates that policies define "electronic communication devices" (including phones, laptops, and tablets) and require school districts to establish graduated discipline for violations, limit device use during class, and include three exceptions: emergencies, teacher-approved instructional use, and accommodations under IEPs or 504 plans. These policies must be integrated into school behavior rules provided to students. The law directly affects school districts (requiring policy adoption by June 2026) and students (whose device use is governed by the updated rules). It does not apply to school-issued devices.
AB 391 requires Nevada public school districts, charter school sponsors, and the State Board of Education to include new data in their annual accountability reports. Specifically, it mandates separate reporting on pupil achievement for two groups: students with 10+ absences in a school year, and students who received at least 4 consecutive weeks of core subject instruction from an unlicensed teacher. This information must be broken down by gender and other student characteristics, as required by the statewide accountability system. The bill amends existing law (NRS 385A.200) to add these reporting requirements without changing the core assessment framework.
SB 104 allocates $200,000 annually for two fiscal years to fund school garden programs at Nevada public schools through approved nonprofit organizations. The bill requires these programs to include desert-tailored STEM curricula for grades K-12, involve community members like farmers and chefs, and provide student opportunities to operate farmer's markets and learn cooking with garden produce. Nonprofits must have at least two years of experience implementing such programs and report all expenditures to the legislature by specified deadlines. The funding specifically supports garden creation, maintenance, and teacher training focused on science, technology, engineering, and math education.
AB 472 prohibits Nevada school districts from contracting with J-1 visa program sponsors or recruiters charging over $10,000 per participant for teacher exchange programs. It directly affects school districts hiring foreign teachers through these programs and the organizations recruiting them. The law exempts existing contracts signed before July 1, 2025, but requires new agreements or renewals after that date to comply with the fee limit. This is a concrete policy change limiting costs for school districts using J-1 visa teacher programs.
AB 49 allows Nevada school districts and charter schools to hire teachers provisionally (for up to one year) without a Nevada teaching license if they hold a valid out-of-state license, have applied for Nevada licensure, and passed background checks. It requires schools to report these hires to the Department of Education and updates licensing rules to let educators use career work experience for endorsements in career and technical education, complete counseling/nursing training while working, and temporarily serve without certain endorsements while applying for them. The bill also removes the State Board of Education’s authority to disapprove licensing regulations set by the Commission on Professional Standards. These changes directly affect schools, teachers, counselors, and school nurses seeking licensure or endorsements.
AB 155 requires Nevada public school districts to negotiate student-teacher ratios for each classroom and student-to-specialized-instructional-support-staff ratios as mandatory topics in collective bargaining. It also exempts school districts from following State Board of Education recommendations for these ratios when they’re already set by a collective bargaining agreement. This change directly affects school districts and their employee unions by altering how staffing ratios are determined and negotiated. The bill revises existing bargaining rules under NRS 288.150, adding specific ratio metrics to mandatory negotiation topics.
