Nevada Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro announced a sweeping education bill she will push in the upcoming Legislative Session, with proposals ranging from retaining previous teacher raises and creating universal pre-K programs to improving accountability measures for public and private schools.

The Education through Accountability, Transparency, and Efficiency (EDUCATE) Act aims to help facilitate a “broad-based conversation about accountability in the education system,” according to a statement from Cannizzaro, D-Las Vegas, on Wednesday.

“The EDUCATE Act is the result of a commitment I made a year ago to bring forward a package of education reforms that would improve outcomes for students, help us hire and retain great teachers and staff, and give parents more confidence in our educational system,” Cannizzaro’s statement said.

Her bill would retain the nearly 20 percent raises for staff passed as part of the 2023 education budget.

Cannizzaro wants to expand alternative routes to licensure and Paraprofessional Pathways Project programs to address teacher shortages. Her bill would also establish a Nevada Commission on Educator Recruitment and Retention that will replace the Nevada Department of Education’s advisory task force to identify strategies to address educator workforce pipelines.

The bill also contains provisions to expand accountability for schools. If passed, it would create a School District Oversight Board, a joint legislative and executive branch group that would oversee school districts and take action if they fail to meet certain obligations.

It would also require the State Board of Education to develop academic achievement plans for elementary schools that includes three-year goals and plans aimed at advancing student achievement.

The EDUCATE Act also create universal pre-K for all 4-year-olds.

Regarding opportunity scholarships, a source of tension between state Democrats and Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, Cannizzaro’s bill would require all private schools receiving public funds to meet the same subject assessment requirements as public schools. It would create a mandate for schools to collect and report demographic and enrollment information of Opportunity Scholarship recipients.

“We all agree that our kids deserve the best possible educational opportunities, and I look forward to a robust conversation during the legislation session about making publicly funded schools more transparent and accountable to deliver for students, parents, and our community,” Cannizzaro said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.

Enrollment at state-authorized charter schools continues to outpace growth at traditional public school districts in Nevada, official enrollment counts show.

Washoe County School District (WCSD) remains Nevada’s second largest public school district, but the gap between it and the State Public Charter School Authority (SPCSA), the quasi-district that authorizes the vast majority of charter schools in the state, has narrowed to fewer than 650 students.

Last year, the enrollment gap between the two local education agencies was around 2,800 students.

SPCSA now enrolls 63,609 students while WCSD enrolls 64,244 — a difference of 635 students. SPCSA grew its enrollment by 2.7%. WCSD saw its enrollment drop by 511 students, or 0.8%.

WCSD and SPCSA enroll 13.3% and 13.1% of Nevada public school students, respectively.

In January 2024, the state Charter School Board approved the opening of a charter school in Northern Nevada despite strong opposition from WCSD, which argued that the school was planned for an area where existing public schools were not overcrowded and that the charter school had not provided them or the public with enough time to review and provide input on the plans.

This Is Reno earlier this month reported that WCSD plans to lobby for legislation discontinuing the use of educational management organizations (EMOs), a move that would likely curb growth of charter schools in Northern Nevada. 

EMOs are often involved with charter schools from their inception, helping constitute the board that applies for the charter school license from the state and helping set up the lease for the building. Once the charter school is open, EMOs third-party services like payroll, human resources management, or curriculum in exchange for a percentage of the per-pupil student dollars the schools receive from the state.

The majority of charter school students in Nevada are associated with schools contracted with the same EMO, Florida-headquartered Academica.

SPCSA enrollment has more than doubled in the last eight years, growing from around 30,600 students in 2016 to around 63,600 in 2024. The SPCSA has already approved multiple charter schools to open or expand next year, putting them on a clear path to overtake WCSD in overall enrollment.

Enrollment in charter schools is expected to continue to rise, though some of that growth may be outside of the SPCSA. Earlier this year, the cities of Henderson and North Las Vegas received approval from the state to become charter school authorizers.

Both cities have indicated they plan to authorize and open charter schools for the 2025-26 school year. The cities will also have the option of absorbing existing charter schools that are currently authorized by the SPCSA. If those plans come to fruition, their enrollment would not count toward SPCSA totals but would raise the overall number of students served by charter schools instead of traditional public schools.

Clark County School District remains the state’s largest school district, by far, enrolling 306,038 students, or 63% of kids enrolled in public schools. CCSD enrollment dropped by 3,359 students, or 1%.

All other public school districts in Nevada make up a combined 10% of statewide enrollment.

The Nevada Department of Education conducts official enrollment counts around Oct. 1 each year. The numbers are used for funding purposes and mandatory reporting. They also provide a snapshot of student enrollment in public schools over time. The count does not include private school enrollment, which is reported separately, or home school enrollment, which is not aggregated at the state level in Nevada.

The Nevada DOE’s 2024 report on private school enrollment has not been made public yet. But last year’s report, which reflected the 2023-24 academic year, showed 22,810 students enrolled in private schools in Nevada. That is equivalent to 4.7% of public school enrollment this year.

Charter school critics have long argued that their enrollment does not reflect the broader student population, particularly when it comes to economically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities, and students classified as English language learners. The Nevada State Legislature in recent years passed legislation designed to ensure charter schools were enrolling these students and not just targeting students who need the fewest resources and would be successful at any school.

Updated enrollment data shows SPCSA schools moving in the right direction but still lagging behind in terms of overall percentages.

SPCSA schools saw gains in the percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced lunch (FRL) — a metric used to identify students to identify lower income households. This year, 63.9% of SPCSA students qualify for FRL, compared to 50.9% last year and 46.4% the year before.

Statewide 85% of public school students qualify for FRL.

SPCSA schools saw much smaller gains when it came to increasing its percentage of English language learners (ELL) and students with disabilities, who have individualized education plans (IEP). ELL students make up 10.3% of students at SPCSA schools, up from 10%. IEP students make up 10.7% of students at SPCSA schools, up from 10.4%.

Statewide 14.4% of public school students are classified ELL and 14.1% have IEPs.

A reporter and a photographer from 2 News Nevada witnessed a hit-and-run crash on Tuesday night.

It happened at the intersection of West Second Street and Arlington Avenue just after 7 p.m. according to 2 News Nevada reporter Makayla Hardy.

A sedan collided with an SUV in the intersection.

Both cars had a green light, but the sedan was taking a left and didn’t yield, crashing into the SUV according to our crew on scene.

The SUV pulled over immediately while the sedan kept driving down Arlington Avenue. The car had suffered significant damage, though, so the driver eventually pulled over further down the street before fleeing on foot towards J Resort.

Reno Police say the driver who fled was caught.

There is no information on if anyone was injured in the crash.

Reno Police, Reno Fire, and REMSA responded to the crash.