Revises provisions governing the members of the board of trustees of school districts. (BDR 34-689)

(Reprinted with amendments adopted on April 21, 2025)
FIRST REPRINT A.B. 156

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ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 156–ASSEMBLYMEMBER MOSCA

PREFILED JANUARY 30, 2025
____________

Referred to Committee on Education

SUMMARY—Revises provisions governing the members of the
board of trustees of school districts. (BDR 34-689)

FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: May have Fiscal Impact.
Effect on the State: No.

CONTAINS UNFUNDED MANDATE (§ 5)
(NOT REQUESTED BY AFFECTED LOCAL GOVERNMENT)

~

EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.

AN ACT relating to education; revising provisions governing the
duties, right s and responsibilities of appointed members
of the board of trustees of a school district; enactin g
provisions governing term limits for trustees; revising
provisions governing the salaries of the members of the
board of trustees of a school district in certain counties;
prohibiting a board of trustees from conducting certain
business during a meeting designated as a work session or
workshop; authorizing a trustee to solicit gifts or bequests
on behalf of and for the school district; and providing
other matters properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Under existing law, the board of trustees of a school district in which more than 1
75,000 pupils are enrolled (currently only the Clark County School District) is 2
composed of 11 members, of whom: (1) seven voting members are elected from 3
election districts established by the board of trustee s; (2) one nonvoting member is 4
appointed by the board of county commissioners of the county in which the school 5
district is located; and (3) three nonvoting members are appointed by the governing 6
bodies of the three most populous incorporated cities in the county in which the 7
school district is located, with each governing body appointing one member. 8
Existing law prohibits a nonvoting member from voting on the election of officers 9
of the board of trustees or serving as an officer of the board of trustees. ( NRS 10
386.165) Section 1 of this bill provides that the appointed members of the board of 11
trustees of a school district in which more than 75,000 pupils are enrolled have the 12
same duties, rights and responsibilities as the members of the board of trustees who 13
are elected to the o ffice. Section 1 prohibits a board of trustees from adopting a 14

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policy, bylaw or practice or otherwise restricting or curtailing the duties , rights or 15
responsibilities of a member based on whether the member was elected or 16
appointed to office. Section 3 of this bill authorizes appointed members of a board 17
of trustees to participate in the appointment of a member to fill a vacancy among 18
the elected members of the board of trustees. Section 4 of this bill authorizes 19
appointed members of a board of trustees to serve as officers of the board of 20
trustees. 21
The Nevada Constitution prohibits, with certain exceptions, a person from 22
being elected to any state office or local governing body if he or she has served in 23
that office, or at the expiration of his or her curr ent term if he or she is so serving , 24
will have served, 12 years or more. (Nev. Const. Art. 15, § 3) Section 2 of this bill 25
prohibits a person, elected or appointed, from serving as a trustee for any school 26
district or combination of school districts for 12 years or more. 27
Existing law establishes the salaries for the members of the board of trustees of 28
school districts based on the population of the county in which the school district is 29
located. Under existing law, the salary of a member of the board of tr ustees of a 30
school district in a county whose population is 100,000 or more (currently Clark 31
and Washoe Counties) is $750 per month. (NRS 386.320) Section 5 of this bill 32
increases the salary of an elected member of the board of trustees of a school 33
district in a county whose population is 700,000 or more (currently only the Clark 34
County School District) to an amount equal to the base salary of a county 35
commissioner of that county. Existing law establishes the base salary of such a 36
county commissioner as an amount equal to 112.551 percent of the amount of the 37
base annual salary for a county commissioner that was in effect on January 1, 2015. 38
(NRS 245.043) Section 5 authorizes the board of county commissioners in a county 39
whose population is less than 700,000 (currently all counties other than Clark 40
County), or an appointing authority of an appointed member of a board of trustees 41
in a county whose population is 700,000 or more (currently only Clark County) , to 42
provide additional compensation for a member of the board of trustees such that the 43
salary of the member is equal to the salary of a county commissioner in that county. 44
Section 5 requires the salary of a member of the board of trustees to be paid from 45
the funds of the school district, except that any addit ional compensation authorized 46
to be paid by the board of county commissioners or an appointing authority must be 47
paid from the funds of that entity. 48
Section 8 of this bill limits the salary increase authorized in section 5 for the 49
elected members of the boards of trustees of a school district in a county whose 50
population is 700,000 or more to those members who were elected to a term of 51
office that begins on or after January 1, 2027, including members who are reelected 52
to a term of office that begins on or after that date. Section 8 prohibits the salary of 53
an appointed member of the board of trustees of a school district in a county whose 54
population is 700,000 or more from being increased by the appointing authority 55
without the consent of the member during any term that is being served on 56
January 1, 2027. Section 9 of this bill prohibits a school district from reducing the 57
compensation for teachers and other educational personnel and support staff to fund 58
the increase in compensation for elected members of a board of trustees required by 59
section 5. 60
Section 6 of this bill prohibits a board of trustees from conducting certain 61
business related to the members of the board of trustees and their duties at a 62
meeting that has been designated as a work session or workshop. Section 6 also 63
requires appointed members to be included in the membership of a board of trustees 64
for the purposes of calculating the existence of a quorum for the transaction of 65
business. 66
Existing law authorizes a board of trustees to accept on behalf of a nd for the 67
school district certain gifts or bequests of money or property. (NRS 386.390) 68
Section 7 of this bill , subject to cer tain limitations, authorizes a member of the 69

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board of trustees to solicit such a gift or bequest on behalf of and for the school 70
district. 71

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. NRS 386.165 is hereby amended to read as follows: 1
386.165 1. In each county school district in which more than 2
75,000 pupils are enrolled, the board of trustees shall establish seven 3
election districts for school trustees. The districts must be: 4
(a) As nearly equal in population as practicable; and 5
(b) Composed of contiguous territory. 6
2. The board of trustees in each county school district in which 7
more than 75,000 pupils are enrolled is composed of 11 members, of 8
whom: 9
(a) Seven [voting] members must be elected in election districts 10
established pursuant to subsection 1 by the board of trustees. 11
(b) One [nonvoting] member must be appointed by the board of 12
county commissioners of the county in which the school district is 13
located. The member appointed pursuant to this paragraph must 14
reside in the county in which the school district is located. 15
(c) Three [nonvoting] members must be appointed by the 16
governing bodies of the three most populous incorporated cities in 17
the county in which the school district is located, with each 18
governing body appointing one member. Each member appointed 19
pursuant to this paragraph must reside in the city in which the 20
governing body is required to make the appointment. 21
3. In each county school district in which more than 25,000 22
pupils but not more than 75,000 p upils are enrolled, the board of 23
trustees shall establish seven election districts for school trustees, as 24
follows: 25
(a) Five districts which are as nearly equal in population as 26
practicable, each of which includes approximately one -fifth of the 27
population of the county; and 28
(b) Two districts which are as nearly equal in population as 29
practicable, each of which includes approximately one -half of the 30
population of the county. 31
 The districts must be composed of contiguous territory. 32
4. Each elected trustee of a school district to which this section 33
applies must reside in the election district which the trustee 34
represents and be elected by the voters of that election district. 35
5. In each school district in which more than 25,000 pupils but 36
not more than 7 5,000 pupils are enrolled, the board of trustees is 37
composed of seven members who must be elected in an election 38
district established pursuant to subsection 3 by the board of trustees. 39

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6. The appointing authority shall make an appointment 1
pursuant to subsection 2 at least 30 days but not more than 90 days 2
before the expiration of the term of office of the incumbent member. 3
7. The term of office of a school trustee is 4 years, 4
commencing on the first Monday of January thereafter next 5
following the election or appointment of the trustee. 6
8. Each trustee shall hold office until his or her successor is 7
appointed or elected and qualified. 8
9. The [nonvoting] members of the board of trustees appointed 9
pursuant to subsection 2 [: 10
(a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b), ] shall have 11
the same duties, rights and responsibilities as [voting] elected 12
members of the board of trustees, including, without limitation [, 13
being] : 14
(a) Being involved in any briefings, interviews, evaluations, 15
closed-door sessions and policy and operational discussions; [and] 16
(b) [Do not have voting rights for the election of officers or the 17
authority to serve as an officer of ] Voting on matters before the 18
board of trustees [.] , including, without limitation, the election of 19
officers; 20
(c) Making or seconding motions before the board of trustees; 21
(d) Serving as an officer of the board of trustees; and 22
(e) Requesting that an item be added to an agenda or 23
appealing a denial of such a request. 24
10. The board of trustees of a school district may not adopt 25
any policy, bylaw or practice or take any other action to restrict or 26
curtail the duties, rights or responsibilities of a member of the 27
board of trustees based on whether the member was elected or 28
appointed to the office of trustee. 29
Sec. 2. NRS 386.240 is hereby amended to read as follows: 30
386.240 1. A candidate for election to the office of trustee of 31
a school district shall: 32
[1.] (a) Be a qualified elector. 33
[2.] (b) Have the qualifications of residence within the county 34
school district required for the office for which he or she seeks 35
election. 36
2. No person, elected or appointed, may serve as a trustee for 37
any school district or combination of school districts in this State 38
for 12 years or more . Accordingly, no person may be elected or 39
appointed to the office of trustee of a school district if the person: 40
(a) Has served as a trustee, or at the expiration of his or her 41
current term if he or she is so serving will have served, 12 years or 42
more, for any school district or combination of school districts in 43
this State; or 44

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(b) If elected or appointed, cannot serve the entire term of 1
office without serving 12 years or more for any school district or 2
combination of school districts in this State. 3
Sec. 3. NRS 386.270 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4
386.270 Except as otherwise provided in NRS 386.275: 5
1. Any vacancy occurring among the elected members of a 6
board of trustees must be filled by appointment by the remaining 7
[elected] members of the board at a public meeting held after notice 8
of the meeting is published at least once each week for 2 weeks in a 9
newspaper qualified pursuant to the provisions of chapter 238 of 10
NRS. The appointee shall serve until the next general election, at 11
which time his or her successor must be elected for the balance of 12
the unexpired term. 13
2. Any vacancy occurring among the appointed members of a 14
board of trustees must be filled by the appointing authority. The 15
appointee serves for the balance of the unexpired term and , except 16
as otherwise provided in NRS 386.240, may be reappointed. 17
3. Any person appointed to fill a vacan cy must have the 18
qualifications provided in NRS 386.165 or 386.240, as applicable. 19
Sec. 4. NRS 386.310 is hereby amended to read as follows: 20
386.310 1. The board of trustees shall meet and organize by: 21
(a) Electing one of its [elected] members as president. 22
(b) Electing one of its [elected] members as clerk, or by 23
selecting some other qualified person as clerk. 24
(c) Electing additional officers from its [elected] members as 25
may be deemed necessary. 26
(d) Fixing the term of office for each of its officers. 27
2. A record of the organization of the board of trustees must be 28
entered in the minutes, together with the amount of salary to be paid 29
to the clerk. 30
3. Immediately after the organization of the board of trustees, 31
the clerk shall file the names of the president, the clerk and the 32
members of the board of trustees with the Department and the 33
county auditor of the county whose boundaries are conterminous 34
with the boundaries of the county school district. 35
Sec. 5. NRS 386.320 is hereby amended to read as follows: 36
386.320 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2: 37
(a) Each member of the board of trustees of a school district in a 38
county whose population is less than 20,000 must receive a salary of 39
$250 per month. 40
[2.] (b) Each member of the board of trustees of a school 41
district in a county whose population is 20,000 or more but less than 42
100,000 must receive a salary of $400 per month. 43

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[3.] (c) Each member of the board of trustees of a school district 1
in a county whose population is 100,000 or more but less than 2
700,000 must receive a salary of $750 per month. 3
[4.] (d) Each member of the board of trustees of a school 4
district in a county whose population is 700,000 or more must 5
receive a salary: 6
(1) For an elected member, that is equal to the annual 7
salary for a county commissioner in the county set forth in 8
NRS 245.043. 9
(2) For an appointed member, of $750 per month. 10
2. Except as otherwise provided in subsections 3 and 4, the 11
salaries set forth in this section must be paid from the funds of the 12
school district. 13
3. In a county whose population is less than 700,000, t he 14
board of county commissioners may, from the general funds of the 15
county, provide additional compensation for each member of 16
the board of trustees of a school district such that the salary of the 17
members of the board of trustees is equal to the annual salary for 18
a county commissioner in the county set forth in NRS 245.043. 19
4. In a county whose population is 700,000 or more, an 20
appointing authority described in subsection 2 of NRS 386.165 21
may, from the general funds of the county or city governed by the 22
appointing authority, provide additional compensation for a 23
member of the board of trustees of a school district who is 24
appointed by the appointing authority such that the salary of the 25
member is equal to the salary for a county commissioner in the 26
county set forth in NRS 245.043. 27
5. A member of the board o f trustees of a school district who 28
receives a salary pursuant to this section may: 29
(a) Donate all or a part of the monthly salary that he or she 30
receives to a school within the school district or to the school 31
district; or 32
(b) In lieu of making a donati on after the member receives the 33
salary, request that all or a part of his or her monthly salary be paid 34
directly to a school within the school district or to the school 35
district. 36
[5.] 6. The board of trustees may hire a stenographer to take 37
the minutes of the meetings of the board of trustees, and the 38
stenographer may be paid a reasonable fee for each meeting 39
attended. 40
Sec. 6. NRS 386.330 is hereby amended to read as follows: 41
386.330 1. The board of trustees shall hold a regular meeting 42
at least once each month, at such time and place as the board shall 43
determine. 44

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2. Special meetings of the board of trustees shall be held at the 1
call of the president whenever there is sufficient business to come 2
before the board, or u pon the written request of three members of 3
the board. 4
3. The clerk of the board of trustees shall give written notice of 5
each special meeting to each member of the board of trustees by 6
personal delivery of the notice of the special meeting to each trust ee 7
at least 1 day before the meeting, or by mailing the notice to each 8
trustee’s residence of record, by deposit in the United States mails, 9
postage prepaid, at least 4 days before the meeting. The notice shall 10
specify the time, place and purpose of the me eting. If all of the 11
members of the board of trustees are present at a special meeting, 12
the lack of notice shall not invalidate the proceedings of the board of 13
trustees. 14
4. A majority of the [elected] members of the board of trustees 15
shall constitute a q uorum for the transaction of business, and no 16
action of the board of trustees shall be valid unless such action shall 17
receive, at a regularly called meeting, the approval of a majority of 18
all the [elected] members of the board of trustees. 19
5. The election of officers, the appointment of members to fill 20
a vacancy pursuant to subsection 1 of NRS 386.270, the adoption 21
or amendment of any policies governing the operation of the 22
board of trustees and all other business relating to members and 23
their duties may be conducted during a regular or special meeting 24
of the board of trustees, except that such business must not be 25
conducted during a meeting that has been designated as a work 26
session or workshop. 27
6. In any county whose population is 55,000 or more, the board 28
of trustees may cause each meeting of the board to be broadcast on a 29
television station created to provide community access to cable 30
television by using the facilities of the school district, county or any 31
city located in the county. The board of trus tees and the county or 32
city shall cooperate fully with each other to determine: 33
(a) The feasibility of televising the meetings of the board of 34
trustees; 35
(b) The costs to televise the meetings of the board of trustees for 36
each proposed method of televising; and 37
(c) The number of potential viewers of the meetings of the board 38
of trustees for each proposed method of televising. 39
[6.] 7. Except in an emergency that impacts the school district, 40
the board of trustees shall not take any action or corrective action at 41
a regular meeting or special meeting on an item that has been posted 42
on its agenda pursuant to chapter 241 of NRS after 11:59 p.m. on 43
the day of the meeting. If the board of trustees has not taken action 44
or corrective action, as applicable, on an y item that is on its agenda 45

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before 11:59 p.m. on the day of the meeting, the board of trustees 1
must not take any further action or corrective action on any item that 2
is on the meeting agenda unless the board of trustees: 3
(a) Schedules the delayed agenda item at a future meeting by 4
placing the item on its agenda for the future meeting pursuant to 5
chapter 241 of NRS; or 6
(b) Waits until at least 24 hours after the originally scheduled 7
time of the meeting but not later than 3 business days after the 8
originally scheduled date of the meeting to take action or corrective 9
action. 10
[7.] 8. As used in this section, “emergency” has the meaning 11
ascribed to it in NRS 241.020. 12
Sec. 7. NRS 386.390 is hereby amended to read as follows: 13
386.390 1. Each board of trustees shall have the power to 14
accept on behalf of and for the school district: 15
(a) Any gift or bequest of money or property for a purpose 16
deemed by the board of trustees to be suitable, and to utilize such 17
money or property for the purpose so designated; and 18
(b) Any donation of surplus personal property of another school 19
district made pursuant to subsection 2 of NRS 332.185. 20
2. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3, the board of 21
trustees of each school district shall record each gift or bequest 22
accepted pursuant to this section and prepare a report which 23
includes, for each such gift or bequest: 24
(a) The amount of the gift or bequest of money or the fair 25
market value of the bequest of property, as applicable; 26
(b) Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, the name of 27
the donor of the gift or bequest; 28
(c) Any instructions provided by the donor concerning the use of 29
the gift or bequest; and 30
(d) Information concerning any connection between the donor 31
and the board of trustees or any person responsible for the 32
administration of the system of public education in this State, 33
including, without limitation: 34
(1) Any contract between the donor and the board of trustees; 35
(2) Any bid by the donor for a contract wit h the board of 36
trustees; 37
(3) If the donor is a lobbyist as defined in NRS 218H.080, a 38
statement of whether the donor lobbies on issues of interest to the 39
board of trustees or relating to the system of public education in this 40
State; and 41
(4) Any service by the donor on a committee to form a 42
charter school created pursuant to NRS 388A.240. 43
3. This section does not apply to any gift or bequest: 44

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(a) In an amount less than $100,000, unless the cumulative total 1
by the same donor within a 12-month period is equal to or more than 2
$100,000; or 3
(b) That is intended for a public broadcasting service. 4
4. A donor may remain anonymous for purposes of the report 5
prepared pursuant to subsection 2, unless the donor is required to 6
provide information pursuant to paragraph (d) of subsection 2. 7
5. The board of trustees of a school district may submit a form 8
to each donor that requires the donor to provide the information 9
required for inclusion in the report prepared pursuant to subsection 10
2. If the board of trustees uses such a form, the board of trustees 11
may rely upon the information provided by the donor on the form 12
for purposes of the report required of the school district pursuant to 13
subsection 2 and the board of trustees is not otherwise required to 14
verify the contents of the information provided by the donor on the 15
form. 16
6. The board of trustees of each school district shall include the 17
report prepared pursuant to subsection 2 on the agenda of the next 18
regular meeting of the board of trustees held pursuant to NRS 19
386.330 and review all transactions involving a gift or bequest listed 20
on the report that have taken place since the previous meeting of the 21
board of trustees. 22
7. On or before February 1 of each year, the board of trustees 23
of each school district sh all transmit each report prepared pursuant 24
to subsection 2 in the immediately preceding year: 25
(a) In odd -numbered years, to the Director of the Legislative 26
Counsel Bureau for transmittal to the next regular session of the 27
Legislature; and 28
(b) In even -numbered years, to the Joint Interim Standing 29
Committee on Education. 30
8. Subject to the provisions of this section and chapter 281A 31
of NRS, a member of the board of trustees of a school district may 32
solicit a gift or bequest of money or property on behalf o f and for 33
the school district. 34
Sec. 8. 1. The amendatory provisions of subparagraph (1) of 35
paragraph (d) of subsection 1 of NRS 386.320, as amended by 36
section 5 of this act apply only to a member of the board of trustees 37
of a school district who is elected to a term of office that begins on 38
or after January 1, 2027, including, without limitation, a member 39
who is reelected to a term that begins on or after that date. 40
2. An appointing authority must not increase the compen sation 41
of a member of the board of trustees of a school district pursuant to 42
subsection 4 of NRS 386.320 , as amended by section 5 of this act, 43
during the term of the member being served on January 1, 2027, 44
without the consent of the member. The appointing authority may 45

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not remove the member from office for refusing such additional 1
compensation. Following the end of the term being served on 2
January 1, 2027, the appointing authority may increase the 3
compensation of the member pursuant to subsection 4 of NRS 4
386.320, as amended by section 5 of this act, with or without the 5
consent of the member. 6
Sec. 9. In funding the increase in salaries for members of the 7
board of trustees of a school district in a county whose population is 8
700,000 or more pursuant to subparagraph (1) of paragraph (d) of 9
subsection 1 of NRS 386.320, as amended by section 5 of this act, a 10
school district must not reduce the compensation for teachers and 11
other educational personnel and support staff, including, without 12
limitation, mental health professionals. 13
Sec. 10. The provisions of NRS 354.599 do not apply to any 14
additional expenses of a local government that are related to the 15
provisions of this act. 16
Sec. 11. 1. This section and sections 1 to 4, inclusive, and 6 17
of this act become effective on January 1, 2025. 18
2. Sections 5 and 7 to 10, inclusive, of this act become 19
effective on January 1, 2026. 20

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