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- 83rd Session (2025)
Assembly Bill No. 165–Committee on Natural Resources
CHAPTER..........
AN ACT relating to outdoor education; establishing the Outdoor
Education Council within the Division of Outdoor Recreation
of the State Department of Conservation and Natural
Resources; prescribing the membership and duties of the
Council; requiring the Council to establish and administer a
program to award designations relating to outdoor education;
authorizing the Council to adopt certain regulations relating
to the program; making an appropriation; and providing other
matters properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
During the 2023 Legislative Session, the Legislature enacted Assembly Bill
No. 164, which required the Division of Outdoor Recreation of the State
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to establish an Outdoor
Education Advisory Working Group during the 2023 -2024 interim to study
approaches to incorporate outdoor recreation into the curriculum of the public
education system of this State and authorized the Working Group to request the
drafting of not more than 1 legislative measure which relates to matters within the
scope of the Working Group. ( Section 1.7 of chapter 77, Statutes of Nevada 2023,
at page 393)
Section 3 of this bill establishes the Outdoor Education Council within the
Division and prescribes the membership of the Council. Section 4 of this bill sets
forth the duties of the Council, including a requirement for the Council to establish
and administer a program to award a designation to: (1) schools in this State which
provide to pupils outdoor education programs that meet certain standards developed
by the Council pursuant to section 5 of this bill; and (2) a teacher in this State as
Outdoor Educator of the Year. Section 5 requires the Council, in administering
such a program, to provide a nonmonetary award to a teacher recognized as
Outdoor Educator of the Year.
Section 4 requires the Division , to the extent possible, to provide the Council
with such administrative support as is necessary to assist the Council in carrying
out its duties and authorizes the Division to accept gifts, gr ants and donations from
any source to support the work of the Council.
Section 6 of this bill authorizes the Council to adopt regulations necessary to
carry out the provisions of sections 4 and 5. Section 7 of this bill applies
definitions in existing law relating to the Division and the definition of “Council”
set forth in section 2 of this bill to the provisions of sections 2-6.
Section 8 of this bill makes an appropriation to the Division for travel expenses
to provide administrative support to the Council.
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- 83rd Session (2025)
EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Chapter 407A of NRS is hereby amended by
adding thereto the provisions set forth as sections 2 to 6, inclusive,
of this act.
Sec. 2. “Council” means the Outdoor Education Council
created by section 3 of this act.
Sec. 3. 1. The Outdoor Education Council is hereby
created in the Division. The Council consists of:
(a) The following ten voting members:
(1) One member who is a representative of the Division
appointed by the Administrator;
(2) One member who is a representative of the Department
of Education appointed by the Superintendent of Public
Instruction;
(3) One member who is a representative o f the Department
of Wildlife appointed by the Director of the Department of
Wildlife;
(4) One superintendent of a school district appointed by the
Nevada Association of School Superintendents;
(5) Two members who are licensed teachers appointed by
the Governor;
(6) Two members who are providers of nature -based
education, one of whom must primarily serve a historically
underserved community, appointed by the Governor;
(7) One member of the Senate appointed by the Majority
Leader of the Senate; and
(8) One member of the Assembly appointed by the Speaker
of the Assembly; and
(b) One nonvoting member who is a pupil enrolled in a public
school in this State appointed by the Governor.
2. Each member of the Council serves a term of 3 years.
Members may be reappointed for an additional term of 3 years in
the same manner as the original appointment. Any vacancy
occurring in the membership of the Council must be filled in the
same manner as the original appointment for the remainder of the
unexpired term.
3. A majority of the members of the Council constitutes a
quorum for the transaction of business, and a majority of a
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quorum present at any meeting is sufficient for any official action
taken by the Council.
4. At the first meeting of the Council and annually thereafter,
the members of the Council shall elect a Chair and Vice Chair
from among the members of the Council.
5. Each member of the Council serves without compensation.
6. Any member of the Council who is an officer or employee
of the State or a political subdivision of this State must be relieved
from his or her duties without loss of regular compensation to
prepare for and attend meetings of the Council and perform any
work necessary to carry out the duties of the Council in the most
timely manner practicable. A state agency or political subdivision
of this State shall not require an officer or employee who is a
member of the Council to:
(a) Make up the time he or she is absent from work to carry
out his or her duties as a member of the Council; or
(b) Take annual leave or compensatory time for the absence.
7. As used in this section, “historically underserved
community” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 704.78343.
Sec. 4. 1. The Council shall:
(a) Establish and administer a program to award a designation
to:
(1) Schools in this State which provide to pupils outdoor
education programs that meet the standards developed pursuant to
section 5 of this act; and
(2) A teacher in this State as Outdoor Educator of the Year.
(b) Provide opportunities for educators to receive training
concerning outdoor education by developing such training or
identifying and making available to schools information
concerning opportunities for such training.
(c) Provide technical assistance to support schools and school
districts interested in developing initiatives for outdoor education.
In providing such assistance, the Council shall prioritize schools
with the least access to nature.
(d) Identify sources of fede ral money and grants to support
outdoor education in this State.
2. The Division:
(a) Shall, to the extent possible, provide the Council with such
administrative support as is necessary to assist the Council in
carrying out its duties; and
(b) May accept gifts, grants and donations from any source to
support the work of the Council.
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Sec. 5. 1. In administering the program established
pursuant to section 4 of this act, the Council shall:
(a) Develop voluntary standa rds for outdoor education
programs provided to pupils by schools, including, without
limitation, standards:
(1) Which provide for an interdisciplinary approach for a
curriculum of outdoor education; and
(2) Concerning the development and use of living
schoolyards which are climate-resilient; and
(b) Provide a nonmonetary award to a teacher recognized
pursuant to section 4 of this act as Outdoor Educator of the Year.
2. For the purposes of this section, “living schoolyard”
means an outdoor environment at a school that strengthens local
ecological systems and serves as a resource for hands -on
education, including, without limitation, trees, gardens, outdoor
meeting areas and other areas designed for such purposes.
Sec. 6. The Council may adopt such regulations as are
necessary to carry out the provisions of sections 4 and 5 of this act.
Sec. 7. NRS 407A.500 is hereby amended to read as follows:
407A.500 As used in NRS 407A.500 to 407A.620, inclusive,
and sections 2 to 6, inclusive, of this act, unless the context
otherwise requires, the words and terms defined in NRS 407A.510,
407A.515 and 407A.525 and section 2 of this act have the
meanings ascribed to them in those sections.
Sec. 8. 1. There is hereby appropriated from the State
General Fund to the Division of Outdoor Recreation of the State
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for travel
expenses to provide administrative support to the Outdoor
Education Council created by section 3 of this act the following
sums:
For the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 ...................................... $6,120
For the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 ...................................... $6,120
2. Any balance of the sums appropriated by subsection 1
remaining at the end of the respective fi scal years must not be
committed for expenditure after June 30 of the respective fiscal
years by the entity to which the appropriation is made or any entity
to which money from the appropriation is granted or otherwise
transferred in any manner, and any po rtion of the appropriated
money remaining must not be spent for any purpose after
September 18, 2026, and September 17, 2027, respectively, by
either the entity to which the money was appropriated or the entity
to which the money was subsequently granted or transferred, and
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must be reverted to the State General Fund on or before
September 18, 2026, and September 17, 2027, respectively.
Sec. 9. 1. This section becomes effective upon passage and
approval.
2. Section 8 of this act becomes effective on July 1, 2025.
3. Sections 1 to 7, inclusive, of this act become effective on
October 1, 2025.
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