Revises provisions relating to economic development. (BDR 18-670)

EXEMPT
(Reprinted with amendments adopted on April 21, 2025)
FIRST REPRINT A.B. 314

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ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 314–ASSEMBLYMEMBER EDGEWORTH

FEBRUARY 27, 2025
____________

Referred to Committee on Government Affairs

SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to economic
development. (BDR 18-670)

FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: May have Fiscal Impact.
Effect on the State: Contains Appropriation not included
in Executive Budget.

CONTAINS UNFUNDED MANDATE (§ 3.7)
(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 economic development; requiring the State
Treasurer to include in an existing tuition reimbursement
program a program to provide reimbursement for certain
fees related to the education of persons who are preparing
for certain careers in health care; revising certain
provisions governing that tuition reimbursement program;
requiring the Governor’s Office of Workforce Innov ation
within the Department of Employment, Training and
Rehabilitation to include health care in the Career
Pathways Demonstration Program; requiring large school
districts and authorizing other school districts to offer a
Health Care Workforce Pathway Program; authorizing the
Board of Regents of the University of Nevada to enter
into certain agreements related to the Health Care
Workforce Pathway Program; and providing other matters
properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law creates the Governor’s Office of Workforce Innovation within the 1
Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation and prescribes the duties 2
of the Office and its Executive Director, which include, without limitation, defining 3
career pathways and identify ing priority career pathways for secondary and 4
postsecondary education. (NRS 232.965, 232.975) Under existing law, the 5
Governor’s Office of Workforce Innovation is required to establish and administer 6
a Career Pathways Demonstration Program. Pursuant to th e Program, the Office is 7

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required to identify not more than three priority industries, including K -12 8
education, for the development and implementation of career pathways and to take 9
certain steps to implement the Program, including, without limitation, establishing 10
measurable objectives for the outcomes of the Program and implementing a 11
competitive process to select proposals for career pathway projects. (NRS 232.985) 12
Section 3.5 of this bill requires one of the priority industries for the purposes of the 13
Program to be health care. 14
Existing law: (1) requires each large school district in this State, meaning any 15
school district which has more than 100,000 pupils enrolled in its public schools 16
(currently only the Clark County School District), to offer a Teacher Academy 17
College Pathway Program at every high school in the school district with 250 or 18
more pupils enrolled to enable pupils in grades 9 to 12 to prepare for employment 19
in professions in K -12 education; (2) authorizes a large school district to offer the 20
Program at high schools with fewer than 250 pupils; and (3) authorizes a school 21
district which is not a large school district to offer the Program at high schools in 22
the school district. (NRS 388.223) Section 3.7 of this bill enacts similar provisions 23
to establish a Health Care Workforce Pathway Program. 24
Existing law requires the State Treasurer to establish a program to provide 25
reimbursement for tuition charges, registrat ion fees, laboratory fees and any other 26
mandatory fees paid to an institution within the Nevada System of Higher 27
Education by a person who completed the Teacher Academy College Pathway 28
Program and who worked as a full -time, licensed teacher for at least 3 consecutive 29
school years at a public school in this State. Under existing law, the State Treasurer 30
is authorized to provide partial reimbursement for such tuition charges and fees to a 31
person who completed the Teacher Academy College Pathway Program and wh o 32
has worked as a full -time, licensed teacher for 1 year or 2 consecutive years. (NRS 33
226.420) Section 3.1 of this bill authorizes the State Treasurer to provide similar 34
reimbursements to persons who complete the Health Care Workforce Pathway 35
Program and who work in this State in the field of health care for a certain period. 36
Section 3.3 of this bill renames the Nevada Grown Educator Account as the 37
Nevada Grown Educator and Health Care Workforce Account to reflect that the 38
Account will be used to carry out the Teacher Academy College Pathway Program 39
and the Health Care Workforce Pathway Program established pursuant to 40
section 3.7. 41
Existing law authorizes the Board of Regents of the University of Nevada to: 42
(1) enter into an agreement with a school district to assist in the implementation of 43
the Teacher Academy College Pathway Program; and (2) establish a program to 44
identify pupils who have completed the Teacher Academy College Pathway 45
Program, or who are expected to complete the Program by the end of grade 1 2, and 46
who wish to apply for admission to an institution within the Nevada System of 47
Higher Education, and inform such pupils of the institutions within the System 48
where such pupils may qualify for admission. (NRS 396.1219) Section 3.9 of this 49
bill extends similar authority to the Board of Regents to enter into an agreement 50
with a school district to assist in the implementation of the Health Care Workforce 51
Pathway Program established pursuant to section 3.7. 52

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

Section 1. (Deleted by amendment.) 1
Sec. 2. (Deleted by amendment.) 2
Sec. 3. (Deleted by amendment.) 3

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Sec. 3.1. NRS 226.420 is hereby amended to read as follows: 1
226.420 1. The State Treasurer shall establish by regulation a 2
program to provide reimbursement for tuition charges, registration 3
fees, laboratory fees and any other mandatory fees paid to an 4
institution within the Nevada System of Higher Education by a 5
person who: 6
(a) [Completed] Except as otherwise provided in subsection 5, 7
completed a : 8
(1) Teacher Academy College Pathway Program offered 9
pursuant to NRS 388.223 [;] and 10
[(b) Except] , except as otherwise provided in subsection 3, has 11
worked as a full -time, licensed teacher at a public school in this 12
State for at least 3 consecutive school years [.] ; or 13
(2) Completed a Health Care Workforce Pathway Program 14
offered pursuant to section 3.7 of this act and, except as otherwise 15
provided in subsection 3 , has worked in this State for at least 3 16
consecutive years as a full-time employee in the field of providing, 17
or directly assisting with the provision of, health care; 18
(b) Has completed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid 19
provided for by 20 U.S.C. § 1090; and 20
(c) Has successfully completed a program at an institution 21
within the Nevada System of Higher Education for the 22
preparation of a person to work in the field of providing health 23
care, or directly assisting with the provision of health care. 24
2. The program may not provide reimbursement for any tuition 25
charge, registration fee, laboratory fee or any other mandatory fee 26
which was paid or otherwise provided for through a scholarship, 27
financial aid, waiver or similar financial assistance. For the 28
purposes of this subsection, a student education loan, as defined in 29
NRS 226.510, must not be considered financial aid or financial 30
assistance. 31
3. [The] Except as otherwise provided in subsection 5, the 32
State Treasurer may provide partial reimbursement of tuition 33
charges, registration fees, laboratory fees and any other mandatory 34
fees paid by a person who [completed] : 35
(a) Completed a Teacher Academy College Pathway Program 36
offered pursuant to NRS 388.223 a nd who has worked as a full -37
time, licensed teacher at a public school in this State for 1 year or 2 38
consecutive years [in an] ; or 39
(b) Completed a Health Care Workforce Pathway Program 40
offered pursuant to section 3.7 of this act and who has worked in 41
this State for 1 year or 2 consecutive years as a full -time employee 42
in the field of providing, or directly assisting with the provision of, 43
health care. 44

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4. The amount of any partial reimbursement provided 1
pursuant to subsection 3 must not [to] exceed, for e ach year of 2
service at a public school in this State [,] or for each year of service 3
in the health care field in this State, one-third of the total tuition 4
charges, registration fees, laboratory fees and any other mandatory 5
fees paid by the person to an in stitution within the Nevada System 6
of Higher Education which are subject to reimbursement pursuant to 7
this section and the regulations adopted pursuant thereto. 8
5. If a person has not completed a Health Care Workforce 9
Pathway Program offered pursuant to 3.7 of this act because of 10
circumstances beyond the control of that person, including, 11
without limitation, because the person attended a high school that 12
did not offer a Program, but the person satisfies the criteria set 13
forth in paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection 1, the State 14
Treasurer may, upon the submission of an application by that 15
person, provide: 16
(a) Reimbursement for tuition charges, registration fees, 17
laboratory fees and any other mandatory fees paid to an institution 18
within the Nevada System of Higher Education by the person if 19
the person has worked as a full -time, licensed teacher at a public 20
school in this State for at least 3 consecutive years. 21
(b) Partial reimbursement for tuition charges, registration 22
fees, laboratory fees and any other m andatory fees paid to an 23
institution within the Nevada System Education, in the amount 24
described in subsection 3, if the person has worked as a full -time, 25
licensed teacher at a public school in this State for 1 year or 2 26
consecutive years. 27
Sec. 3.3. NRS 226.425 is hereby amended to read as follows: 28
226.425 1. The Nevada Grown Educator and Health Care 29
Workforce Account is hereby created in the State General Fund. 30
The Account must be administered by the State Treasurer. 31
2. The money in the Account must be used to carry out the 32
program established pursuant to NRS 226.420. 33
3. The State Treasurer may apply for and accept any donation, 34
gift, grant, bequest or other source of money for deposit in the 35
Account. 36
4. The inter est and income earned on money in the Account, 37
after deducting any applicable charges, must be credited to the 38
Account. 39
5. Any money in the Account remaining at the end of a fiscal 40
year does not revert to the State General Fund, and the balance in 41
the Account must be carried forward to the next fiscal year. 42
Sec. 3.5. NRS 232.985 is hereby amended to read as follows: 43
232.985 1. The Governor’s Office of Workforce Innovation 44
shall establish and administer a Career Pathwa ys Demonstration 45

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Program to develop and implement career pathways that will enable 1
students to prepare for employment in professions which serve the 2
long-term needs of this State. The Office shall identify not more 3
than three priority industries, including , without limitation, K -12 4
education [,] and health care, for the development and 5
implementation of career pathways as part of the Program. 6
2. In implementing the Program, the Office shall: 7
(a) Establish clear, measurable objectives for the outcomes of 8
the Program which are aligned with the State Plan for Economic 9
Development developed by the Executive Director of the Office of 10
Economic Development within the Office of the Governor pursuant 11
to subsection 2 of NRS 231.053, including, without limitation, 12
targets based on reliable data concerning: 13
(1) The number of persons entering the career pathway; 14
(2) The number and percentage of persons completing 15
distinct phases of the career pathway, as marked by earning course 16
credit or a credential, certificate or other recognized documentation 17
showing progression in the career pathway; 18
(3) The number and percentage of participants in a career 19
pathway who obtain high-quality employment in the target industry; 20
and 21
(4) The number and percentage of participants in a career 22
pathway employed for at least 2 years in the target industry. 23
(b) Rely on economic and workforce development data to 24
inform decision-making, including, without limitation: 25
(1) Estimates of the number of high -quality jobs in the 26
priority indu stries identified by the Office, including, without 27
limitation, K-12 education and health care, that will be required in 28
this State in the next 5 to 10 years; 29
(2) Projected workforce capacity in relation to the estimates 30
pursuant to subparagraph (1); 31
(3) The number and capacity of existing industry -aligned 32
career pathway programs; 33
(4) Enrollment, participation and completion rates for 34
industry-aligned career pathway programs; 35
(5) Credentialing rates or other industry-aligned indicators of 36
workforce readiness; 37
(6) Industry-aligned, skill-based employee retention rates; 38
(7) The demographic information of the participants in the 39
Program, including, without limitation, race, gender and enrollment 40
at a Title I school; and 41
(8) Other relevant data ava ilable through the statewide 42
longitudinal data system maintained by the Executive Director of 43
the Office pursuant to NRS 232.975. 44

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(c) Collaborate with school districts, the Nevada System of 1
Higher Education, regional development authorities and 2
representatives from priority industries. 3
(d) Establish criteria for evaluating the performance of career 4
pathway projects and the entities that assist in the development and 5
implementation of career pathway projects, including, without 6
limitation, the Department of Education, school districts, the Nevada 7
System of Higher Education, regional development authorities and 8
representatives from priority industries. 9
3. The Office shall develop and implement a competitive 10
process to select proposals for career pathway pr ojects. Each 11
proposal for a career pathway project selected by the Office must 12
incorporate best practices for career pathway design and address, 13
without limitation: 14
(a) The types of high -quality jobs which the career pathway 15
project will prepare students for, based on a definition of “high -16
quality job” which shall be developed and promulgated by the 17
Office. 18
(b) The educational opportunities that the project will offer to K-19
12 pupils and students of the Nevada System of Higher Education 20
which may include, without limitation: 21
(1) Early exposure to career options for pupils in elementary, 22
junior high or middle school; 23
(2) Multiple entry points into the career pathway; 24
(3) Meaningful, practice-based learning opportunities aligned 25
to the career pathway an d the workforce priorities within the target 26
industry, including, without limitation, paid work -based learning 27
opportunities; 28
(4) Opportunities for students to receive credentials aligned 29
to the skills and experience needed for employment in the target 30
industry; and 31
(5) Work-based learning opportunities that may be eligible 32
for exemption from federal laws and regulations from which 33
exemptions are available for work -based learning programs for 34
pupils. 35
(c) The practices that will be implemented to recruit students for 36
the career pathway, including, without limitation, practices that will 37
foster equity and the inclusion in the career pathway of students 38
from historically underserved communities. 39
(d) The types of early career guidance, incentives and supp ort 40
that will be offered to participants in the career pathway, which may 41
include, without limitation: 42
(1) Employment opportunities for students who participate in 43
the career pathway, including, without limitation, employer 44

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commitments to recruiting stud ents who successfully obtain the 1
qualifications for employment through the career pathway; 2
(2) Professional support and development opportunities for 3
participants early in their career in the target industry, including, 4
without limitation, mentoring; and 5
(3) Financial incentives which eliminate or substantially 6
reduce financial barriers to entry into professions in the target 7
industry. 8
(e) The roles and responsibilities of the persons necessary to 9
develop and implement the career pathway, which may include, 10
without limitation: 11
(1) Program staff; 12
(2) School districts and the Nevada System of Higher 13
Education; 14
(3) Regional development authorities; and 15
(4) Representatives from the target industries. 16
(f) The financial plan for the career pathway project, including, 17
without limitation: 18
(1) The projected 5 -year budget for the career pathway 19
project; 20
(2) Existing funding sources for the career pathway project 21
and the amount of funding that the person submitting the proposal 22
will allocate to the project; 23
(3) Anticipated funding sources for the career pathway 24
project; and 25
(4) Any additional funding necessary to implement the career 26
pathway project which is not addressed by the existing funding 27
sources. 28
(g) The goals and anticipated outcomes of the career pathway 29
project, including, without limitation: 30
(1) The target number of total participants in the career 31
pathway project; 32
(2) The target number of participants who will successfully 33
complete each stage of the career pathway, as marked by e arning 34
course credit or a credential, certificate or other recognized 35
documentation showing progression in the career pathway; and 36
(3) The target number of participants who will complete the 37
career pathway, regardless of their entry point into the career 38
pathway. 39
4. The Office may enter into an agreement with the Department 40
of Education to administer the Teacher Academy College Pathway 41
Program offered pursuant to NRS 388.223. Such an agreement may 42
require the Department of Education to administer any local, state or 43
federal funding appropriated or otherwise available to implement 44
the Teacher Academy College Pathway Program. 45

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5. As used in this section, “career pathway” means a series of 1
structured and connected educational opportunities designed to help 2
a person enter or advance within a given occupation or industry 3
sector. 4
Sec. 3.7. Chapter 388 of NRS is hereby amended by adding 5
thereto: 6
1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, each large 7
school district shall offer a Health Care Workforce Pathway 8
Program at every high school in the school district with 250 or 9
more pupils enrolled that will enable interested pupils in grades 9 10
to 12, inclusive, to prepare for employment in professions in the 11
field of health care. A large school district may offer a Program at 12
high schools with fewer than 250 pupils. A school district that is 13
not a large school district may offer a Program at one or more 14
high schools in the school district. 15
2. A large school district is not required to offer a Program at 16
a specialty school. 17
3. A large school district, and a school district that is not a 18
large school district which elects to offer the Program, shall: 19
(a) Advertise the Program and the benefits of participation in 20
the Program. 21
(b) Ensure that at least one licensed teacher is assigned full -22
time to implement and teach the Program at each high school in 23
the school district which offers the Program and at which more 24
than two class period s of the Program are offered, except that 25
such a teacher may also serve as the person designated to 26
coordinate career pathway programs at the high school. 27
(c) Assess each pupil entering grade 9 who is or will be 28
enrolled in a high school which offers such a Program and who is 29
interested in parti cipating in the Program, identify any barriers, 30
including, without limitation, academic, financial, socioeconomic 31
and transportation barriers, to the participation in and completion 32
of the Program by such interested pupils and, if such barriers are 33
identified, inform the pupil and the parents or legal guardian of 34
the pupil of any programs and services which are available to help 35
the pupil to overcome such barriers and provide such programs 36
and services to the pupil. 37
(d) Enter into an agreement with the Boa rd of Regents of the 38
University of Nevada to: 39
(1) Enable pupils who participate in the Program to earn 40
up to 12 units of college credit for courses taken and internships 41
engaged in as part of the Program and, to the extent that money is 42
available, the provision of such courses and internships at no cost 43
or reduced cost to the pupil. 44

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(2) Establish qualifications for teachers of the school 1
district who teach courses in the Program which are eligible for 2
college credit, which may include, without limitatio n, a minimum 3
of 4 years of classroom teaching experience or a master’s degree. 4
(3) Guarantee the admission of otherwise academically 5
qualified pupils who complete the Program to institutions in the 6
Nevada System of Higher Education. 7
(4) Provide programs, services, scholarships and financial 8
aid to assist pupils who participate in the Program in applying for 9
admission to institutions in the Nevada System of Higher 10
Education and completing the Program at such an institution. 11
(e) Except as otherwis e provided in subsection 3, offer dual 12
credit courses that align with the goals of the Program at each 13
high school in the school district which offers the Program. 14
(f) Inform pupils who participate in the Program and the 15
parents and legal guardians of suc h pupils about programs, 16
services, scholarships and financial aid which are available to 17
assist pupils in applying for admission to institutions in the 18
Nevada System of Higher Education and completing the Program 19
at such an institution. 20
4. A school distr ict may apply to the State Board for an 21
exemption from the provisions of paragraph (d) of subsection 2 22
with respect to a high school which is not located in an 23
incorporated city if the school district can demonstrate that the 24
location of the high school ma kes compliance with those 25
provisions impracticable. 26
5. A large school district, and a school district that is not a 27
large school district which elects to offer the Program, may enter 28
into an agreement with the Board of Regents of the University of 29
Nevada to provide a faculty mentor from the Nevada System of 30
Higher Education to teachers of the school district who teach 31
courses in the Program to ensure such courses align with the 32
contents and rigor of equivalent courses taught at institutions 33
within the Nev ada System of Higher Education. If the provisions 34
of this subsection conflict with the provisions of chapter 388G of 35
NRS, the provisions of this subsection prevail. 36
6. To complete the Program a pupil must: 37
(a) Successfully complete at least 2 academic y ears in a 38
program of career and technical education established pursuant to 39
NRS 388.380 in the area of health care; and 40
(b) Participate in at least 15 hours of paid or unpaid work -41
based learning which is relevant to the field of health care and 42
may include, without limitation, an internship offered pursuant to 43
paragraph ( e) of subsection 3 or a work -based learning 44
opportunity provided pursuant to NRS 232.990. 45

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7. The State Board: 1
(a) Shall adopt regulations that prescribe the curriculum for 2
the Program w hich are consistent with the provisions of this 3
section. To the extent a school district provides programs of career 4
and technical education other than the Program, such programs 5
of career and technical education must nonetheless be consistent 6
with the reg ulations adopted pursuant to this paragraph, to the 7
extent applicable. 8
(b) May adopt such other regulations as are necessary to carry 9
out the provisions of this section. 10
8. A pupil who is enrolled in a high school within a school 11
district, or a parent o r legal guardian of such a pupil, who is 12
aggrieved by a final decision regarding the implementation of the 13
Program made by an administrator of the high school or the board 14
of trustees may, within 30 days after the decision is rendered, 15
make a written reque st to the board of trustees for a hearing for 16
reconsideration of the decision. The board shall schedule the 17
hearing within 30 days after receiving the request. The decision of 18
the board of trustees after its reconsideration hearing is a final 19
decision subject to judicial review as provided by law. 20
9. As used in this section: 21
(a) “Career Pathway Program ” means a career pathway 22
offered as part of the Career Pathways Demonstration Program 23
pursuant to NRS 232.985. 24
(b) “Large school district” means any schoo l district in this 25
State which has more than 100,000 pupils enrolled in its public 26
schools. 27
(c) “Program” means the Health Care Workforce Pathway 28
Program created pursuant to this section. 29
Sec. 3.9. NRS 396.1219 is hereby amended to read as follows: 30
396.1219 1. The Board of Regents may enter into an 31
agreement with a school district pursuant to NRS 388.223 to assist 32
in the implementation of a Teacher Academy College Pathway 33
Program [.] and pursuant to section 3.7 of this act to assist in the 34
implementation of a Health Care Workforce Pathway Program. 35
2. The Board of Regents may, by regulation, establish a 36
program to: 37
(a) Identify pupils who have completed the Program, or who are 38
expected to complete the Program by the e nd of grade 12, and who 39
wish to apply for admission to an institution within the System; and 40
(b) Inform such pupils of the institutions within the System 41
where such pupils may academically qualify for admission. 42
3. As used in this section, “Program” [has the meaning 43
ascribed to it in ] means the Teacher Academy College Pathway 44
Program and the Health Care Workforce Pathway Program 45

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created pursuant to NRS 388.223 [.] and section 3.7 of this act , 1
respectively. 2
Sec. 4. (Deleted by amendment.) 3
Sec. 4.5. The provisions of NRS 354.599 do not apply to any 4
additional expenses of a local government that are related to the 5
provisions of this act. 6
Sec. 5. 1. This section becomes effective upon passage and 7
approval. 8
2. Sections 1 to 4.5, inclusive, of this act become effective: 9
(a) Upon passage and approval for the purpose of adopting any 10
regulations and performing any other preparatory administrative 11
tasks that are necessary to carry out the provisions of this act; and 12
(b) On October 1, 2025, for all other purposes. 13

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