Revises provisions relating to assessments administered to pupils to assess reading proficiency. (BDR S-828)

EXEMPT
(Reprinted with amendments adopted on June 2, 2025)
FOURTH REPRINT A.B. 386

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ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 386–ASSEMBLYMEMBERS
GOULDING; AND HUNT

MARCH 10, 2025
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Referred to Committee on Education

SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to assessments
administered to pupils to assess reading proficiency.
(BDR S-828)

FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.
Effect on the State: Yes.

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

AN ACT relating to education; authorizing the Board of Trustees of
the Washoe County School District to establish and
administer a pilot program during the 2025 -2026 school
year to use an alternative assessment to assess the literacy
of pupils enrolled in an elementary school if the
alternative assessment satisfies certain criteria; requiring
the Department of Education to award a grant to the
Washoe County School District in an amount equal to
the savings to the Department for not administering the
statewide assessment to pupils enrolled in the School
District; requiring a report concerning the program to be
submitted to the Department and the Joint Interim
Standing Committee on Education; and providing other
matters properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law requires the board of trustees of a school district or the governing 1
body of a charter school to prepare a plan to improve the literacy of pupils enrolled 2
in an elementary school. Such a plan must include procedures to assess the 3
proficiency of a pupil in reading during each grade level of elementary school, as is 4
determined to be necessary, by using assessments that have been approved by the 5
State Board of Education by regulation. (NRS 388.157 ) This bill authorizes the 6
Board of Trustees of the Washoe County School District to establish and administer 7
a pilot program during the 2025-2026 school year to administer an assessment other 8
than the statewide assessment to assess the proficiency of pupi ls in reading if the 9
State Board approves the assessment. Under this bill, the State Board is required to 10
approve such an assessment if the assessment is a valid and reli able 11

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standards-based assessment to assess proficiency in reading and the Department o f 12
Education has established a method to establish an equivalent score to a score on 13
the statewide assessment. This bill further provides that, if the Board of Trustees of 14
the Washoe County School District administers such an assessment to assess 15
proficiency in reading other than the statewide assessment , the Department is 16
required to award a grant to the School District in an amount equal to the savings to 17
the Department for not administering the statewide assessment to pupils in the 18
School District. Finally, this bill requires the Washoe County School District to 19
submit a report to the Department and the Joint Interim Standing Committee on 20
Education concerning the pilot program. 21

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. 1. For the 2025 -2026 school year, the Board of 3
Trustees of the Washoe County School District may establish and 4
administer a pilot program for the administration of an assessment 5
other than the statewide assessment to determine, for the purposes of 6
the plan to improve the literacy of pupils enrolled in an elementary 7
school prepared pursuant to NRS 388.157, whether pupils enrolle d 8
in the Washoe County School District have achieved adequate 9
proficiency in the requisite reading skills and reading 10
comprehension skills necessary to perform at a level determined by 11
the statewide assessment to be within a level determined by the 12
State Board of Education. 13
2. Any assessment administered by the Board of Trustees of 14
the Washoe County School District pursuant to the pilot program 15
established and administered pursuant to subsection 1 must be 16
approved by the State Board of Education. The State Board of 17
Education shall approve any such assessment if: 18
(a) The assessment is a valid and reliable standards -based 19
assessment to assess the proficiency of pupils in the subject area of 20
reading; and 21
(b) The Department of Education has established for the 22
assessment a method to determine an equivalent score to a score on 23
a statewide assessment. 24
3. If, pursuant to the pilot program established and 25
administered pursuant to subsection 1, the Board of Trustees of the 26
Washoe County School District administers an assessment to assess 27
the proficiency of a pupil in the subject area of reading other than 28
the statewide assessment: 29
(a) The Board of Trustees is not required to administer the 30
statewide assessment for the purposes of the plan prepared pursuant 31
to NRS 388.157; and 32

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(b) The Department of Education shall award a grant to the 1
Washoe County School District in an amount equal to the savings to 2
the Department for not administering the statewide assessment to 3
pupils enrolled in the Washoe County School District. 4
4. Not later than August 31, 2026, the Washoe County School 5
District shall provide a repor t to the Department of Education and 6
the Joint Interim Standing Committee on Education concerning the 7
pilot program established and administered pursuant to subsection 1 8
that includes, without limitation: 9
(a) Information concerning the assessment administ ered 10
pursuant to the pilot program; 11
(b) The method by which the assessment administered pursuant 12
to the pilot program establishes a score that is equivalent to a score 13
on the statewide assessment; and 14
(c) Information concerning the grant made to the School District 15
by the Department pursuant to subsection 3. 16
Sec. 4. This act becomes effective on July 1, 2025, and expires 17
by limitation on June 30, 2026. 18

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