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- 83rd Session (2025)
Senate Bill No. 115–Senators Cruz-Crawford and Doñate
Joint Sponsor: Assemblymember Moore
CHAPTER..........
AN ACT relating to education; authorizing the board of trustees of a
school district or governing body of a charter school to
provide a stipend to certain teachers who teach pupils
enrolled in a program of bilingual e ducation; requiring
information concerning such stipends to be included in
certain reports prepared by the board of trustees of each
school district and the governing body of each charter school;
requiring the Commission on Professional Standards in
Education to adopt regulations requiring teachers to hold an
endorsement to teach pupils enrolled in a program of
bilingual education; and providing other matters properly
relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law creates the Commission on Pr ofessional Standards in Education
and requires the Commission to adopt regulations prescribing the qualifications for
licensing teachers and other educational personnel. (NRS 391.011, 391.019) Under
existing law, such regulations must include a requirement that to be eligible to
teach in a field of specialization, a teacher is required to obtain from the
Department of Education an endorsement in that field of specialization, unless the
Superintendent of Public Instruction approves a request submitted by the board of
trustees of a school district to employ licensed teachers who do not hold an
endorsement to teach in a subject area for which there is a shortage of teachers at a
public school within the district. (NRS 391.019, 391.125) Existing regulations: (1)
require that to teach pupils enrolled in a program of bilingual education, a person
must hold an endorsement issued by the Department to teach pupils in a program of
bilingual education and pass an examination or assessment to demonstrate language
proficiency; and (2) establish the requirements for a person to obtain such an
endorsement. (NAC 391.059, 391.242) Section 4 of this bill specifically requires
the regulations adopted by the Commission to include a requirement that to teach
pupils enrolled in a p rogram of bilingual education, a person must hold an
endorsement issued by the Department to teach pupils in a program of bilingual
education. Section 3 of this bill authorizes the board of trustees of a school district
or the governing body of a charter s chool to provide a stipend of $2,500 each
school year to each teacher who is assigned to teach pupils enrolled in a program of
bilingual education and who: (1) holds an endorsement to teach pupils enrolled in a
program of bilingual education ; or (2) is currently enrolled in a course of study or
program of preparation that will satisfy the educational requirements to obtain an
endorsement to teach pupils enrolled in a program of bilingual education and is
authorized by law to teach pupils enroll ed in such a program . If such a stipend is
provided by a school district which has more than 100,000 pupils enrolled in its
public schools (currently Clark County School District) or a charter school, section
3 requires such a stipend to be paid out of the budget of the local school precinct or
charter school at which the teacher receiving the stipend is employed. For the
purposes of sections 3 and 4, a “program of bilingual education” is defined as a
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program of instruction for English learners in which pup ils are taught the English
language and the content of other courses of study is taught in the pupil’s primary
language.
Existing law requires the board of trustees of each school district and the
governing body of each charter school to submit an annual report to certain entities
that includes certain information on budgets and expenditures. (NRS 387.303,
388A.345) Sections 1 and 2 of this bill require such a report to additionally include
information on the number of employees who received the stipend de scribed in
section 3 in the preceding and then-current fiscal years.
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. NRS 387.303 is hereby amended to read as follows:
387.303 1. Not later than November 1 of each year, the board
of trustees of each school district shall submit to the Superintendent
of Public Instruction and the Department of Taxation a report which
includes the following information:
(a) For each fund within the school district, including, without
limitation, the school district’s general fund and any special revenue
fund which receives state money, the total number and salaries of
licensed and nonlicensed persons whose salaries are paid from the
fund and who are employed by the school district in full -time
positions or in part -time positions added together to represent full -
time positions. Information must be provided for the current school
year based upon the school district’s final budget, including any
amendments and augmentations thereto, and for the preceding
school year. An employee must be categorized as filling an
instructional, administrative, instructional support or other position.
(b) The school district’s actual expenditures in the fiscal year
immediately preceding the report.
(c) The school district’s proposed expenditures for the current
fiscal year.
(d) The schedule of salaries for licensed employees in the
current school year and a statement of whether the negotiations
regarding salaries for the current school year have been completed.
If the negotiations have not been completed at the time the schedule
of salaries is submitted, the board of trustees shall submit a
supplemental report to the Superintendent of Public Instruction upon
completion of negotiations or the determination of an arb itrator
concerning the negotiations that includes the schedule of salaries
agreed to or required by the arbitrator.
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(e) The number of employees who received an increase in salary
pursuant to NRS 391.161, 391.162 or 391.163 for the current and
preceding fiscal years. If the board of trustees is required to pay an
increase in salary retroactively pursuant to NRS 391.161, the board
of trustees shall submit a supplemental report to the Superintendent
of Public Instruction not later than February 15 of the year in which
the retroactive payment was made that includes the number of
teachers to whom an increase in salary was paid retroactively.
(f) The number of employees eligible for health insurance within
the school district for the current and preceding fiscal years and the
amount paid for health insurance for each such employee during
those years.
(g) The rates for fringe benefits, excluding health insurance,
paid by the school district for its licensed employees in the
preceding and current fiscal years.
(h) The amount paid for extra duties, supervision of
extracurricular activities and supplemental pay and the number of
employees receiving that pay in the preceding and current fiscal
years.
(i) The number of employees who received a stipend pursuant
to section 3 of this act in the preceding and current fiscal years.
2. On or before November 25 of each year, the Superintendent
of Public Instruction shall submit to the Office of Finance and the
Fiscal Analysis Division of the Legislative Counsel Bureau, in a
format approved by the Director of the Office of Finance, a
compilation of the reports made by each school district pursuant to
subsection 1.
3. In preparing the agency biennial budget request for the State
Education Fund for submission to the Office o f Finance, the
Superintendent of Public Instruction:
(a) Shall compile the information from the most recent
compilation of reports submitted pursuant to subsection 2; and
(b) May consider the cost of enhancements to existing programs
or the projected cost of proposed new educational programs,
regardless of whether those enhancements or new programs are
included in the adjusted base per pupil funding for inclusion in the
biennial budget request to the Office of Finance.
4. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall, in the
compilation required by subsection 2, reconcile the revenues of the
school districts with the apportionment received by those districts
from the State Education Fund for the preceding year.
5. The request prepared pursuant to subsection 3 must:
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(a) Be presented by the Superintendent of Public Instruction to
such standing committees of the Legislature as requested by the
standing committees for the purposes of developing educational
programs and providing appropriations for those programs; and
(b) Provide for a direct comparison of appropriations to the
proposed budget of the Governor submitted pursuant to subsection 4
of NRS 353.230.
Sec. 2. NRS 388A.345 is hereby amended to read as follows:
388A.345 1. On or before November 1 of each year, the
governing body of each charter school shall submit to the sponsor of
the charter school, the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the
Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau for transmission to the
Majority Leader of the Senate and the Speaker of the Assembly a
report that includes:
(a) A written description of the progress of the charter school in
achieving the mission and goals of the charter school set forth in its
application.
(b) For each fund maintained by the charter school, including,
without limitation, the general fund of the charter school and any
special revenue fund which receives state money, the total number
and salaries of licensed and nonlicensed persons whose salaries are
paid from the fund and who are employed by the governing body in
full-time positions or in part -time positions added together to
represent full-time positions. Information must be provided for the
current school year based upon the final budget of the charter
school, including any amendments and augmentations thereto, and
for the preceding school year. An employee must be categorized as
filling an instructional, administrative, instructional support or other
position.
(c) The actual expenditures of the charter school in the fiscal
year immediately preceding the report.
(d) The proposed expenditures of the charter school for the
current fiscal year.
(e) The salary schedule for licensed employees and nonlicensed
teachers in the current school year and a statement of whether salary
negotiations for the current school year have been completed. If
salary negotiations have not been completed at the time the sa lary
schedule is submitted, the governing body shall submit a
supplemental report to the Superintendent of Public Instruction upon
completion of negotiations.
(f) The number of employees eligible for health insurance within
the charter school for the curr ent and preceding fiscal years and the
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amount paid for health insurance for each such employee during
those years.
(g) The rates for fringe benefits, excluding health insurance,
paid by the charter school for its licensed employees in the
preceding and current fiscal years.
(h) The amount paid for extra duties, supervision of
extracurricular activities and supplemental pay and the number of
employees receiving that pay in the preceding and current fiscal
years.
(i) The number of employees who received a stipend pursuant
to section 3 of this act in the preceding and current fiscal years.
2. On or before November 25 of each year, the Superintendent
of Public Instruction shall submit to the Office of Finance and the
Fiscal Analysis Division of the Legisla tive Counsel Bureau, in a
format approved by the Director of the Office of Finance, a
compilation of the reports made by each governing body pursuant to
subsection 1.
3. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall, in the
compilation required by subsection 2, reconcile the revenues and
expenditures of the charter schools with the apportionment received
by those schools from the State Education Fund for the preceding
year.
Sec. 3. Chapter 391 of NRS is hereby amende d by adding
thereto a new section to read as follows:
1. Each school year, the board of trustees of a school district
or the governing body of a charter school may provide a stipend in
the amount of $2,500 to each teacher who is assigned to teach
pupils enrolled in a program of bilingual education and:
(a) Holds an endorsement to teach pupils enrolled in a
program of bilingual education; or
(b) Is currently enrolled in a course of study or program of
preparation to teach pupils enrolled in a program of bilingual
education, the completion of which will satisfy the educational
requirements to obtain an endorsement to teach pupils enrolled in
a program of bilingual education established by the Commission
pursuant to NRS 391.019, and is authorized by law to teach pupils
enrolled in a program of bilingual education notwithstanding the
regulations adopted by the Commission pursuant to paragraph (n)
of subsection 1 of NRS 391.019.
2. A teacher may not receive a stipend pursuant to this
section more than once per school year.
3. Any stipend provided to a teacher who is employed at a
local school precinct in a large school district or a charter school
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must be paid from the budget of the local school precinct or
charter school, as applicable.
4. As used in this section:
(a) “Large school district” has the meaning ascribed to it in
NRS 388G.530.
(b) “Local school precinct” has the meaning ascribed to it in
NRS 388G.535.
(c) “Program of bilingual education” means a program of
instruction for English learners in which pupils are taught the
English language and the content of other courses of study is
taught using the pupil’s primary language.
Sec. 4. NRS 391.019 is hereby amended to read as follows:
391.019 1. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 391.027,
the Commission shall adopt regulations:
(a) Prescribing the qualifications for licensing teachers and other
educational personnel and the procedures for the issuance and
renewal of those licenses. The regulations:
(1) Must include, without limitation, the qualifications for
licensing teachers and administrators pursuant to an alternative route
to licensure which provides that the required education and training
may be provided by any qualified provider which has been approved
by the Commission, including, without limitation, institutions of
higher education and other providers that operate independently of
an institution of higher education. The regulations adopted pursuant
to this subparagraph must:
(I) Establish the requirements for approval as a qualified
provider;
(II) Require a qualified provider to be selective in its
acceptance of students;
(III) Require a qualified provider to provide in -person or
virtual supervised, school -based experiences and ongoing s upport
for its students, such as mentoring and coaching;
(IV) Significantly limit the amount of course work
required or provide for the waiver of required course work for
students who achieve certain scores on tests;
(V) Allow for the completion in 2 years or less of the
education and training required under the alternative route to
licensure;
(VI) Provide that a person who has completed the
education and training required under the alternative route to
licensure and who has satisfied all other req uirements for licensure
may apply for a regular license pursuant to sub -subparagraph (VII)
regardless of whether the person has received an offer of
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employment from a school district, charter school or private school;
and
(VII) Upon the completion by a person of the education
and training required under the alternative route to licensure and the
satisfaction of all other requirements for licensure, provide for the
issuance of a regular license to the person pursuant to the provisions
of this chapter and the regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter.
(2) Must require an applicant for a license to teach middle
school or junior high school education or secondary education to
demonstrate proficiency in a field of specialization or area of
concentration by successfully completing course work prescribed by
the Department or completing a subject matter competency
examination prescribed by the Department with a score deemed
satisfactory.
(3) Must not prescribe qualifications which are more
stringent than th e qualifications set forth in NRS 391.0315 for a
licensed teacher who applies for an additional license in accordance
with that section.
(b) Identifying fields of specialization in teaching which require
the specialized training of teachers.
(c) Except a s otherwise provided in NRS 391.125, requiring
teachers to obtain from the Department an endorsement in a field of
specialization to be eligible to teach in that field of specialization.
(d) Setting forth the educational requirements a teacher must
satisfy to qualify for an endorsement in each field of specialization.
(e) Setting forth the qualifications and requirements for
obtaining a license or endorsement to teach American Sign
Language, including, without limitation, being registered with the
Aging and Disability Services Division of the Department of Health
and Human Services pursuant to NRS 656A.100 to engage in the
practice of sign language interpreting in a primary or secondary
educational setting.
(f) Requiring teachers and other educatio nal personnel to be
registered with the Aging and Disability Services Division pursuant
to NRS 656A.100 to engage in the practice of sign language
interpreting in a primary or secondary educational setting if they:
(1) Provide instruction or other educational services; and
(2) Concurrently engage in the practice of sign language
interpreting, as defined in NRS 656A.060.
(g) Prescribing course work on parental involvement and family
engagement. The Commission shall:
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(1) Work in cooperation with the Of fice of Parental
Involvement and Family Engagement created by NRS 385.630 in
developing the regulations required by this paragraph.
(2) Establish standards for professional development training
which may be used to satisfy any course work requirement
prescribed pursuant to this paragraph.
(h) Establishing the requirements for obtaining an endorsement
on the license of a teacher, administrator or other educational
personnel in cultural competency.
(i) Authorizing the Superintendent of Public Instruction to issue
a license by endorsement to an applicant who holds an equivalent
license or authorization issued by a governmental entity in another
country if the Superintendent determines that the qualifications for
the equivalent license or authorization are s ubstantially similar to
those prescribed pursuant to paragraph (a).
(j) Establishing the requirements for obtaining an endorsement
on the license of a teacher, administrator or other educational
personnel in teaching courses relating to financial literacy.
(k) Authorizing a person who is employed as a paraprofessional
and enrolled in a program to become a teacher to complete an
accelerated program of student teaching in the same or a
substantially similar area in which the person is employed as a
paraprofessional while remaining employed as a paraprofessional.
(l) Requiring the Department to accept a program of student
teaching or other teaching experience completed in another state or
foreign country by an applicant for a license if the Department
determines that the program or experience substantially fulfills the
standards of a program of student teaching in this State.
(m) Authorizing a person who is employed by a public school to
provide support or other services relating to school psychology, if
the person does not hold a license or endorsement as a school
psychologist but is enrolled in a program that would allow the
person to obtain such a license or endorsement, to complete a
program of internship in school psychology while remaining
employed in such a position.
(n) Requiring that, to teach pupils enrolled in a program of
bilingual education, a teacher obtain an endorsement to teach
pupils enrolled in a program of bilingual education. As used in
this paragraph, “program of bilingual education” has the
meaning ascribed to it in section 3 of this act.
(o) To carry out the provisions of NRS 391B.010.
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2. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 391.027, the
Commission may adopt such other regulations as it deems necessary
for its own government or to carry out its duties.
3. Any regulation which increases the amount of education,
training or experience required for licensing:
(a) Must, in addition to the requirements for publication in
chapter 233B of NRS, be publicized before its adoption in a mann er
reasonably calculated to inform those persons affected by the
change.
(b) Must not become effective until at least 1 year after the date
it is adopted by the Commission.
(c) Is not applicable to a license in effect on the date the
regulation becomes effective.
Sec. 5. (Deleted by amendment.)
Sec. 6. This act becomes effective on July 1, 2025.
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