Nevada governor reveals education reform bill, vows ‘district-level accountability’

Gov. Joe Lombardo outlined a sweeping education bill Friday that aims to increase accountability of school districts.

The Nevada Accountability in Education Act includes bonuses for high-performing teachers, expanded open enrollment policies and what he called a “tiered intervention system” that puts chronically under-performing schools under the microscope.

“For the first time in Nevada’s history, we are placing this district-level accountability at the center of our education system,” Lombardo said at Pinecrest Academy in Sloan Canyon.

“Superintendents and school boards — those with the most power — will now be held directly responsible for students’ outcomes, educator support and overall school performance,” he continued.

The bill text was not available Friday. Lombardo expects it to be available early next week.

Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro, D-Las Vegas, is also expected next week to present her education bill, the Education through Accountability, Transparency, and Efficiency (EDUCATE) Act, which also includes accountability measures and retention of teacher pay raises.

Lombardo said the bills have similar aspects, but there are some differences. He and Democratic leadership will have discussions and determine the most important aspects, the “hills to die on,” he said.

“The elephant in the room is, we are getting along. We are communicating,” he said. “She and I are looking forward to the initial conversations coming next week.”

Education has been a point of friction for the Democratic majority and the Republican governor. Last legislative session, they played a game of tug-of-war with their priorities. Democrats wanted universal school lunches, while Lombardo and legislative Republicans wanted an expansion of the Opportunity Scholarship program, need-based scholarships for students to use for private school.

While neither got exactly what they wanted, they managed to extend olive branches and pass the largest increase in state funding for education and Assembly Bill 400, which authorized a city or county to sponsor a charter school in certain circumstances and created the Early Childhood Literacy and Readiness Account and the Teach Nevada Scholarship Program.

“I am proud of what we’ve done so far, but let us be clear: We can no longer accept lack of funding as an excuse for chronic underperformance,” Lombardo said.

The education bill is one of five priority bills from the governor. Lombardo has already presented his housing bill to the Legislature and introduced his crime bill.

Education bill details

The Nevada Accountability in Education Act proposes establishing a dedicated account called the Excellence in Education Account within the State Education Fund to reward continuously high-performing teachers with bonuses, according to a summary provided by the governor’s office.

The account will be funded by surplus dollars from the Education Stabilization Account. It’ll not exceed $30 million and will pay out financial incentives of up to 10 percent of a teacher’s salary, according to Steve Canavero, the state’s interim superintendent of public instruction, who spoke during the news conference Friday.

On accountability, the bill aims to judge schools on a district-wide level through its performances and governance, which includes leadership instability, financial hardship or systemic inequity, Canavero said. Chronically underperforming schools will be given two-year improvement plans, and it will be the responsibility of the school board to support the school, he said.

Once the school improves, the two-year probation will end, Canavero said.

Lombardo’s bill calls to expand open enrollment policies and require districts to provide transportation funding for students who live by low-performing schools to attend a high-ranked school, such as charter schools or state-approved private schools.

“No child from Nevada should be trapped in a failing school because of their ZIP code or held back because of how much their parents or guardians earn,” Lombardo said.

His bill also calls for equitable funding and support for charter schools, a $1 million Empowering Parents Account to assist parents in expenses relating to the Read by 3 program, and an increase in legal protections for teachers who intervene in altercations. The bill would also create the Nevada Integrity in Academic Funding Program to ensure funds are being used for their intended purpose and distributed responsibly.

A murky future for funding

Every bill’s fate in the Legislature rests on how much funding the state can bring in, which will come out at the Economic Forum next week. Multiple sources say the state is bracing for weaker-than-expected revenues in the Economic Forum report, a state-mandated forecast that informs the Legislature’s budgeting process.

If there have to be cuts, Lombardo said he and the Legislature will go through the “hierarchy of needs.” Education is at the top, along with Medicaid, Medicare and health care, the governor said.

“I fully intend to ensure that education stays whole through this process,” Lombardo said.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.