Assembly Bill No. 571-Assemblymen Gustavson, Cegavske, Tiffany, Von Tobel, Berman, Marvel, Carpenter and Hettrick
June 7, 1997
____________
Referred to Committee on Education
SUMMARY--Provides in skeleton form for temporary program of voucher schools. (BDR 34-1308)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: Yes.
Effect on the State or on Industrial Insurance: Yes.
EXPLANATION - Matter in italics is new; matter in brackets [ ] is material to be omitted.
AN ACT relating to education; providing in skeleton form for a temporary program of voucher schools; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1 NRS 387.045 is hereby amended to read as follows:
387.0451. [No] Except as otherwise provided in section 15 of this act, no portion of the public school [funds] money or of the money specially appropriated for the purpose of public schools [shall] may be devoted to any other object or purpose.
2. No portion of the public school [funds shall] money may in any way be segregated, divided or set apart for the use or benefit of any sectarian or secular society or association.
Sec. 2 NRS 387.123 is hereby amended to read as follows:
387.1231. The count of pupils for apportionment purposes includes all those who are enrolled in programs of instruction of the school district and all pupils who are enrolled in programs of instruction at qualified private voucher schools located in the school district on behalf of whom payment is required to be made by the school district pursuant to section 15 of this act, for:
(a) Pupils in the kindergarten department.
(b) Pupils in grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
(c) Pupils not included under paragraph (a) or (b) who are receiving special education pursuant to the provisions of NRS 388.440 to 388.520, inclusive.
(d) Children detained in detention homes, alternative programs and juvenile forestry camps receiving instruction pursuant to the provisions of NRS 388.550, 388.560 and 388.570.
(e) Part-time pupils enrolled in classes and taking courses necessary to receive a high school diploma.
2. The state board [of education] shall establish uniform regulations for counting enrollment and calculating the average daily attendance of pupils. In establishing such regulations for the public schools, the state board:
(a) Shall divide the school year into 10 school months, each containing 20 or fewer school days.
(b) May divide the pupils in grades 1 to 12, inclusive, into categories composed respectively of those enrolled in elementary schools and those enrolled in secondary schools.
(c) Shall prohibit the counting of any pupil specified in subsection 1 more than once.
3. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 388.700, the state board [of education] shall establish by regulation the maximum pupil-teacher ratio in each grade, and for each subject matter wherever different subjects are taught in separate classes, for each school district of the state which is consistent with:
(a) The maintenance of an acceptable standard of instruction;
(b) The conditions prevailing in the school district with respect to the number and distribution of pupils in each grade; and
(c) Methods of instruction used, which may include educational television, team teaching or new teaching systems or techniques.
If the superintendent of public instruction finds that any school district is maintaining one or more classes whose pupil-teacher ratio exceeds the applicable maximum, and unless he finds that the board of trustees of the school district has made every reasonable effort in good faith to comply with the applicable standard, he shall, with the approval of the state board, reduce the count of pupils for apportionment purposes by the percentage which the number of pupils attending those classes is of the total number of pupils in the district, and the state board may direct him to withhold the quarterly apportionment entirely.
Sec. 3 NRS 387.205 is hereby amended to read as follows:
387.2051. Money on deposit in the county school district fund or in a separate account, if the board of trustees of a school district has elected to establish such an account under the provisions of NRS 354.603, must be used for:
(a) Maintenance and operation of public schools.
(b) Payment of premiums for Nevada industrial insurance.
(c) Rent of schoolhouses.
(d) Construction, furnishing or rental of teacherages, when approved by the superintendent of public instruction.
(e) Transportation of pupils, including the purchase of new buses.
(f) Programs of nutrition, if such expenditures do not curtail the established school program or make it necessary to shorten the school term, and each pupil furnished lunch whose parent or guardian is financially able so to do pays at least the actual cost of the lunch.
(g) Membership fees, dues and contributions to an interscholastic activities association.
(h) Payments to voucher schools pursuant to section 15 of this act.
2. Money on deposit in the county school district fund, or in a separate account, if the board of trustees of a school district has elected to establish such an account under the provisions of NRS 354.603, when available, may be used for:
(a) Purchase of sites for school facilities.
(b) Purchase of buildings for school use.
(c) Repair and construction of buildings for school use.
Sec. 4 Chapter 388 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto the provisions set forth as sections 5 to 17, inclusive, of this act.
Sec. 5 As used in sections 5 to 17, inclusive, of this act, unless the context otherwise requires, the words and terms defined in sections 6 to 9, inclusive, of this act, have the meanings ascribed to them in those sections.
Sec. 6 "Per capita cost of education" means the total amount of money expended by a school district during the preceding school year for the education of pupils in the public schools in the district, excluding any amount which constitutes debt service on bonds, divided by the number of pupils who attended the public schools in the district during the preceding school year.
Sec. 7 "Qualified private voucher school" means a private elementary or secondary school which has been certified by the department as eligible to receive vouchers.
Sec. 8 "Voucher" means a document that may be exchanged by a voucher school with a school district for money for the educational expenses of a pupil who attends the voucher school.
Sec. 9 "Voucher school" means any school that has been certified by the department as eligible to receive vouchers, including, without limitation, a qualified private voucher school.
Sec. 10 1. The department shall adopt regulations:
(a) Establishing a program pursuant to which vouchers that may be used for the educational expenses of pupils who attend voucher schools are issued by the department to the parents or guardians of pupils.
(b) As necessary to carry out the provisions of sections 5 to 17, inclusive, of this act.
2. The regulations must not require any school to become a voucher school.
Sec. 11 1. If a public school wishes to become a voucher school, a simple majority of the teachers of the school and the families of the pupils currently enrolled in the school must vote to become a voucher school at least 180 days before the beginning of the school year in which the school wishes to become a voucher school. Each teacher at the school and each family of a pupil currently enrolled in the school must receive one vote.
2. Upon electing to become a voucher school, the school shall so notify the department and the school district in which the school is located.
3. Upon receiving notification from a public school of its election to become a voucher school, the department shall certify the school as a voucher school.
4. Certification as a voucher school pursuant to this section is valid for each succeeding school year unless revoked by the department or upon request of the school.
Sec. 12 1. If a private school wishes to become a voucher school, the private school shall apply to the department for certification as a qualified private voucher school. The application must be made on a form developed and made available by the department. The department shall make such investigation and inquiries as it finds necessary to determine the qualifications of the private school for certification.
2. The department shall grant certification if it finds from the application and its investigation and inquiries that the private school:
(a) Is located in this state;
(b) Is nonsectarian;
(c) Charges tuition or fees for educating pupils; and
(d) Is in compliance with the laws of this state and the United States.
3. The department shall establish a fee which must be submitted with an application for certification. The fee must be sufficient to cover the costs incurred by the department in processing the application and making the necessary investigation and inquiries concerning the application.
4. Certification as a qualified private voucher school pursuant to this section is valid for each succeeding school year unless revoked by the department or upon request of the school.
Sec. 13 A school may not retain its status as a voucher school unless it:
1. Administers a national examination that measures the achievement and proficiency of its pupils each year.
2. Releases the scores of its pupils on the national examination in statistical form, without the names of the pupils, to the department.
3. Releases the score of each pupil directly to the parent or guardian of the pupil.
4. Complies with all other provisions of sections 5 to 17, inclusive, of this act.
Sec. 14 Each voucher school shall submit annually a list of the names of the pupils enrolled in the school to the department and the school district in which the school is located.
Sec. 15 1. On an annual basis, a voucher school is entitled to receive payment from the school district in which the voucher school is located upon submission of a voucher to the school district for a pupil who attends the voucher school for the entire school year. The school must be paid an amount equal to 100 percent of the per capita cost of education of such a pupil in the public schools located in the school district in which the voucher school is located.
2. For a pupil specified in subsection 1 who attends the voucher school for less than the entire school year, the annual amount which the school is entitled to receive from the school district for that pupil as set forth in subsection 1 is reduced proportionately.
3. The total annual payment to which a voucher school is entitled pursuant to this section must be made in periodic payments throughout the year. Within 30 days after receiving an apportionment of money from the state pursuant to NRS 387.124, the board of trustees of a school district shall cause a payment to be made to each voucher school in that district which is entitled to receive such payments. Subject to the adjustment and withholding authorized by this section, each payment must be in the same proportion to the total annual payment to which the voucher school is entitled as the portion of the school year which the payment is intended to cover bears to the total school year.
4. The periodic payments required by this section are subject to adjustment by the school district as necessary to account for changes in the enrollment of pupils in a voucher school, or other changes affecting the total annual payment to which a voucher school is entitled.
5. From each payment otherwise due a voucher school pursuant to this section, the school district may withhold an amount equal to 1 percent of the payment to cover the administrative expenses of the school district in carrying out the provisions of this section.
Sec. 16 Each voucher school shall:
1. Make available, on an annual basis, to pupils, parents or guardians of pupils, the department and the general public information regarding:
(a) The history of the school and its memberships and affiliations;
(b) The status of all licenses presently and previously issued to the school by all jurisdictions;
(c) The status of all accreditations granted to the school by state, regional and national organizations;
(d) Its educational program, including its curriculum and teaching methods;
(e) The areas of study and the values which it emphasizes, including a statement of its mission and goals;
(f) Its dress code;
(g) Its disciplinary code;
(h) The qualifications possessed by its teachers and staff;
(i) The pupil-teacher ratio for each grade at the school;
(j) The average performance by its pupils on achievement tests that are administered nationwide;
(k) Its admission criteria;
(l) The percentage of its pupils who graduate and the percentage of its pupils who withdraw from school; and
(m) Its rate of success both in placing pupils in jobs and in institutions of higher education.
2. Provide to the department assurance that the voucher school has not discriminated based on race, gender or income in its admission policies.
Sec. 17 1. A voucher school may charge tuition or other fees that exceed those covered by a voucher, except that a voucher school shall accept payments from a school district pursuant to section 15 of this act as full payment of the tuition and fees of a pupil who attends the school, is domiciled in the school district in which the school is located and is:
(a) A pupil with a disability; or
(b) A low-income pupil, as defined by the department by regulation.
2. As used in this section, "pupil with a disability" has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 388.440.
Sec. 18 On or before October 1, 2000, each voucher school shall submit to the department such information as is requested by the department for the purpose of completing the report required by section 19 of this act.
Sec. 19 1. On or before January 1, 2001, the department shall prepare a report of its findings and recommendations regarding the voucher schools in this state and submit the report to the director of the legislative counsel bureau for transmittal to the 71st session of the Nevada legislature for its review.
2. The report must include, for each year from 1997 to 2000, inclusive:
(a) For each school district:
(1) The number of pupils that were enrolled in each voucher school; and
(2) The number of pupils that dropped out of each voucher school.
(b) For each voucher school:
(1) The number of pupils that applied for admission;
(2) The number of pupils that were accepted;
(3) The number of pupils that attended the voucher school; and
(4) The number of complaints that were filed with the department regarding discrimination in the admission process of the voucher school.
Sec. 20 The provisions of subsection 1 of NRS 354.599 do not apply to any additional expenses of a local government that are related to the provisions of this act.
Sec. 21 This act becomes effective on July 1, 1997, and expires by limitation on June 30, 2001.