(REPRINTED WITH ADOPTED AMENDMENTS)

 

Senate Bill No. 311–Senators Schneider, Neal and Shaffer

 

March 9, 2001

____________

 

Joint Sponsors: Assemblymen Buckley, Parks, Bache, Price, Beers, Arberry, Berman, Brown, Chowning, Claborn, Giunchigliani, Lee, Manendo, McClain, Mortenson and Tiffany

____________

 

Referred to Committee on Human Resources and Facilities

 

SUMMARY—Requires Clark County School District to establish special planning committee to plan for construction of smaller schools. (BDR S‑969)

 

FISCAL NOTE:  Effect on Local Government: Yes.

                             Effect on the State: No.

 

~

 

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

 

AN ACT relating to public schools; requiring the Board of Trustees of the Clark County School District to establish a special planning committee to plan for the construction of smaller schools; requiring the board to report to the Legislative Committee on Education concerning the activities of the special planning committee; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

   Whereas, The education of the children of the State of Nevada is of fundamental importance; and

   Whereas, Extraordinarily rapid population growth in certain counties has compelled some local governments to establish programs for school construction that require all new schools to be built to accommodate large numbers of pupils; and

   Whereas, Studies suggest that pupils who attend schools with relatively smaller pupil populations tend to perform better on academic tests, suffer from fewer social and behavioral problems and enjoy greater opportunities for participation in extracurricular activities, and that the parents of such pupils are more likely to become actively involved in such schools; and

   Whereas, It would be beneficial to the residents of this state if some of the new schools to be built in counties experiencing rapid population growth accommodated a comparatively smaller number of pupils so that the relative merits of smaller schools might be the more readily demonstrated; and

   Whereas, The explosive growth in population that is responsible for the exclusive reliance on schools intended to accommodate large numbers of pupils does not affect all parts of the state equally and, therefore, a general law to redress this problem cannot be made applicable; now, therefore,

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

1-1    Section 1. 1.  The Board of Trustees of the Clark County School

1-2  District shall establish a special planning committee to plan for the

1-3  construction of smaller schools within the district.

1-4    2.  The committee established pursuant to subsection 1 shall:

1-5    (a) Review research concerning the ideal size of different types of

1-6  schools and the benefits of smaller schools; and

1-7    (b) Make recommendations to the board concerning the construction of

1-8  smaller schools, including the construction of elementary schools, middle

1-9  schools, junior high schools and high schools.

1-10  3.  The Board of Trustees of the Clark County School District shall

1-11  report to the Legislative Committee on Education on or before

1-12  November 1, 2002, and November 1, 2004, and at such other times as the

1-13  board deems appropriate, concerning the activities of the committee

1-14  established pursuant to subsection 1.

1-15  Sec. 2.   This act expires by limitation on October 1, 2005.

 

1-16  H