(REPRINTED WITH ADOPTED AMENDMENTS)

 

Senate Bill No. 399–Senator Care

 

March 19, 2001

____________

 

Referred to Committee on Human Resources and Facilities

 

SUMMARY—Revises provisions governing charter schools. (BDR 34‑859)

 

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 education; prohibiting boards of trustees of school districts and employees of school districts from soliciting or accepting gifts or money from a committee to form a charter school and the governing body, officers or employees of a charter school; revising provisions relating to the employment of teachers of a charter school; revising other provisions relating to charter schools; providing a penalty; 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.  Chapter 386 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a new section to read as follows:

1-1    1.  Unless otherwise authorized by specific statute, it is unlawful for a

1-2  member of the board of trustees of a school district or an employee of a

1-3  school district to solicit or accept any gift or payment of money on his

1-4  own behalf or on behalf of the school district or for any other purpose

1-5  from a member of a committee to form a charter school, the governing

1-6  body of a charter school, or any officer or employee of a charter school.

1-7    2.  This section does not prohibit the payment of a salary or other

1-8  compensation or income to a member of the board of trustees or an

1-9  employee of a school district for services provided in accordance with a

1-10  contract made pursuant to NRS 386.560.

1-11    3.  A person who violates subsection 1 shall be punished for a

1-12  misdemeanor.

1-13    Secs. 2‑6. (Deleted by amendment.)

1-14    Sec. 7.  NRS 386.590 is hereby amended to read as follows:

1-15    386.590  1.  Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, at least

1-16  70 percent of the teachers who provide instruction at a charter school must

1-17  be licensed teachers. If a charter school is a vocational school, the charter

1-18  school shall, to the extent practicable, ensure that at least 70 percent of the

1-19  teachers who provide instruction at the school are licensed teachers, but in

2-1  no event may more than 50 percent of the teachers who provide instruction

2-2  at the school be unlicensed teachers.

2-3    2.  A governing body of a charter school shall employ:

2-4    (a) If the charter school offers instruction in kindergarten or grade 1, 2,

2-5  3, 4 or 5, a licensed teacher to teach pupils who are enrolled in those

2-6  grades.

2-7    (b) If the charter school offers instruction in grade 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or

2-8  12, a licensed teacher to teach pupils who are enrolled in those grades for

2-9  the following courses of study:

2-10      (1) English, including reading, composition and writing;

2-11      (2) Mathematics;

2-12      (3) Science; and

2-13      (4) Social studies, which includes only the subjects of history,

2-14  geography, economics and government.

2-15    (c) In addition to the requirements of paragraphs (a) and (b):

2-16      (1) If a charter school specializes in arts and humanities, physical

2-17  education or health education, a licensed teacher to teach those courses of

2-18  study.

2-19      (2) If a charter school specializes in the construction industry or other

2-20  building industry, licensed teachers to teach courses of study relating to the

2-21  industry if those teachers are employed full time.

2-22      (3) If a charter school specializes in the construction industry or other

2-23  building industry and the school offers courses of study in computer

2-24  education, technology or business, licensed teachers to teach those courses

2-25  of study if those teachers are employed full time.

2-26  It is unlawful for the governing body of a charter school to employ any

2-27  teacher pursuant to this subsection who is not legally qualified to teach

2-28  all the grades that the teacher is engaged to teach.

2-29    3.  A charter school may employ a person who is not licensed pursuant

2-30  to the provisions of chapter 391 of NRS to teach a course of study for

2-31  which a licensed teacher is not required pursuant to subsection 2 if the

2-32  person has:

2-33    (a) A degree, a license or a certificate in the field for which he is

2-34  employed to teach at the charter school; and

2-35    (b) At least 2 years of experience in that field.

2-36    4.  A charter school may employ such administrators for the school as

2-37  it deems necessary. A person employed as an administrator must possess:

2-38    (a) A master’s degree in school administration, public administration or

2-39  business administration; or

2-40    (b) If the person has at least 5 years of experience in administration, a

2-41  baccalaureate degree.

2-42    5.  A charter school shall not employ a person pursuant to this section if

2-43  his license to teach or provide other educational services has been revoked

2-44  or suspended in this state or another state.

2-45    6.  On or before November 15 of each year, a charter school shall

2-46  submit to the department, in a form prescribed by the superintendent of

2-47  public instruction, the following information for each licensed employee

2-48  who is employed by the governing body on October 1 of that year:

2-49    (a) The amount of salary of the employee; and

3-1    (b) The designated assignment, as that term is defined by the

3-2  department, of the employee.

3-3    Sec. 8.  (Deleted by amendment.)

3-4    Sec. 9.  NRS 386.600 is hereby amended to read as follows:

3-5    386.600  1.  On or before November 15 of each year, the governing

3-6  body of each charter school shall submit to the sponsor of the charter

3-7  school, the superintendent of public instruction , the governor and the

3-8  director of the legislative counsel bureau for transmission to the majority

3-9  leader of the senate and the speaker of the assembly a report that includes:

3-10    (a) A written description of the progress of the charter school in

3-11  achieving the mission and goals of the charter school set forth in its

3-12  application.

3-13    (b) For each licensed employee and nonlicensed teacher employed by

3-14  the charter school on October 1 of that year:

3-15      (1) The amount of salary of the employee; and

3-16      (2) The designated assignment, as that term is defined by the

3-17  department, of the employee.

3-18    (c) For each fund maintained by the charter school, including, without

3-19  limitation, the general fund of the charter school and any special revenue

3-20  fund which receives state money, the total number and salaries of licensed

3-21  and nonlicensed persons whose salaries are paid from the fund and who are

3-22  employed by the governing body in full-time positions or in part-time

3-23  positions added together to represent full-time positions. Information must

3-24  be provided for the current school year based upon the final budget of the

3-25  charter school, including any amendments and augmentations thereto, and

3-26  for the preceding school year. An employee must be categorized as filling

3-27  an instructional, administrative, instructional support or other position.

3-28    (d) The count of pupils who are enrolled in a charter school in:

3-29      (1) Kindergarten;

3-30      (2) Grades 1 to 12, inclusive; and

3-31      (3) Special education pursuant to NRS 388.440 to 388.520, inclusive.

3-32    (e) The actual expenditures of the charter school in the fiscal year

3-33  immediately preceding the report.

3-34    (f) The proposed expenditures of the charter school for the current fiscal

3-35  year.

3-36    (g) The salary schedule for licensed employees and nonlicensed

3-37  teachers in the current school year and a statement of whether salary

3-38  negotiations for the current school year have been completed. If salary

3-39  negotiations have not been completed at the time the salary schedule is

3-40  submitted, the governing body shall submit a supplemental report to the

3-41  superintendent of public instruction upon completion of negotiations.

3-42    (h) The number of employees eligible for health insurance within the

3-43  charter school for the current and preceding fiscal years and the amount

3-44  paid for health insurance for each such employee during those years.

3-45    (i) The rates for fringe benefits, excluding health insurance, paid by the

3-46  charter school for its licensed employees in the preceding and current fiscal

3-47  years.

4-1    (j) The amount paid for extra duties, supervision of extracurricular

4-2  activities and supplemental pay, and the number of employees receiving

4-3  that pay in the preceding and current fiscal years.

4-4    2.  On or before November 25 of each year, the superintendent of

4-5  public instruction shall submit to the governor, the department of

4-6  administration and the fiscal analysis division of the legislative counsel

4-7  bureau, in a format approved by the director of the department of

4-8  administration, a compilation of the reports made by each governing body

4-9  pursuant to subsection 1.

4-10    3.  The superintendent of public instruction shall, in the compilation

4-11  required by subsection 2, reconcile the revenues and expenditures of the

4-12  charter schools with the apportionment received by those schools from the

4-13  state distributive school account for the preceding year.

4-14    Secs. 10‑29.  (Deleted by amendment.)

4-15    Sec. 30.  NRS 391.170 is hereby amended to read as follows:

4-16    391.170  1.  Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, a teacher or

4-17  other employee for whom a license is required is not entitled to receive any

4-18  portion of public money for schools as compensation for services rendered

4-19  unless:

4-20    (a) He is legally employed by the board of trustees of the school district

4-21  or the governing body of the charter school in which he is teaching or

4-22  performing other educational functions.

4-23    (b) He has a license authorizing him to teach or perform other

4-24  educational functions at the level and in the field for which he is employed,

4-25  issued in accordance with law and in full force at the time the services are

4-26  rendered.

4-27    2.  The provisions of subsection 1 do not prohibit the payment of public

4-28  money to teachers or other employees who are employed by a charter

4-29  school for a whom a license is not required pursuant to the provisions of

4-30  NRS 386.590 . [and 386.595.]

4-31    Sec. 31.  NRS 391.31965 is hereby amended to read as follows:

4-32    391.31965  Any postprobationary employee of a school district of

4-33  Nevada who is employed by another school district or charter school must

4-34  be allowed to continue as a postprobationary employee and must not be

4-35  required to serve the probationary period required by subsection 1 of NRS

4-36  391.3197.

4-37    Secs. 32‑35.  (Deleted by amendment.)

4-38    Sec. 36.  NRS 288.060 is hereby amended to read as follows:

4-39    288.060  “Local government employer” means any political

4-40  subdivision of this state or any public or quasi-public corporation

4-41  organized under the laws of this state and includes, without limitation,

4-42  counties, cities, unincorporated towns, charter schools, school districts,

4-43  hospital districts, irrigation districts and other special districts.

4-44    Secs. 37‑39.  (Deleted by amendment.)

4-45    Sec. 40.  The amendatory provisions of this act do not apply to

4-46  offenses committed before July 1, 2001.

4-47    Sec. 41.  (Deleted by amendment.)

 

 

5-1    Sec. 42.  This act becomes effective on July 1, 2001.

 

5-2  H