Charter school conversions, savings accounts among ‘education session’ reforms

“CCSD is still going to do everything in their power to fight it.”

Midnight Monday marked the official end of the 2015 Legislature and with it the end of the “education session,” named for the tremendous amount of attention paid this year to Nevada’s notoriously underachieving school system.

We talked to Seth Rau, policy director for the education think tank Nevada Succeeds, about what’s next for the session’s biggest education bills and what that means for Southern Nevada.

Assembly Bill 394: Breaking up the Clark County School District

The bill started as a way to give municipalities the ability to form their own school districts but was amended by Assembly Republican David Gardner to explicitly break up CCSD into five precincts in time for the 2018-19 school year.

The success of A.B. 394, which was considered a long shot after similar bills in previous sessions failed to go anywhere, was due almost entirely to Gardner’s willingness to change aspects of the bill to appease colleagues.

The final compromise came in the waning hours of the session, when a provision was added to require the breakup plan have the approval of a legislative board during the 2017 session. That means the School District could pursue a bill to stop the process.

“CCSD is still going to do everything in their power to fight it,” Rau said.

The next step is appointing the committees that will come up with the breakup plan. That likely will happen around September.

A.B. 448: Converting failing public schools into private charters

Based on an idea developed in postKatrina Louisiana and replicated in states such as Tennessee and Georgia, the Achievement School District would convert a handful of low-performing public schools into privately run charter schools.

WhilecriticizedbyCCSDandpassed along party lines by Republicans, the district was a key education reform on Gov. Brian Sandoval’s agenda. Conversion could begin as soon as 2016, which means there’s a short turnaround to get an Achievement School District set up.

A national search for the district’s executive director is under way and could be over later this year, Rau said.

“Whoever gets hired as the executive director is going to really guide the process. That’s the next big step,” he said.

Senate Bill 302: Giving parents more control

Arguably one of the most drastic pieces of school-choice legislation in the U.S. in recent years, the law will allowparentstoputthemoneythestate normally would pay a school to educate their child into a savings account.

That amounts to about $5,000 per student per year, which parents could use to pay for private school, tutoring and other educational services. Critics say redirecting tax funds will take money from already-struggling public schools. Supporters, including Sandoval, say it will inspire innovation.

The State Treasurer’s Office must write the program’s regulations before it takes effect at the beginning of next year. That could prove controversial, as Treasurer Dan Schwartz has been heavily criticized by both parties and parents ever since he released his own state budget that left out funding for a number of education programs.

Regardless, the law has the potential to spark a massive shift.

“I think it is the biggest game changer of any education bill that has been passed this session,” Rau said.

Seth Rau, Nevada Succeeds