Nevada

The 77th session of the Nevada legislature met for the biennial session from March to June 2013 for 120 days. Several important education issues were considered, including a new formula for funding higher education in the state, K–12 funding for high-cost students, pay for state workers, the state retirement system, faculty retention, the need for a revenue overhaul, and taxes.

• • The 2013–2015 biennial state budget of $6.6 billion was approved, with the largest share ($2.5 billion) allotted to K–12 education. For the first time, funding will be provided for English language learners. Also funded was all-day kindergarten for low-income students, technology for gifted and talented students, and class size reductions.

• • The budget represents an increase in education funding of $489 million from the current biennium to the next, which is a 7.8% increase. For the biennium, the basic support will rise by $189 million, which is an increase of more than $300 per student.

• • The weighted average amount of basic support/foundation for 2013–2014 is $5,590 per pupil, with individual school district support ranging from $5,457 to $15,916 (an increase of 4%). For 2014–2015, the average statewide per-pupil support is estimated at $5,676 (an increase of 1.5%).

• • The number and distribution of special education units is the same; however, the per-unit allocation will increase from $39,768 per unit to $41,608 per unit in FY 2014 and $42,745 per unit in FY 2015.

• • The budget provides $50 million across the biennium to address the needs of Nevada’s English language learners. For FY 2014 it was approved at $24,950,000 ($19,710,500 for Clark, $3,742,500 for Washoe school districts, and $1,497,000 allocated to the other school districts and charter schools).

• • Class size reduction for grades 1–3 was funded at a student/teacher ratio 16:1 for 1st and 2nd grades, and at 19:1 for 3rd grade, but continues the +2 student flexibility for class size reduction for grades one through three or, in the alternative class-size reduction program for rural districts, in grades one through six.

• • The Task Force on K–12 Public Education Funding was created to recommend a plan for funding public schools based on a weighted formula that takes into account the individual educational needs and demographic characteristics of pupils and prescribe the membership and duties of the task force (SB 500).

• • In the area of early childhood education, $30 million has been committed for expansion of full-day kindergarten, moving the state from 124 schools with full-day kindergarten to 201. The new law commits more than $50 million over the biennium for class size reduction in kindergarten.

• • State workers, including teachers and higher education faculty, have taken furloughs and pay cuts since 2009. The legislature restored 2.5% in pay cuts and continued six unpaid furlough days a year. Also, merit funding was restored the second year of the biennium (FY 2015).

• • A weighted student formula for funding higher education was approved, based on a student’s degree level and subject area. It will shift funding from northern institutions to southern institutions, where enrollments have been growing. An important element of the approach encourages enrollment growth by allowing all tuition and fees to be retained by the institutions and not counted against state funding. The formula also includes a “carve out” of money to support performance funding, such as completions and graduation, with key metrics established for each institution. A Knowledge Fund reserves $10 million to support research, such as technology outreach, to promote the Nevada economy.

• • The Guinn Millennium Scholarship program, which funds college students who achieved high grades in high school, was allocated an additional $5 million, which will keep it solvent through 2017. Originally, Governor Sandavol proposed $2 million of the funds to pay for the Teach for America Program, but the legislature used the funds for the Millennium scholarship instead.

• • Up to $602 million in temporary taxes that would have expired June 30, 2013, were extended, including sales taxes of 7.75...