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Published on December 18, 2024
Nevada Senate Leader Cannizzaro Proposes EDUCATE Act to Revamp State EducationSource: Google Street View

Earlier today, Nevada Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro announced an ambitious plan to overhaul the Silver State's education system. The Democrat's proposal, dubbed the Education through Accountability, Transparency, and Efficiency (EDUCATE) Act, is poised to be introduced during the 2025 legislative session. According to News3LV, Cannizzaro's initiative includes a hefty 20% raise for educators, bolstered training programs to combat teacher shortages, and the establishment of universal pre-kindergarten for all 4-year-olds.

In a more in-depth look provided by The Nevada Independent, the legislation, which may come with a $500 million price tag, also seeks to rectify governance issues uncovered in the Clark County School District by granting voting rights to appointed Clark County School District board members. Moreover, one of the noted improvements includes mandating minimum qualifications for superintendents and chief financial officers within school districts.

Cannizzaro’s EDUCATE Act also proposes the creation of a new School District Oversight Board that would have the authority to take remedial actions against districts failing to meet their legal obligations. "The EDUCATE Act is the result of a commitment I made a year ago to bring forward a package of education reforms that would improve outcomes for students, help us hire and retain great teachers and staff, and give parents more confidence in our educational system," Cannizzaro said in a statement obtained by News3LV.

In the realm of accountability, charter schools in Nevada would be under more stringent financial and performance reviews, with increased local input on charter applications. All charter school teachers would be required to obtain a license or endorsement from the Nevada Department of Education within five years. As for private schools which receive public funds via Opportunity Scholarships, they would need collecting and report the same level of demographic and enrollment information on scholarship recipients as their public counterparts, according to Cannizzaro in a The Nevada Independent interview.

With the Nevada Legislature's session just around the corner and Governor Joe Lombardo set to deliver his State of the State address in January, Cannizzaro's early pitch for the EDUCATE Act places her and the Democratic party's education agenda front and center. The proposal not only outlines key investments and reforms for the state's schools but also sets a tone for bipartisan cooperation in the pursuit of better educational outcomes for Nevada’s children.