Rules and Procedures Matter

During the last two weeks, the legislative process proved that you have to know the rules to master the game.

 Legislators faced a deadline on Friday, April 12. Bills had to pass out of their first committee to continue through the process. If they didn't get the votes or a hearing, the bill died. WCSD continues to monitor many different bills (ranging from education policy issues to other topics that could impact the operations side of the school district) that survived the deadline. Check out the bills that weren't so lucky here.

 The April 12 deadline set us up for a week of numerous and long floor sessions in the Senate and Assembly. Bills were introduced, amended, and passed to the next committee for further discussion. Some bills even received a full vote by the Senate or Assembly. All this activity is leading up to yet another deadline tomorrow (Tuesday, April 23) when bills must get passed out of their first house to move forward.

Unless, the proposed legislation is exempt from this deadline, which usually means the bill has a fiscal impact. Exempt bills can stay alive throughout the process even if they miss the scheduled deadlines. The list of bills receiving an exemption is growing, and you can see that list here.

 As more deadlines draw near, we get a clearer picture of what the end of the session will look like and the impact it could have on WCSD.

AB 46 Lives On

The energy is high and momentum is positive on the district’s most important piece of legislation this session: AB 46.

It took an important step in the legislative process today and you can read more about the details here

Half Time Show

Day 60. This is a big day in the Nevada Legislature, for a couple reasons;

 First, it’s the halfway point of our statutorily limited 120 session, wich means, instead, instead of breaking for half time, things are speeding up exponentially as we approach the first important deadline on April 12. By April 12, all bills have to be passed out of their original committee assignment. Without a long civics lesson, if bills don’t have enough support to get passed in their first committee, they die and will no longer be viable in the 2013 legislative session.

Second, our legislators quit earning a paycheck. They still get reimbursed for their expenses, but they no longer earn a salary for being an elected official. Fortunately, I don’t think many, if any, of our state legislators run for office because of the salary they make while in office. That said, they do regularly remind us that they are working for free after day 60.

The days are long now, but important discussions about ELL, high school proficiency exams, evaluations, student health services, and early childhood programs consume the hours in the legislative building.

It’s time to get the team ready for the second half. Go WCSD!

Education bills are the minority majority

The number of bills proposed that could impact Washoe County School District grew exponentially Monday of this week as it was the last day for legislators to introduce their final language on how to change the law. While many of those bills could outline changes to the educational system, many are much more broad based, but would include our district. We follow many issues that may seem unrelated to education, but indirectly impact the district in other ways. Examples of these areas include child welfare, employment practices, contracts and purchasing, nutrition, social services, and transportation. So in the midst of trying to address all the educational needs we have around our own platform of early childhood, family engagement, college readiness, etc., we are actively participating in conversations on issues to reduce barriers and ensure that we don’t waste resources on unnecessary or onerous requirements operationally.

By the numbers 
Bills we are tracking: 150
Days left in session 74

Alphabet Soup – TLC, RPDP, STEM. Huh??

Alphabet Soup – TLC, RPDP, STEM. Huh??

Even for educators familiar with the lexicon, the acronyms in this world can be overwhelming. Everywhere I turn there is another acronym that needs explaining. This week at the legislature is no exception.

Yesterday, legislators received information from the Teachers and Leaders Council (TLC) that is creating the system for future teacher and administrator evaluations.

And, they heard an overview of the Regional Professional Development Program (RPDP) that deliver professional development to many of our teachers.

Tomorrow, the Senate Education committee will hear from a statewide panel of experts on the value of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs being implemented across the state, including here in Washoe County.

I anticipate there will be hearings about CCSS, SDLS, and the SPF in the near future. Stay tuned to find out about those exciting acronyms.

I’m sure there is a dictionary somewhere that has all the acronyms defined, and if you have it, please send it my way. Until then, I’ll be decoding them through the legislative process.

Education Week Wraps Up

Education Week Wraps Up

It was an exciting, but exhausting week for education advocates. We had hearings go well in to the evening on Monday and Wednesday in joint education hearings. Policy issues were heard and elicited significant public response around expansion of full-day kindergarten, expanding pre-K for our most at-risk students, limiting the practice of social promotion, and tightening and better reporting around class size reduction. Additionally, the first hearing on the district’s main budget, the Distributed School Account (DSA), was heard in a joint meeting of Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means.

There was a healthy amount of debate about the positive impacts and potential unintended consequences of all these issues, but one thing was clear – everyone wants to improve student achievement. That is a good sign.

Next week we will tackle additional education policy issues. There will be a presentation about the Teachers and Leaders Council as well as the Regional Professional Development Program (RPDP). WCSD is participating in all these discussions and representing the values of our board platform. There will also be a presentation about the increasing emphasis of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs.

There will also be a widely publicized hearing about what’s been deemed The Education Initiative (TEI) – an initiative petition largely facilitated by the Nevada State Teachers Association (NSEA). This initiative petition calls for a 2% margins tax on businesses generating over $1 million in revenue, and the money generated from this tax is intended to be added to the education budget in our state.

I’m already looking forward to updating you next week on the highlights of these discussions. Thanks for following this discussion. While Carson City may seem eons away, many of these decisions will ultimately impact the school and classroom level. Get engaged and take this biennial opportunity to have your voice heard by your legislators. Don’t know who they are? Find out here!

A Strong Start for AB 46

To say we are off to a fast start is a great understatement. Last week was a very active week, led by the first hearing of our bill, AB 46, that would secure additional funding for capital projects. It was an incredibly proud moment when a bi-partisan panel of the Northern Nevada legislative leaders sat next to each other, supporting the bill and asking their colleagues for their support. Our community also came out to support us a big way. Supporters of the bill filled the room in a show of support from business, labor, education, real estate, economic development and professionals from many fields. It was the first step in a long process, but it was a great kickoff on this piece of legislation.  Additional discussion about a proposed amendment to the bill will take place at the Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday, February 26th at 3 p.m.

We also participated in a discussion that outlined the significant budget shortfalls that we have endured the past five years. It was a sobering hearing and I believe it gave the new legislators much needed history on the budget statewide since the recession began.

The week of February 25 proves to be another important week with four important pieces of legislation being heard in joint meetings of Assembly and Senate Education committees. There will be an important emphasis on early childhood education including hearings on Monday about a proposal to provide mandatory, full day kindergarten for all children in the state as well as a proposal for pre-K programs at all of our at-risk schools. Wednesday will offer a chance to discuss the a proposal of class size reduction funding as well as a proposal to limit social promotion by enhancing early identification and intervention efforts.

The hallways at the legislative building are full of both philosophical and practical discussion about the needs of our education system, and I believe we will have ample opportunity to weigh with the needs and values of the Washoe County School District.