SB396 - Makes various changes relating to education. (BDR 34-912)

EXEMPT (Reprinted with amendments adopted on April 21, 2025) FIRST REPRINT S.B. 396 - *SB396_R1* SENATE BILL NO. 396–SENATOR ROGICH MARCH 17, 2025 ____________ Referred to Committee on Education SUMMARY—Makes various changes relating to education. (BDR 34-912) FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: May have Fiscal Impact. Effect on the State: Yes. CONTAINS UNFUNDED MANDATE (§§ 4, 9) (NOT REQUESTED BY AFFECTED LOCAL GOVERNMENT) ~ EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. AN ACT relating to education; requiring the Department of Education to establish a program to provide certain professional development relating to literacy instruction; requiring the submission of certain reports concerning literacy and the academic growth of pupils identified as having a reading disability; prohibiting various classes and services for pupils with certain disabilities from exceeding certain size limitations; setting forth certain requirements governing special education classrooms; setting forth certain provisions governing pupils with disabilities who require educational stability; revising provisions governing the safety of pupils in schools; revising certain definitions concerning pupils with disabilities; revising provisions governing instruction and services provided to certain pupils with disabilities; revising provisions governing early literacy screening assessments; revising provisions governing pupils with dyslexia; revising provisions governing due process hearings; revising provisions governing the suspension and expulsion of certain pupils; requiring the submission of certain reports; and providing other matters properly relating thereto. – 2 – - *SB396_R1* Legislative Counsel’s Digest: Existing law requires the Department of Education to ensure compliance with 1 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, federal regulations adopted 2 pursuant to the Act and statutes and regulations of this State that govern the 3 education of pupils with disabilities. (20 U.S.C. §§ 1400 et seq.; 34 C.F.R. Part 4 300; NRS 388.417-388.5243) Existing law requires public schools to provide 5 special programs and services for pupils with disabilities. (NRS 388.419, 388.429) 6 Existing law sets forth various definitions that apply to provisions governing pupils 7 with disabilities. (NRS 388.417) Section 4 of this bill prohibits the board of trustees 8 of a school district or the governing body of a charter school from: (1) making 9 certain assignments for teachers, paraprofessionals or instructional aides who 10 provide instruction to pupils with disabilities; and (2) exceeding various limitations 11 on the number of pupils with certain disabilities who may be in a classroom or 12 receive certain support. Section 4 additionally sets forth certain requirements 13 governing: (1) the placement of pupils in special education classrooms; and (2) the 14 composition of such classrooms. Section 5 of this bill: (1) requires the Department 15 to develop a plan to establish stability in providing a program of special education 16 to pupils; (2) sets forth certain requirements for the plan; and (3) requires an 17 individualized education program team to make certain considerations when 18 developing an individualized education program for a pupil with a disability who is 19 subject to an educational regression because of frequent changes in the location in 20 which special education services are provided. Section 9 of this bill: (1) requires 21 the State Board of Education to develop certain guidelines concerning the universal 22 literacy screening administered pursuant to section 11 of this bill; and (2) revises 23 and sets forth, respectively, the minimum standards the State Board is required to 24 prescribe for programs of instruction or special services for pupils with dyslexia 25 and pupils with emotional disturbances, autism spectrum disorder or developmental 26 delays. Section 8 of this bill: (1) revises certain definitions; and (2) creates certain 27 definitions that apply to provisions governing pupils with disabilities. 28 Existing federal law requires a due process hearing to be held concerning a 29 complaint relating to the identification of a pupil as a pupil with or without a 30 disability or the sufficiency of services provided to such a pupil. (20 U.S.C. § 1415) 31 Existing law: (1) provides for the selection of a hearing officer; (2) requires the 32 local educational agency or governing body of a charter school involved in the 33 complaint to pay the cost of the hearing; and (3) authorizes an aggrieved party to 34 appeal the decision of a hearing officer to the Department. (NRS 388.463) Section 35 13 of this bill: (1) sets forth certain requirements governing an expedited due 36 process hearing; (2) requires the Department to appoint a State Review Officer to 37 make a determination concerning appeals submitted after a due process hearing has 38 concluded; and (3) provides for a party to a due process hearing to request a 39 temporary order of relief. 40 Existing law requires the board of trustees of each school district and the 41 governing body of each charter school that serves pupils in kindergarten or grade 1, 42 2 or 3 to prescribe an early literacy screening assessment for use by the schools 43 located in the school district or the charter school, respectively. (NRS 388.439) 44 Existing law additionally requires: (1) the board of trustees of each school district 45 and the governing body of each charter school to administer screenings for dyslexia 46 to certain pupils in certain grade levels; (2) the board of trustees and governing 47 body, as applicable, to address the needs of a pupil if the screening confirms that 48 the pupil has indicators for dyslexia; and (3) if the response to scientific, research- 49 based intervention system of instruction determines that a pupil needs additional 50 screening, the board of trustees and governing body, as applicable, to perform 51 certain evaluations of the pupil. (NRS 388.441) Section 10 of this bill: (1) requires 52 the board of trustees of each school district and the governing body of each charter 53 school to instead prescribe a universal literacy screening that meets certain 54 – 3 – - *SB396_R1* requirements; (2) requires such entities to administer the screening to pupils 55 enrolled in kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, at least twice each school 56 year; (3) sets forth certain requirements governing the results of the screening; and 57 (4) requires the board of trustees of each school district and the governing body of 58 each charter school to provide the parent or legal guardian of a pupil who was 59 administered the screening with a written notification containing certain 60 information concerning the results of the screening. Section 11 sets forth the 61 requirements for: (1) a pupil to receive additional screening or evaluations after 62 taking the universal literacy screening; (2) the person who administers the 63 screening; and (3) certain meetings with administrators concerning the results of the 64 screening. 65 Existing law requires a pupil’s individualized education program team to 66 consider certain instructional approaches when developing an individualized 67 education program for a pupil with dyslexia. (NRS 388.443) Section 12 of this bill 68 sets forth additional considerations for developing such an individualized education 69 program. 70 Section 2 of this bill requires the Department to establish a program to provide, 71 at no cost to a participant, professional development in certain areas concerning 72 literacy to each instructional aide, paraprofessional, member of support staff, 73 administrator and teacher who is employed by a school district or charter school to 74 serve certain pupils. Section 3 of this bill requires the board of trustees of each 75 school district and the governing body of each charter school, as applicable, to 76 prepare and submit to the Department an annual report that contains certain 77 information concerning the universal literacy screening administered pursuant to 78 section 11 and the professional development required pursuant to section 2. 79 Existing law requires the board of trustees of each school district and the 80 governing body of each charter school to establish an emergency operations plan 81 development committee to develop a plan for responding to certain emergencies in 82 each school. (NRS 388.241, 388.243) Section 7 of this bill requires such a plan to 83 include: (1) a consideration of the needs of pupils with disabilities in certain 84 emergencies; (2) a plan to inform local law enforcement agencies or public safety 85 organizations of the specific needs of each pupil with a disability; and (3) a plan to 86 demonstrate that the committee has made certain individualized considerations 87 concerning pupils with disabilities. 88 Under existing law, the Legislature declares that members of the board of 89 trustees of each school district, the governing body of each charter school and all 90 administrators and teachers have a duty to create and provide a safe and respectful 91 learning environment for all pupils. (NRS 388.1321) Section 6 of this bill 92 additionally requires: (1) a safe and respectful learning environment to be provided 93 for all staff members of a school; and (2) such an environment to be free of 94 predictable threats of bodily injury to all staff members and pupils. 95 Existing law authorizes the suspension or expulsion of a pupil with a disability 96 who poses a continuing danger to persons or property or an ongoing threat of 97 disrupting the academic process or who is found in possession of a dangerous 98 weapon other than a firearm while in certain locations or at certain events. (NRS 99 392.466) Section 13.5 of this bill provides that, before suspending or expelling 100 such a pupil, an administrator is required to meet with the individualized education 101 program team for the pupil and determine whether the behavior is a manifestation 102 of the disability of the pupil. 103 Section 13.7 of this bill requires the board of trustees of each school district 104 and the governing body of each charter school to, on or before July 1, 2027, submit 105 a report to certain entities that includes information concerning the implementation 106 of the provisions of this bill. 107 – 4 – - *SB396_R1* THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Chapter 388 of NRS is hereby amended by adding 1 thereto the provisions set forth as sections 2 to 5, inclusive, of this 2 act. 3 Sec. 2. 1. The Department shall establish a program to 4 provide professional development regarding evidence-based 5 instruction in foundational literacy, structured literacy and 6 supplemental reading support to each instructional aide, 7 paraprofessional, member of support staff, administrator and 8 teacher, including, without limitation, each library media 9 specialist and each person with an endorsement to teach a 10 program of bilingual education or pupils with disabilities. Such 11 persons must be employed by a school district or charter school to 12 serve pupils enrolled in preschool, kindergarten or grades 1 to 6, 13 inclusive. 14 2. The program to provide professional development 15 developed by the Department pursuant to subsection 1 must 16 include, without limitation: 17 (a) For a person who serves pupils enrolled in kindergarten or 18 grades 1, 2 or 3, training on: 19 (1) Orthography; 20 (2) Phonological and phonemic awareness; 21 (3) Phonics; 22 (4) Reading fluency, including, without limitation, reading 23 orally; 24 (5) Developing oral and written vocabularies; and 25 (6) Aural and reading comprehension; 26 (b) For a person who serves pupils enrolled in grades 4, 5 or 6, 27 training on: 28 (1) The neurobiology of reading; 29 (2) Advanced word study; 30 (3) Reading fluency; and 31 (4) Reading comprehension; 32 (c) For an administrator, training on designing and 33 implementing high-quality and evidence-based literacy instruction 34 focused on the science of reading for pupils enrolled in preschool, 35 kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive; and 36 (d) For each person described in subsection 1, at least 20 37 hours of professional development, provided at no cost to the 38 person during each school year, on the universal literacy 39 screening administered pursuant to NRS 388.439 and 388.441 and 40 interventions, accommodations, structured literacy and the use of 41 – 5 – - *SB396_R1* technology for pupils with reading disabilities, including, without 1 limitation, dyslexia. 2 3. The Department shall establish and provide training and 3 resources for the implementation of: 4 (a) A statewide framework for using multi-tiered systems of 5 support to assist in the identification and intervention of pupils at 6 risk of experiencing a learning disability, including, without 7 limitation, dyslexia; and 8 (b) A program to provide professional development, at no cost, 9 to each person described in subsection 2 regarding the framework 10 established pursuant to paragraph (a) and methods of intervention 11 for pupils with disabilities, including, without limitation, pupils 12 with dyslexia or pupils with a disability that affects the reading 13 abilities of the pupil. 14 4. The framework established pursuant to paragraph (a) of 15 subsection 3 must include, without limitation: 16 (a) A problem-solving model that is based on data; 17 (b) Frequent assessment of pupils using the universal literacy 18 screening administered pursuant to NRS 388.439 and 388.441; 19 and 20 (c) A continuum of layered supports that are evidence-based. 21 5. As used in this section, “science of reading” means a 22 method of using interdisciplinary research to understand best 23 practices for providing literacy instruction. 24 Sec. 3. The board of trustees of each school district and the 25 governing body of each charter school, as applicable, shall, on or 26 before June 30 of each year, prepare and submit a report to the 27 Department describing: 28 1. The tool or instrument used to administer the universal 29 literacy screening pursuant to NRS 388.441; 30 2. The amount of professional development provided 31 pursuant to paragrap [Text truncated for display. 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