Assembly Bill No. 506–Committee on Education

 

March 24, 2003

____________

 

Referred to Committee on Education

 

SUMMARY—Prescribes limit on number of administrators in certain large school districts. (BDR 34‑1300)

 

FISCAL NOTE:  Effect on Local Government: No.

                           Effect on the State: No.

 

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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.

 

AN ACT relating to education; prescribing a limit on the number of administrators employed in certain large school districts; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

1-1  Section 1. Chapter 391 of NRS is hereby amended by adding

1-2  thereto a new section to read as follows:

1-3  1.  In a county whose population is 400,000 or more, there

1-4  must be a ratio on and after July 1, 2005, of not more than one

1-5  administrator employed by the school district per each 352 pupils

1-6  enrolled in the school district.

1-7  2.  In a county whose population is 100,000 or more, there

1-8  must be a ratio on and after July 1, 2005, of not more than one

1-9  administrator employed by the school district per each 311 pupils

1-10  enrolled in the school district.

1-11      3.  On or before December 1 of each year, the board of

1-12  trustees of each school district that is subject to the requirements

1-13  of this section shall prepare a report indicating, for the current

1-14  school year, the:

1-15      (a) Total number of administrators employed by the school

1-16  district;

1-17      (b) Total number of pupils enrolled in the school district; and

1-18      (c) Administrator-pupil ratio in the school district.

2-1  4.  The numbers used to prepare the report must be the

2-2  number of pupils enrolled and the number of administrators

2-3  employed on the day the count of pupils is completed pursuant to

2-4  subsection 1 of NRS 387.1233.

2-5  5.  The report prepared pursuant to subsection 3 must be

2-6  submitted to the:

2-7  (a) Department;

2-8  (b) Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau for

2-9  transmission to:

2-10          (1) If the report is submitted during an even-numbered

2-11  year, the next regular session of the Legislature; or

2-12          (2) If the report is submitted during an odd-numbered year,

2-13  the Legislative Committee on Education; and

2-14      (c) The Legislative Bureau of Educational Accountability and

2-15  Program Evaluation.

2-16      6.  As used in this section, “administrator” means each person

2-17  on the schedule of salaries of a school district as an administrator

2-18  who is employed to provide administrative service at the:

2-19      (a) District level;

2-20      (b) School level, including, without limitation, a principal or

2-21  vice principal; or

2-22      (c) Both the district level and the school level.

2-23  The term does not include a teacher whose working time is

2-24  primarily spent providing instruction in a classroom.

2-25      Sec. 2.  NRS 391.100 is hereby amended to read as follows:

2-26      391.100  1.  [The] Except as otherwise provided in section 1

2-27  of this act, theboard of trustees of a school district may employ a

2-28  superintendent of schools, teachers and all other necessary

2-29  employees.

2-30      2.  The board of trustees of a school district:

2-31      (a) May employ teacher aides and other auxiliary,

2-32  nonprofessional personnel to assist licensed personnel in the

2-33  instruction or supervision of children, either in the classroom or at

2-34  any other place in the school or on the grounds thereof; and

2-35      (b) Shall establish policies governing the duties and

2-36  performance of teacher aides.

2-37      3.  Each applicant for employment pursuant to this section,

2-38  except a teacher or other person licensed by the Superintendent of

2-39  Public Instruction, must, as a condition to employment, submit to

2-40  the school district a full set of his fingerprints and written

2-41  permission authorizing the school district to forward the fingerprints

2-42  to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Repository

2-43  for Nevada Records of Criminal History for their reports on the

2-44  criminal history of the applicant.

3-1  4.  Except as otherwise provided in subsection 5, the board of

3-2  trustees of a school district shall not require a licensed teacher or

3-3  other person licensed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction

3-4  pursuant to NRS 391.033 who has taken a leave of absence from

3-5  employment authorized by the school district, including, without

3-6  limitation:

3-7  (a) Sick leave;

3-8  (b) Sabbatical leave;

3-9  (c) Personal leave;

3-10      (d) Leave for attendance at a regular or special session of the

3-11  Legislature of this state if the employee is a member thereof;

3-12      (e) Maternity leave; and

3-13      (f) Leave permitted by the Family and Medical Leave Act of

3-14  1993, 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601 et seq.,

3-15  to submit a set of his fingerprints as a condition of return to or

3-16  continued employment with the school district if the employee is in

3-17  good standing when the employee began the leave.

3-18      5.  A board of trustees of a school district may ask the

3-19  Superintendent of Public Instruction to require a person licensed by

3-20  the Superintendent of Public Instruction pursuant to NRS 391.033

3-21  who has taken a leave of absence from employment authorized by

3-22  the school district to submit a set of his fingerprints as a condition of

3-23  return to or continued employment with the school district if the

3-24  board of trustees has probable cause to believe that the person has

3-25  committed a felony or an offense involving moral turpitude during

3-26  the period of his leave of absence.

3-27      6.  The board of trustees of a school district may employ or

3-28  appoint persons to serve as school police officers. If the board of

3-29  trustees of a school district employs or appoints persons to serve as

3-30  school police officers, the board of trustees shall employ a law

3-31  enforcement officer to serve as the chief of school police who is

3-32  supervised by the superintendent of schools of the school district.

3-33  The chief of school police shall supervise each person appointed or

3-34  employed by the board of trustees as a school police officer. In

3-35  addition, persons who provide police services pursuant to subsection

3-36  7 or 8 shall be deemed school police officers.

3-37      7.  The board of trustees of a school district in a county that has

3-38  a metropolitan police department created pursuant to chapter 280 of

3-39  NRS, may contract with the metropolitan police department for the

3-40  provision and supervision of police services in the public schools

3-41  within the jurisdiction of the metropolitan police department and on

3-42  property therein that is owned by the school district. If a contract is

3-43  entered into pursuant to this subsection, the contract must make

3-44  provision for the transfer of each school police officer employed by

3-45  the board of trustees to the metropolitan police department. If the

4-1  board of trustees of a school district contracts with a metropolitan

4-2  police department pursuant to this subsection, the board of trustees

4-3  shall, if applicable, cooperate with appropriate local law

4-4  enforcement agencies within the school district for the provision and

4-5  supervision of police services in the public schools within the school

4-6  district and on property owned by the school district, but outside the

4-7  jurisdiction of the metropolitan police department.

4-8  8.  The board of trustees of a school district in a county that

4-9  does not have a metropolitan police department created pursuant to

4-10  chapter 280 of NRS may contract with the sheriff of that county for

4-11  the provision of police services in the public schools within the

4-12  school district and on property therein that is owned by the school

4-13  district.

4-14      Sec. 3.  NRS 391.120 is hereby amended to read as follows:

4-15      391.120  1.  [Boards] Except as otherwise provided in section

4-16  1 of this act, boards of trustees of the school districts in this state

4-17  may employ legally qualified teachers and other licensed personnel

4-18  and may determine their salaries and the length of the term of school

4-19  for which they are employed. These conditions and any other

4-20  conditions agreed upon by the parties must be embodied in a written

4-21  contract, or notice of reemployment, to be approved by the board of

4-22  trustees and accepted and signed by the employee. A copy of the

4-23  contract or notice of reemployment, properly written, must be

4-24  delivered to each teacher or other licensed employee not later than

4-25  the opening of the term of school.

4-26      2.  A board of trustees may not employ teachers or other

4-27  licensed personnel for any school year commencing after the

4-28  expiration of the time for which any member of the board of trustees

4-29  was elected or appointed.

4-30      3.  It is unlawful for the board of trustees of any school district

4-31  to employ any teacher who is not legally qualified to teach all the

4-32  grades which the teacher is engaged to teach.

4-33      4.  On or before November 15 of each year, the school district

4-34  shall submit to the Department, in a form prescribed by the

4-35  Superintendent of Public Instruction, the following information for

4-36  each licensed employee employed by the school district on

4-37  October 1 of that year:

4-38      (a) The amount of salary of the employee; and

4-39      (b) The designated assignment, as that term is defined by the

4-40  Department of Education, of the employee.

4-41      Sec. 4.  This act becomes effective on July 1, 2003.

 

4-42  H