Nevada State Legislative Assignment

Nevada State Legislative Assignment

Stephanie Vivas

Education 210-CSN

Stephanie Vivas
Nevada State Legislative Assignment

Assembly Bill 27
This bill is brought forward to request that superintendents have authorization to issues licenses
to certain teachers that do not meet the past requirements of citizenship. The change would
include teachers that are not citizens or residents of the United States. The amendment would
eliminate the requirement that a school district needs to show proof that there is a shortage in that
particular subject. Effective May 13, 2015 Assembly Bill 27 will allow a superintendent the right
to issue a license to a non-citizen and/or non-resident as long as the school district can prove that
there is a shortage of teachers and that they have been unable to find another person that fits the
skills and requirements they are looking for. The bill has been amended to add charter schools as
well.

Stephanie Vivas
Nevada State Legislative Assignment

Nevada Revised Statues: Chapter 385

State Administrative Organization

General Provisions

Chapter 385 was prepared to establish the rights of the state to govern over the student’s
education. It gives the state authorization for local school districts and charter schools the rights
and power to make decision that may impact the education of the children in the community.

Department of Education

The department of Education was created which consists of 3 different departments; State board
of Education, State Board for Career and Technical Education, and Superintendent of Public
Instruction. The head of the department would be the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

State Board of Education

In this section we are able to see how members are appointed and how many members make up
the state board. It also allows us to view what are the responsibilities of the State board as well as
how the state board can help education in the school district.

Superintendent of Public Instruction

The position of Superintendent of Public Instruction is also the executive head of the State Board
of education. He or she is appointed by the Governor who picks from three candidates. He is
supervised by the Governor and is also part of the Executive Department of State Government.

Deputy Superintendent, professional staff and other personnel

The Deputy Superintendent assist the Superintendent of Public Instruction when he is absent or
when he requires assistance. It is the duty of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to locate
offices for all other professional staff.

Statewide system of accountability

This section puts definition to specific words found in the text of Chapter 385. It also goes into
detail on each NRS found in Chapter 385.

Stephanie Vivas
Nevada State Legislative Assignment

High School Equivalency Assessment

There is an assessment which needs to be taken in order for a student to graduate from High
School. The student must also meet the requirements listed in NRS 385.448 which includes
being 17 years or older. If the student is younger than 17 years the student must provide written
permission from parents or guardians and submit it to the State board.

Nevada Youth Legislature

The Nevada Youth Legislature is made up of 21 members. There duties are to review issues that
include education, employment opportunities, participation of youth in state and local
government, a safe learning environment, the prevention of substance abuse, emotional and
physical well-being, foster care, and access to state and local services. These members can hold
meeting to discuss such issues and come up with ideas and plans to assist in the well-being of the
community.

Advisory Council on Parental Involvement and Family Engagement: Office of Parental

Involvement and Family Engagement

The advisory council is made up of 10 members. The superintendent appoints these members
and is responsible for ensuring that the advisory councils carries out policies in regards to
parental involvement.

Advisory council on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics

The advisory council on Science, Technology, engineering, and mathematics is responsible for
developing plans specific to those subjects. It is also responsible for developing plans to award
pupils in the State who have exceeded in those specific fields.

Stephanie Vivas
Nevada State Legislative Assignment

Nevada State Assembly and Senate legislators

My name is Stephanie Vivas. I live near Gowan Rd and N. Rancho Dr. My senate Legislator
would be Kelvin Atkinson for District 4. My Assembly legislator would be Dina Neal for
District 7.

Stephanie Vivas
Nevada State Legislative Assignment

Letter to Legislators
Stephanie Vivas 11:02 PM

To: Kelvin.Atkinson@sen.state.nv.us, Dina.Neal@asm.state.nv.us

11th of March, 2016

Stephanie Vivas
5233 W. Gilmore Ave.
Las Vegas, NV 89130

Legislative Counsel Bureau

401 S. Carson Street
Carson City, NV 89701-4747

To whom it may concern,

I am writing to you in hopes that you may be able to come up with a plan to assist students who
are in the process of getting a degree in Education. I am currently going to school at CSN to get
my associates degree in Elementary Education. I will then transfer to UNLV to get my Bachelors
degree. I wanted to become a teacher since I was in 3rd grade thanks to a very caring and
wonderful teacher. Her passion for education was so strong that it grew onto me and has been
there ever since. I am now 26 years old and am finally taking the first steps towards that dream.
There were some issues that concerned me about the Clark County School District that made me
not want to become a teacher.

It is unfortunate to be excited over a career that many people try to convince you not to do for
several reasons. These reasons include pay, class size, budget cuts, and respect. I was in 3rd
grade back in 1996; 10 years later I am still hearing the same thing. I know that The Department
of Education has come up with ideas and plans to address these issues, but it still is not enough. I
decided to follow my dream regardless of what others have told me; unfortunately, many other
people don't. They listen to what other teachers say or people that have experience it for
themselves. These teachers and faculty members are complaining about the pay cut, the class

Stephanie Vivas
Nevada State Legislative Assignment

sizes, and how there is not enough funds for items they need to teach. This scares off a lot of
teachers and I know that is a reason why we still have a shortage of teachers.

I know there has to be more ways of helping out our current teachers and show them more
respect and let them know that the Department of Education is there to assist them. If we had
more teachers and faculty members happy and excited to go to work I know that would help
spread good word about our school district. I understand we have plans underway to help reach
qualified teachers from all over the country to come teach at our school district, but that can only
get so far once they start hearing what other teachers have to say about our district.

My request is to please find ways to help our current teachers feel respected and heard. I know it
will take years to fix these issues, but I will have faith. I appreciate the time you have taken to
read this letter and attend to these issues.

Sincerely,
Stephanie Vivas

Stephanie Vivas