CCSD supports updating sex education statutes

With Nevada’s biennial legislative session set to kick off in less than four months, the Clark County School Board said it would support efforts to update the state’s sex education statutes and oppose efforts to reorganize large school districts.

Nevada’s Legislature meets once every two years and is set to reconvene on Feb. 6.

In August, the district said it would use the two bill draft requests it is allowed to submit each legislative session to ask for bills that could address the statewide teacher shortage and establish standards and qualifications for school board members.

At its board meeting on Thursday, the board also outlined the other pieces of legislation it would support, oppose or remain neutral on.

Among those proposals, the board said it would support legislation that would allow parents to opt their children out of sex education lessons rather than opt their children in.

At a board meeting in August where it met to discuss its legislative priorities, a majority of the members of the public who gave public comment or sent in a written comment spoke in favor of changing sex education statutes to be opt-out.

Trustee Katie Williams was the lone board member to object to supporting the change, saying the school district shouldn’t be taking a stance on the issue.

But Trustee Danielle Ford, who commented in August on the community support for a potential sex education bill, said she hoped legislators took notice of the district’s support.

“The fact that CCSD as a district is willing to support this, I hope that some legislators are taking notice and will consider putting a bill through,” she said.

Also up for debate was an issue of a potential legislative audit of the district’s finances, which the district said it would remain neutral on.

Earlier this month, Nevada Democratic lawmakers announced that they would introduce legislation calling for an audit of the district’s finances, citing questions and concerns from their constituents about problems within the district.

Ford asked why the district would remain neutral instead of supporting an effort by legislators to audit its finances. Letting legislators conduct an audit could put the district in a position where it could prove its fiscal responsibility and make a strong case to the state that it deserves more funding, she said.

“Transparency is really important to me, and anything that we can do to help our public image with that I think is something that the entire district should support,” Ford said.

In response, Superintendent Jesus Jara cited the district’s “open books,” which are available to the public on its website. The district’s Open Book portal is available for the public to view and track how much the district spends on everything from salaries to individual schools.

“Anybody can see them today, and they’re available,” Jara said. “So the transparency is there.”

The district also plans to support legislation that would:

■ Accelerate student learning and fully fund those efforts.

■ Fully fund the state’s Pupil Centered Funding Plan.

■ Allow union/trade representatives to teach classes specific to their trades in high school and possibly middle school.

■ Allow professionals to teach classes specific to their professions or skills without requiring a teaching license.

■ Update bullying statutes so that students who commit infractions will be the ones transferred to a different school rather than the victim.

■ Provide funding for critical security systems like single-point-of-entry fencing, emergency alert systems and security cameras.

The district will oppose unfunded mandates, efforts to reconstitute the organization of large school districts in Nevada, laws that negatively affect the Pupil Centered Funding Plan and measures that undermine the acceleration of student learning in schools.

Contact Lorraine Longhi at 702-387-5298 or llonghi @reviewjournal.com. Follow her at @lolonghi on Twitter.