Sandoval signs four education bills into law

Gov. Brian Sandoval on Wednesday signed into law bills that would shake up Nevada's public education bureaucracy and make it easier to fire poor performing teachers.

Changes to laws covering teacher tenure, performance pay, Department of Education governance and charter school authorization were contained in four bills on which the Republican governor and most members of the Democrat-controlled Legislature agreed.

They're meant to help drag Nevada out of the basement when it comes to the performance of its public school students, who graduate at one of the lowest rates in the nation.

But critics say the reforms, while needed, won't pack much of a punch until legislators, the governor and the public agree to increase spending on K-12 education.

Still, Sandoval and others hailed the changes as "groundbreaking education reform" that will "make a big difference" in the lives of Nevada kids.

"Today we have made great advancements on behalf of our schoolchildren," Sandoval said in a statement issued after signing Assembly Bills 225 and 229 and Senate Bills 197 and 212. "These are historic education reforms which will improve the quality of Nevada's education system."

Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, who was among legislative leaders who pushed for reform and more school funding, endorsed the changes.

"I am convinced these reforms are going to make a big difference in our kids' lives, creating a better learning experience, ensuring Nevada has a better educated citizenry, and setting us on a path to long-term economic growth," Smith said.

The four bills containing the changes are the following:

■ AB225, which states teachers who have achieved tenure can be returned to probationary status after two consecutive unsatisfactory evaluations.

■ AB229 requires school boards to establish pay-for-performance standards; increases from two to four the number of categories for teacher and administrator evaluation results; allows school districts to fire teachers or administrators accused of "gross misconduct"; states that seniority may not be the only factor in deciding teacher and administrator layoffs; and includes protections to ensure that teachers who are facing the threat of dismissal can appeal to a third-party arbiter.

■ SB197 gives the governor, not the Nevada Board of Education, authority to appoint the state superintendent of public instruction and changes the Board of Education from a 10-member elected body to one with four elected members, three appointed members and four non-voting members.

■ SB212 creates the State Public Charter School Authority to oversee the formation of charter schools, a duty now held by Board of Education.

Although Sandoval and Democratic leaders hailed the changes as dramatic, others said that they fell short of what the governor promised in his State of the State speech and that for any reforms to work, more education funding is needed.

"The state decided to move forward with reform without funding it," said Lynn Warne, president of the Nevada State Education Association, a teacher and school employee labor organization.

"We're walking away without a real funding solution for our state and our schools. We sold our kids short."

Warne said the organization supported the provisions making it easier to dismiss teachers only after protections were added to give those facing dismissal a hearing in front of a third party, outside the school administration.

"It should not be based on personality conflict. It is not a matter of getting along with your boss; it is a matter of being a highly effective educator," Warne said.

She also said lawmakers and Sandoval ducked a chance to increase funding for schools by implementing a business tax or tax on services that could have generated more money to pay for improvements.

Warne said teachers, major industry leaders and labor organizations are still planning to go to the voters with a ballot initiative to raise taxes to fund education.

"I think the voters, parents and other interests are tired of that kind of gamesmanship," Warne said of the decision by legislators and Sandoval to avoid tackling bills that would have increased education funding. "This summer we'll have to start getting details together for what the initiative is going to look like."

Victor Joecks, communications director at the conservative Nevada Policy Research Institute, said there wasn't much wrong with the reforms Sandoval signed into law.

But Joecks said they were tepid compared with the sweeping changes Sandoval advocated during his campaign and in his January State of the State speech.

Joecks said some of Sandoval's strongest proposals included ending social promotion for students, establishing a letter-grade system to judge schools' performance and creating a system to use state money to fund vouchers that would pay for families to send their children to private schools.

"These are very minor reforms," Joecks said. "I don't think any of them are steps backward. I just don't think any of them are big steps forward."

Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861.