Nevada Democratic leaders giving little thought to Sandoval’s ESA bill

CARSON CITY — Democratic leadership said Friday they have not given much consideration this session to Gov. Brian Sandoval’s education savings account bill.

“Again, our focus has been on public school funding and public school education,” State Senate Majority Leader Aaron Ford told reporters.

Senate Bill 506, sponsored by the governor’s office, is a revival of the 2015 law because the funding mechanism of ESAs was ruled unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court.

Similar to vouchers, the program would give parents a portion of the state per-pupil funding and allow parents to spend the money how they want on their children’s education, including spending the money on tuition at private or parochial schools.

The governor included $60 million in his proposed budget to fund the program.

A bill sponsored by Sen. Scott Hammond, R-Las Vegas, was never given a hearing and died. The governor’s bill, an exact replica of Hammond’s, has also not been heard by the Senate education committee, but was granted an exemption from the deadline.

Contact Meghin Delaney at mdelaney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0281. Follow @MeghinDelaney on Twitter.