Lawmakers consider statewide open-enrollment framework with optional transportation grant

The Senate Finance Committee heard Assembly Bill 533 June 1, a proposal to create a statewide open-enrollment framework that would require school districts to publish transfer and vacancy data and allow districts to set capacity and lottery/selection rules. The bill also directs the Nevada Department of Education to establish a transportation grant program "to the extent funds are available."

Assemblymember Selena Torres Fawcett, the bill sponsor, said the measure is structured to "empower school districts to create their own application processes and policies" and would exclude magnet schools, career-technical academies and dual-enrollment high schools because those programs typically have separate admissions standards. The bill gives a board of trustees authority to define a school's capacity and to adopt a selection method such as a lottery when demand exceeds openings, and it grants priority to students zoned to 1- or 2-star schools when applying to attend other schools.

Torres Fawcett said the reprint removed a fiscal note for the Nevada Department of Education and that the department indicated there is no fiscal note as written. She said the bill does not itself appropriate transportation funding but allows NDE to create a grant program if funds are made available later; the sponsor noted that ongoing conversations were under way about transportation appropriations.

Amelia Tebow of the Nevada Department of Education said the department initially had a position on the bill but that the amended reporting burden in the reprint had been reduced. Tebow told the committee the department intends to absorb the reporting work within an existing position because other reporting burdens were reduced by separate bills.

Nathaniel Wall of the Clark County School District said CCSD already operates a large open-enrollment system and encouraged stakeholders to review it at itspublic portal. Opponents did not appear; neutral callers raised concerns about whether the bill’s transportation provisions would meet students’ Individualized Education Program (IEP) needs. Stephen Cohen called attention to section 2.5 and said it "does not appear as if the transportation element addresses IEP transportation needs for students with disabilities." The sponsor said transportation guidelines and eligibility would be established by the department and that families would need to demonstrate continued enrollment for any transportation assistance distributed periodically.

The committee closed the hearing on AB533 after testimony from district officials, the Nevada Department of Education and education groups.