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Senate committee hears SB277 to enhance school mental‑health supports; sponsor says fiscal notes removed
Summary
SB277 would enhance mental‑health supports for students and streamline licensure; sponsor said local fiscal notes previously attached were removed after the bill’s amendment introduced permissive language and a population cap. Support came from superintendents and the Nevada School Counseling Association; no opposition callers at the hearing.
Senator Shelley Cruz Crawford presented Senate Bill 277 to the Senate Finance Committee, describing the measure as enhancing mental‑health supports for students in public schools and streamlining licensure for school social workers and related personnel.
The sponsor told the committee the bill originally carried a fiscal note from Washoe County estimating about $15 million for a one‑on‑one social worker, but that fiscal note had been removed after an amendment made hiring permissive and added a population cap. Senator Cruz Crawford said the amendment removed the requirement that districts hire one‑on‑one social workers and thus eliminated the Washoe fiscal estimate.
Witnesses in support included Dawn Etchebury, president of the Nevada School Counselor Association, and Susan Keema representing school superintendents. Keema said superintendents supported the bill once the language was made permissive. Brad Keating, representing Clark County School District, clarified to the committee that CCSD never submitted a fiscal note on SB277 and that the district supports the amended bill. Multiple callers on the Zoom/phone lines also voiced support for adding school social workers to meet students’ social and emotional needs.
No callers registered formal opposition at the hearing. The sponsor and witnesses said they would continue to coordinate with districts on implementation details; Senator Cruz Crawford told committee members she would follow up with any districts whose fiscal notes remained unclear to confirm that the amendment mitigated the earlier concerns.
The hearing closed with no committee vote recorded.
