Bill would let Nevada share school emergency plans with local responders, sponsors say

Senate Bill 38 would amend Nevada law to allow the Division of Emergency Management to share school emergency operations plans (EOPs) with local public safety agencies, proponents told the Nevada Assembly Committee on Education during a hearing in Carson City.

Supporters said the change aims to improve situational awareness and coordination between schools and first‑responders. Sharon Luce, deputy administrator for the Nevada Division of Emergency Management, told the committee that current statutes require schools to submit EOPs to the division but do not permit the division to provide those plans to law enforcement, fire or emergency medical services once they are submitted.

"Current Nevada law mandates that school districts, charter schools, and private schools develop and submit emergency operations plans to the Division of Emergency Management," Luce said. She added that the proposed amendments would align language across NRS 388.259 and NRS 394.1698 and update NRS 414.040 to allow the division to disseminate plans to appropriate public safety agencies "for emergency response preparedness and coordination efforts." Luce described the proposal as "a common sense, no cost solution that strengthens our state's resilience and safeguards for our children and educators."

Sheri Grennan, a planning official at the Division of Emergency Management, told the committee that local agencies can be contributors during plan development but do not always receive the final approved document. "They don't necessarily see the final approved plan at the end and they don't have a copy of it necessarily walking away from the planning process," Grennan said. Committee members asked whether the bill would permit sharing only portions of a plan when appropriate; Grennan and Luce said the statutory changes would allow dissemination of specific components to agencies with a legitimate public‑safety purpose.

Proponents emphasized training and preparedness benefits. Luce said that access to final EOPs would allow law enforcement, fire and emergency medical personnel to conduct exercises and training based on actual school plans, and that officials discussed the need for sharing plans at a Nevada Commission on Homeland Security meeting on Sept. 7, 2023. Luce also told the committee that Governor Joe Lombardo directed that the topic be addressed during the 2025 legislative session.

Supporters who offered testimony included Susan Keema, executive director of the Nevada Association of School Superintendents, and Detective Adrian Hunt of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Both expressed support for the bill’s potential to reduce duplication and improve preparedness. No callers testified in opposition or neutral testimony during the hearing.

The committee closed the hearing on SB 38 without a recorded vote at that time; no final action was recorded in the transcript.