Assembly education committee advances several bills in work session; AB494 draws recorded opposition

CARSON CITY — During a work session following hearings, the Assembly Committee on Education on Tuesday amended and voted to advance multiple bills to the Assembly floor.

The committee voted to amend and do pass: AB 153 (education services for incarcerated persons), AB 335 (multilingual student services/English learners), AB 391 (school accountability reporting), AB 397 (higher education fee waivers for students experiencing homelessness) and AB 494 (continuity of federal education law and block grant acceptance procedures). Committee members discussed and approved sponsor-proposed amendments for several measures.

Key actions recorded in the transcript:

- AB 153 (sponsor Assemblymember Miller): the committee adopted an amendment directing Department of Corrections programming staff, rather than boards of trustees, to provide inmates with workshops and information on financial planning, FAFSA and coordination with colleges; it also clarified that applying for financial aid cannot be used as a sanction. Vice Chair Da Silva moved to amend and do pass; Assemblymember Dahlia seconded. The motion carried unanimously; the floor statement was assigned to Assemblymember Miller.

- AB 335 (sponsor Assemblymember Torres Fawcett): an amendment revised references to a director of multilingual student services to an administrator serving English learners, removed a county population staffing threshold, expanded disaggregation requirements for accountability data, extended allowable semesters for English learners to remain in high school from eight to ten, and revised English Learner Advisory Council membership and reporting dates. Vice Chair Da Silva moved to amend and do pass; Assemblymember Hunt seconded. The motion carried unanimously and the floor statement was assigned to the committee chair.

- AB 391 (sponsor Assemblymember Miller): the committee adopted two amendments clarifying reporting requirements for disaggregated pupil achievement data and adding definitions for absence counting. Assemblymember Dahlia moved to amend and do pass; Assemblymember Leroux Hatch seconded. The motion carried unanimously.

- AB 397 (sponsor Assemblymember Miller): the committee voted to do pass an amended measure requiring the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents to grant waivers of registration and laboratory fees for certain students experiencing homelessness and to deem such students bona fide residents for tuition purposes. Assemblymember Mosca moved to do pass; Assemblymember Hanson seconded. The motion carried unanimously; the floor statement was assigned to Assemblymember Watts.

- AB 494 (sponsor Assemblymember Torres Fawcett): the committee accepted a multi-part amendment that would include the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as part of Nevada law if the federal law were repealed, require Interim Finance Committee approval before accepting any K–12 block grant and related conditions, and direct the Nevada Department of Education to adopt regulations to implement federal provisions if federal enforcement were eliminated or transferred. Vice Chair Da Silva moved to amend and do pass; Assemblymember Leroux Hatch seconded. The motion carried, but four members recorded opposition: Assemblymembers Koenig, DeLong, Hardy and Hanson. The chair assigned the floor statement to herself.

Committee staff read amendment summaries aloud before votes and several members commented on federal policy uncertainty during discussion of AB 494. No bills failed; all actions were approved to proceed to the floor with assigned floor statements for sponsors or other members as noted.

Why it matters: these measures affect reporting and services for English learners, incarcerated students, fee waivers for homeless students in higher education, and Nevada’s contingency planning if federal education statutes or enforcement change. AB 494 drew the only recorded dissent during the work session.