Senate committee hears bill to standardize school discipline, complaint tracking and parental involvement

The Senate Committee on Education heard Senate Bill 331 on a proposal to strengthen how Nevada schools handle discrimination and bullying complaints, expand parental involvement and require tiered, progressive discipline procedures.

Sen. Angie Taylor, presenting the bill on behalf of Sen. Dina Neal, said the measure would “improve the educational environment in the [public] schools by addressing the discrimination complaint process, enhancing the state's parental involvement and family engagement policy, and refining schools' progressive discipline plans.”

Supporters said the bill aims to make complaint procedures more transparent and to require early interventions before exclusionary discipline. Shondrea Daniel, education chair of the NAACP Las Vegas branch, testified that existing requirements are inconsistently tracked and not always resolved in required timeframes: “Our children deserve a safe and learning environment.” She told the committee that only about 30 percent of bullying complaints in Nevada were reported resolved within the required timeframe in 2019 and that earlier intervention can prevent higher-cost litigation.

Camila Bywaters, co‑chair of the Las Vegas Alliance of Black School Educators, described the bill’s progressive-discipline framework: “In regards to a progressive scale of seriousness, behaviors are categorized from less to more serious,” she said, and thresholds would require student-support meetings, family involvement and behavior interventions once a threshold is reached. Proponents said the structure is intended to reduce disproportionate suspensions affecting students of color and students with disabilities.

Several parents and community members testified in support, describing personal incidents they said the current system failed to address. Britney Joseph, on the phone, said her son, who has autism, was repeatedly removed from class and that school officials did not provide documentation of alleged offenses; she urged the committee to create clearer, enforceable complaint and tracking mechanisms. Jessica Orta, another caller, said her son was bullied over a long period and that no meaningful action was taken when she reported incidents to the school, adding that SB 331 would give families “a clear public pathway to file and track complaints.” Former Assemblywoman Clara Thomas and local unions and advocacy groups also registered support in testimony.

Committee members asked how parental involvement requirements would be implemented. Proponents said the bill would require both district- and school-level outreach and that school organizational teams (SOTs) should be used more intentionally to invite and track family participation, including targeted outreach to underserved families. Supporters pointed to research linking family involvement to better academic outcomes.

No formal committee vote occurred during the hearing. The bill’s sponsors and supporters said they stand ready to provide amendments and additional data as requested.

The hearing closed after public and neutral testimony concluded, and the committee moved to its next agenda item.

Ending: The committee heard SB 331’s supporters describe the bill as intended to increase transparency in complaint handling, create tiered interventions before exclusionary discipline, and expand school efforts to engage parents and families in student supports. No formal action was taken during the hearing.