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AB391 would require disaggregated accountability reporting by chronic absenteeism; sponsor narrows scope
Summary
Assemblymember Bridal Miller introduced AB391 to require annual accountability reports to show student achievement disaggregated by chronic absenteeism (10+ absences before a test). An earlier proposal to track instruction by unlicensed staff was removed after technical concerns.
Assemblymember Bridal Miller presented Assembly Bill 391 to the Assembly Committee on Education, seeking to refine annual accountability reports so they show pupil achievement disaggregated by chronic absenteeism.
The bill would require public and charter schools and the State Board of Education to report achievement scores (for example SBAC results) separately for students who had fewer than 10 absences and those who had accrued 10 or more absences prior to the administration date of the test. The sponsor explained the ‘‘prior to administration’’ cutoff is intended to avoid capturing absences that occur after a student already took the test and to provide a cleaner comparison of how chronic absenteeism correlates with achievement.
An earlier provision requiring the reporting of performance for students instructed by unlicensed teachers for four consecutive weeks was removed from the conceptual amendment following discussions with superintendents and technical staff. The sponsor said that collecting and consistently defining that workforce data posed too many technical and legal challenges at present.
Committee members and witnesses Lawmakers and educators discussed whether the Nevada Department of Education already collects absenteeism rates and whether the intended measure should include excused and unexcused absences. The sponsor and committee staff confirmed NDE has absenteeism data and that the bill does not differentiate excused from unexcused absences; the bill’s purpose is to present the data rather than to assign blame.
Brian Wallace of the Nevada State Education Association supported the bill’s intent to disaggregate data by attendance, saying such reporting would give leaders a clearer understanding of factors that affect student performance while acknowledging that absenteeism is only one driver of outcomes.
Clarifying details - State chronic absenteeism rate cited by the sponsor (Nevada Department of Education): 25.9%. - The reporting cutoff is the first date of test administration at each school building to avoid post‑test absences affecting the counts. - Sponsor removed proposed reporting on unlicensed teacher coverage because of inconsistent local definitions and technical collection challenges.
Ending The committee heard neutral and supportive testimony and asked technical questions about NDE data systems and whether the reporting would affect school accountability frameworks. The sponsor said the immediate purpose is data collection and transparency; she stated the bill is not intended to change the school performance framework at this time. The hearing closed with no committee vote recorded in the transcript.
