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Assembly committee hears AB24 to establish oversight and program rules for competency-based education
Summary
Assembly bill AB24 proposes a statutory framework and program-application process for personalized competency-based learning programs in Nevada. Department of Education officials and stakeholders discussed accountability, assessment, seat-time flexibility and pilot findings at a public hearing.
Ann Marie Dixon, deputy superintendent for the Student Achievement Division at the Nevada Department of Education, presented Assembly Bill 24 to the Assembly Committee on Education, describing the measure as a statutory framework to oversee personalized competency-based education (CBE) programs across Nevada.
“This bill establishes requirements to provide a program of competency based education that supports high quality outcomes and experiences,” Dixon told the committee, saying the bill is designed to “ensure accountability and oversight in the development of innovative programs, solutions, and services provided to students under competency based education.”
Dixon and NDE colleagues said AB24 is intended to codify regulatory language developed by a multi-stakeholder collaborative called the Calendar Credit and Instructional Time Collaborative, whose membership Dixon said included 10 public school districts, eight charter schools and other NDE offices. The department told the committee the statutory language is intended to align competency-based programs with existing statutory requirements and funding mandates while allowing flexibility related to seat time and program calendars.
Committee members repeatedly raised questions about assessments, federal testing obligations and how AB24 would interact with existing accountability systems. NDE staff acknowledged that federal requirements under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) continue to require statewide testing in English language arts, mathematics and science, and said the department has proposed a budget enhancement to review and modernize its accountability framework to incorporate competency measures.
On seat-time and calendars, Amelia Thibault, director of the Student Investment Division, described the bill’s intent as preserving the statutory requirement that a school program be available for at least 180 days or the equivalent under an alternative calendar, while allowing individual students to participate in shorter or longer daily schedules if the program application supports that design.
Shawna Jessen, director of Teaching and Learning, told the committee that pilot programs the department is tracking are showing “hands-on” and performance-based ways that students exhibit mastery, and that the department has not seen the pilots increase screen time as some critics feared.
The committee heard multiple rounds of public testimony in support. Nathaniel Waugh, director of government relations for the Clark County School District, testified that AB24 would move Nevada from limited pilots to a more robust application-based framework while preserving academic standards and compliance with state accountability measures. The Council on Developmental Disabilities expressed support with caveats: Katherine Nielsen said the council wants clarity assuring students with individualized education programs (IEPs) can participate and that reasonable alternative demonstrations of competency are available.
Opposition testimony was minimal at the hearing; no formal amendments or floor votes were recorded during the committee session. NDE staff said the department will use evidence gathered from competency implementation pilots to refine the program application and the technical assistance it offers districts.
The committee left the hearing open for members’ follow-up questions and closed the public portion later in the agenda. No formal committee action (vote) on AB24 was recorded at the hearing.
