AB 48 would let perpetrators request school reassignment after substantiated bullying; principals and unions seek process clarity

The Assembly Committee on Education heard testimony on Assembly Bill 48, a bill that would refine how school reassignments are handled after substantiated bullying or cyberbullying incidents. Brad Keating and Nathaniel Waugh, presenting for Clark County School District (CCSD), said the bill would permit a perpetrator of a substantiated bullying incident to request a change of school assignment as part of the disciplinary process, rather than leaving reassignment options solely to victims.

Under current practice described in testimony, when a bullying incident is substantiated a victim may request reassignment and the district accommodates that request; victims who seek reassignment also typically assume responsibility for related transportation. Keating said AB 48 preserves the victim’s ability to request reassignment while adding the perpetrator as an additional party who may request reassignment after substantiation — and it requires that victims and perpetrators not be reassigned to the same school if both request a change.

Jeff Horn, executive director of the Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional Technical Employees, testified that administrators spend substantial time investigating incidents that later prove unsubstantiated (he cited roughly 15,000 reported incidents of bullying last year and said about 40% were unsubstantiated). Horn said district principals sometimes must assign staff to investigate allegations and that a process to determine unsubstantiated cases “at the onset” could free administrators to focus on instructional leadership. He said administrators, CCSD and the Nevada Department of Education are working on a proposed procedural approach for early triage of allegations.

Waugh and Horn described the proposed work as creating an NDE-approved process to allow schools to screen out clearly unsubstantiated allegations early and reserve the full investigatory process for cases that meet a substantiation threshold; they said the conceptual amendment would ask NDE to approve such a process after stakeholder input.

Committee members asked for specifics about parental consultation and the practical effects on special populations and extracurricular eligibility. Waugh said the current process requires parental consultation and that the district does not intend to change foster-student protections (foster students’ right to remain in their school of origin was noted as preserved). He said reassignment under the bill would transfer administrative records and inform receiving-school administrators of the reasons for transfer. Committee members also asked whether reassignment affects NIAA (Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association) eligibility; an official from the Assembly indicated administrative reassignment would not automatically affect NIAA eligibility under current rules.

Assembly members raised several concerns. Some asked why relatively few students had sought reassignment historically (27 this year, 34 last year, versus many reported incidents) and whether the proposal would shift burdens unfairly to victims. Horn and Waugh said the proposal is intended to expand an administrator’s toolbox and preserve victim choice while creating another option for disciplinary resolution. Several members sought clarity on whether the amendment would put enabling language in statute for NDE to develop policy or would itself codify the process; witnesses described it as enabling NDE to approve a process with stakeholder input.

Testimony in support came from the Nevada Association of School Superintendents and other stakeholders; the committee closed the hearing after receiving testimony and questions and without taking a vote.

Provenance: CCSD staff presented the bill and administrators’ union leadership described administrative burdens; committee members asked questions about parental consultation, foster-student protections, record transfer and extracurricular eligibility.