Nevada education commission advances multiple licensure regulation updates to public workshops

The Nevada Department of Education's Commission on Professional Standards moved several proposed changes to educator licensure regulations to public workshops during its May meeting, directing staff to pursue public rule-making on school psychology standards, out-of-field reporting, endorsement updates, adaptive physical education credentials and streamlined changes to Alternative Route to Licensure (ARL) pathways.

The moves send draft language the department presented to later public workshops so stakeholders can comment before rules are finalized.

Department staff described the package as part of an ongoing regulatory review intended to remove duplicative rules, create clearer transition pathways when endorsement names change, and add alternate licensure options to address staffing needs. Jackie Nagar, an educational programs professional with the Nevada Department of Education, told commissioners the school psychology regulations in Nevada Administrative Code (NAC) chapter 391 have not been substantially revised since 1999 and that the work group consolidated multiple sections into a single updated draft (NAC 391.315) and recommended repealing several now-duplicative sections (NAC 391.316, 391.317, 391.318 and 391.319). Nagar said the consolidated draft aligns training and scope of practice with contemporary research and practice.

Christy Miguel told the commission that Nevada Medicaid has approved a State Plan Amendment to allow school psychologists to bill Medicaid for certain services, and that the department will coordinate the regulation language with Medicaid billing requirements so the license and billing align. "Just want to let you guys know for informational purpose," Miguel said.

On reporting for out-of-field assignments, department staff advised commissioners that the NAC provisions for exceptions to teach out of field duplicate newer statute provisions in NRS 385A.220——NRS 385A.230 and that districts' existing licensed personnel reporting and the department's licensing system provide the information needed, making the NAC language unnecessary. The commission agreed to move a repeal of that NAC language to a public workshop.

The department also presented draft language to allow the department to remove endorsements that no longer exist, change endorsement names where appropriate, and provide transition periods when new endorsement requirements require additional coursework. Staff used a computer-applications endorsement as an example where some educators would receive provisional continued authorization while completing a small number of missing credits; staff noted provisional authorization was used when only a few credits remained.

On adaptive physical education, the department proposed adding a pathway that recognizes existing licensed educators (physical education or special education) who meet the adaptive PE coursework requirements, providing reciprocity for out-of-state license holders whose route to a PE license may differ.

On alternative-route licensing, the department proposed streamlined procedures to allow an educator already teaching under an ARL acceptance letter to add an additional endorsement when an employer needs them in another assignment. Jeff Briskie, the department's secretary to the commission and director of educator licensure, explained the draft would allow a teacher to apply for an additional ARL endorsement for $70 without a new background check and continue teaching while the paperwork is processed. Briskie said the regulation draft would encourage districts to reimburse costs when the change is employer-driven. Commissioner Morgan said the change would address frequent staffing shifts in ARL placements and allow educators to stay employed during the transition: "This streamlines that ability when there is... a shift," Morgan said.

Each of these items was not adopted as final regulation at the meeting; the commission voted to move the drafts to public workshop for further review and stakeholder comment.

The department said it will return with workshop notices and revised draft language that reflect feedback from the commission and stakeholders.

For now, commissioners directed staff to schedule public workshops on the school psychology package, repeal of the out-of-field NAC language, endorsement name/transition language, adaptive physical education pathways, and the ARL changes so affected educators, districts and the public can submit comments before any final rule adoptions.