SUBMITTED BY ASSEMBLY REPUBLICANS
Tomorrow, the Nevada Assembly Education Committee will hear AB 448, Governor Brian Sandoval’s plan to help transform underperforming public schools by creating the new Achievement School District.
This bill is part of a series of education reforms mentioned by the Governor in his State of the State speech which will be considered by the State Legislature this session.
The proposed bill requires the State Board of Education to identify and list public schools that demonstrate unsatisfactory student achievement for the consideration of conversion to an achievement charter school. An Executive Director of the Achievement School District, appointed by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, can select schools from the list for conversion.
Assembly Education Committee Chair Melissa Woodbury (District 23 – Henderson), an elementary school teacher, feels we need to have a better system of accountability when it comes to education.
“If certain public schools are constantly underperforming and not showing improvement, then something must be done to help those communities. This bill creates a mechanism to provide a better focus on these struggling schools in our state,” Woodbury said.
Under AB 448, any student who was enrolled in a school before the conversion to an achievement charter school must be given priority for enrollment.
The ability to transform local schools in her community is key for Assemblywomen Shelly Shelton (District 10 – Las Vegas), who has three schools in her district on the underperforming list.
“This bill targets our worst performing schools, the schools that have some of the brightest children who have had the misfortune of being stuck in a underperforming environment. These schools will be given the opportunity to try something new. It’s the right thing to do, it has worked in other states and now is the right time to do it,” Shelton said.
If a school in the proposed Achievement School District is able to demonstrate adequate improvement it can convert back to a regular public school, remain in the Achievement School District, or apply for sponsorship to become a charter school outside of the Achievement School District.
