Nevada

Nevada law does not place any caps on charter school growth.

Nevada law allows new start-ups but not public school conversions.

Nevada law allows applicants to seek approval from a local school board (if previously approved to be an authorizer by the state department of education), the State Public Charter School Authority, or a college or university within the Nevada System of Higher Education (if previously approved to be an authorizer by the state department of education).

Nevada law requires local school boards and a college or university within the Nevada System of Higher Education to apply to the state department of education for authorization to authorize charter schools. It requires an entity’s application to be approved by the state department of education before it may authorize a charter school.

Nevada law requires each authorizer to submit an annual report to the state department of education that includes: for each charter school that it authorizes with a written charter, an evaluation of the progress of each such charter school in achieving the educational goals and objectives of the written charter; for each charter school that it authorizes with a charter contract, a summary evaluating the academic, financial and organizational performance of the charter school, as measured by the performance indicators, measures and metrics set forth in the performance framework for the charter school; an identification of each charter school approved by the authorizer which has not opened and the scheduled time for opening, if any, which is open and in operation, which has transferred authorization, whose written charter has been revoked or whose charter contract has been terminated by the authorizer, whose charter contract has not been renewed by the authorizer, and which has voluntarily ceased operation; a description of the strategic vision of the authorizer for the charter schools that it authorizes and the progress of the authorizer in achieving that vision; a description of the services provided by the authorizer pursuant to a service agreement entered into with the governing body of the charter school pursuant to state law, including an itemized accounting of the actual costs of those services; the amount of any money from the federal government that was distributed to the charter school, any concerns regarding the equity of such distributions and any recommendations on how to improve access to and distribution of money from the federal government.

Nevada law requires the state department of education to conduct a comprehensive review of the authorizers that it has approved at least once every three years.

The law allows the state department of education to determine whether to continue or to revoke the authorization of an entity to authorize charter schools.

On or before December 15 of each odd-numbered year, the authorizer of a charter school must submit a report describing any actions the authorizer of the charter school has taken pursuant to NRS 388A.330 to the Legislative Committee on Education if: 1. The charter school has received, within each of the immediately preceding 3 consecutive school years, one of the two lowest ratings of performance pursuant to the statewide system of accountability for public schools; and 2. The governing body of the charter school does not plan to close the charter school pursuant to NRS 388A.306 or change the sponsorship of the charter school pursuant to NRS 388A.231.
Nevada law requires the state superintendent of public instruction to submit a periodic report to the Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau for transmission to the next regular session of the Legislature that includes: a list of each application to form a charter school that was submitted to the board of trustees of a school district, the State Authority, a college or a university during the immediately preceding biennium; the educational focus of each charter school for which an application was submitted; the current status of the application; and, if the application was denied, the reasons for the denial.

Nevada law provides that authorizers receive a fee not to exceed 2% of the total amount of money apportioned to charter schools, except that charter schools meeting the requirements of law may request their sponsor to lower the amount to not less than 1%.
Upon completion of a school quarter, the law allows an authorizer to request reimbursement from a charter school for the administrative costs associated with authorization during that school year, including an itemized list of those costs.

Statute requires a separate contract for any services purchased from an authorizer by a charter school board, excluding those services covered by the sponsorship fee. The law also provides a prohibition on authorizers requiring schools to purchase any services from them.

Nevada law and regulation contains application elements for all schools and additional application elements specific to educational service providers and replications.
The law requires authorizers to thoroughly evaluate each application with an in-person interview and a public meeting.
Nevada law requires the State Public Charter School Authority to conduct an evaluation annually of the academic needs of pupils in the state. It requires other authorizers to conduct such an evaluation before approving an application to form a charter school. It requires such evaluations to include consideration of demographic information and the needs of any pupils who are at high risk of dropping out of school.
Before approving an application to form a charter school, Nevada law requires the proposed authorizer of the charter school to determine that the proposed charter school will address one or more needs identified in the applicable geographic evaluation and that it has received sufficient public input.
Nevada law requires all charter approval or denial decisions to be made in a public meeting, with authorizers stating reasons for denials in writing.

Nevada law requires charter contracts be executed by the governing body of a charter school and the authorizer of the charter school and include a description of the administrative relationship between the authorizer and the charter school, including, without limitation, the rights and duties of the authorizer and the charter school.
The law requires charter contracts to define academic, financial, and organizational performance expectations by which the school will be judged based on a performance framework

The law provides that a written charter contract must be for a term of six years.

The law requires authorizers to ensure the collection, analysis, and reporting of all data from the results of pupils enrolled in the charter school on statewide examinations to determine whether the charter school is meeting the performance indicators, measures, and metrics for the achievement and proficiency of pupils as set forth in the performance framework for the charter school.
Nevada law requires a charter school to submit an annual budget report to its authorizer, the state superintendent of public instruction, and the Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau for transmission to the Majority Leader of the Senate and the Speaker of the Assembly. The law provides that a governing body of a charter school must cause the charter school to be audited on an annual basis.

The law requires that all authorizers must prepare an annual public report of accountability, including provisions required by law and the state department of education.

Statute explicitly states that authorizers must monitor their schools. Nevada law requires authorizers to conduct site evaluations of each campus of a charter school that it authorizes during the first, third, and fifth years after entering into or renewing a charter contract.
The law requires authorizers to notify schools of problems and ask them to remedy them (or at least provide a summary of how they are planning on remedying them) by a certain date.

The law allows authorizers to proceed with consequences or sanctions or both if problems are found and not resolved.

Nevada law requires authorizers to issue school performance renewal reports to schools whose charter will expire the following year, requires charter schools seeking renewal to apply for it, and provides renewal application requirements and timelines.

Nevada regulations allow authorizers to have a differentiated process for renewal of high-performing charter schools.

Nevada law requires that an authorizer’s renewal decisions be based upon the criteria of the authorizer for the renewal of charter contracts and evidence of the performance of the charter school during the term of the charter contract in accordance with the performance framework for the charter school.

If the proposed authorizer is the State Public Charter School Authority or a college or university within the Nevada System of Higher Education, Nevada law requires the proposed authorizer, in renewing the application to form a charter school, to solicit input from the board of trustees of the school district in which the proposed charter school will be located.
Nevada law provides that an authorizer may reconstitute the governing body of a charter school, revoke a written charter, or terminate a charter contract before the expiration of the charter if the sponsor determines that: the charter school, its officers, or its employees committed a material breach of the terms and conditions of the written charter or charter contract, failed to comply with generally accepted standards of fiscal management, failed to comply with the provisions of the state’s charter law or any other statute or regulation applicable to charter schools; the charter school has filed for a voluntary petition of bankruptcy, is adjudicated bankrupt or insolvent, or is otherwise financially impaired such that the charter school cannot continue to operate; there is reasonable cause to believe that revocation or termination is necessary to protect the health and safety of the pupils who are enrolled in the charter school or persons who are employed by the charter school from jeopardy, or to prevent damage to or loss of the property of the school district or the community in which the charter school is located; the authorizer determines that the committee to form the charter school or charter management organization, as applicable, or any member of the committee to form the charter school or charter management organization, as applicable, or the governing body of the charter school has at any time made a material misrepresentation or omission concerning any information disclosed to the sponsor; the charter school is a high school that has a graduation rate for the immediately preceding school year that is less than 60 percent; the charter school is an elementary or middle school or junior high school that is rated in the lowest 5 percent of elementary schools, middle schools or junior high schools in the State in pupil achievement and school performance for the immediately preceding school year, as determined by the Department pursuant to the statewide system of accountability for public schools; or the charter school has persistently underperformed, including, without limitation, underperformance in pupil achievement and school performance, as determined by the Department pursuant to criteria prescribed by regulation.

Nevada law provides that the authorizer of a charter school shall revoke the written charter or terminate the charter contract of the charter school or restart the charter school under a new charter contract if the charter school receives three annual ratings established as the lowest rating possible indicating underperformance of a public school for any three out of five years, as determined by the state department of education pursuant to the statewide system of accountability for public schools.

Nevada law allows flexibility during the charter school contract renewal process by allowing the length of the renewed contract to vary from three to 10 years.
Nevada law requires authorizers to provide charter schools with timely notification of potential reconstitution, revocation, termination, and non-renewal decisions, a reasonable time to respond, and due process.

Nevada law provides that renewal contract terms are for six years. It does not allow authorizers to vary the length of charter renewal contract terms based on performance or other issues.

Nevada law requires governing bodies of charter schools that cease to operate voluntarily or upon revocation of their written charter contract to appoint an administrator of the charter school to act as a trustee during the process of the closure of the charter school and for one year after the date of closure.

State law notes that no charter contract is assignable or transferable and may not be delegated to a third party.

Nevada laws and regulations allow charters to contract with educational service providers, require that certain information be provided in the charter application, require a performance contract between the charter and the provider, require the contract to be approved by the authorizer, require the charter to operate independently of the provider, and require conflicts of interest to be disclosed.

The law requires that any information provided to a charter school authorizer by a charter management company is a public record, unless a school requests such information to be confidential and the authorizer agrees.

On or before November 1 of each even-numbered year, the governing body of each charter school that enters into a contract with an educational management organization shall submit to the authorizer of the charter school a report that includes the amount paid to the educational management organization in the current and immediately preceding fiscal years. On or before November 1 of each even-numbered year, each authorizer of a charter school that enters into a contract with an educational management organization shall submit to the Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau for transmission to the next regular session of the Legislature a report that includes the amount paid to the educational management organization by the charter school in the current and immediately preceding fiscal years.
The governing body of a charter school that receives services from an educational management organization shall post to the Internet website of the charter school:
* Each financial audit and each performance audit of the charter school required by the Department pursuant to NRS 388A.105 or 388A.110;
* Information on the contract with the charter management organization or the educational management organization, including, without limitation: (I) The amount of money received by the educational management organization from public and private sources to carry out the terms of the contract; (II) The expenditures of the educational management organization relating to carrying out the contract, including, without limitation, the payment of salaries, benefits and bonuses; and (III) An identification of each contract, transaction and agreement entered into by the educational management organization relating to carrying out the contract with the charter school, including, without limitation, contracts, transactions and agreements with parent organizations, subsidiaries and partnerships of the educational management organization; and
* To the extent practicable, information on any contract between a member of the governing body of the charter school or any member of the family of the member of the governing body and another charter school, sponsor of a charter school, charter management organization or educational management organization.
It shall also submit information on the contract with the educational management organization and a letter describing whether the governing body of the charter school is satisfied with the contractual relationship with the educational management organization to the authorizer of the charter school.
The authorizer of a charter school may, after reviewing the information provided, request additional information, conduct an investigation or otherwise take action relating to the information received by the authorizer of the charter school.
On or before December 15 of each odd-numbered year, the authorizer of a charter school that receives information on a contract between the governing body of a charter school and an educational management organization shall submit a report of such information to the Legislative Committee on Education.

Nevada law provides for fiscally and legally autonomous schools with independent charter school boards.

Nevada law requires public charter schools to be open to any student in the state that wishes to enroll. If a charter school is sponsored by a local school board of a school district located in a county whose population is 100,000 or more, the law requires the charter school to enroll pupils who are eligible for enrollment who reside in the school district in which the charter school is located before enrolling pupils who reside outside the school district, except for a program of distance education provided by the charter school.
Nevada’s law includes anti-discrimination provisions regarding admissions.

Nevada law provides that before a charter school enrolls pupils who are eligible for enrollment, a charter school may enroll a child who is a sibling of a pupil who is currently enrolled in the charter school, was enrolled, free of charge, and on the basis of a lottery system in a prekindergarten program at the charter school or any other early childhood education program affiliated with the charter school, is a child of a person who is employed by the charter school, who is a member of the committee to form the school, who is a member of the governing body of the school, or who resides on or is employed on the federal military installation if the charter school is located on a federal military installation, is enrolled in a charter school that has an articulation agreement approved by the authorizer, is in a particular category of at-risk pupils and the child meets the eligibility for enrollment prescribed by the charter school for that particular category, is enrolled in a public school of a school district with an enrollment that is more than 25 percent over the public school’s intended capacity and is located within two miles of the charter school, is enrolled in a public school that received an annual rating established as one of the two lowest ratings possible indicating underperformance of the public school in the immediately preceding school year and is located within two miles of the charter school, or resides within the school district and within two miles of the charter school if the charter school is located in an area that the authorizer of the charter school determines includes a high percentage of children who are at risk. If space is available after the charter school enrolls such pupils, the law allows a charter school to enroll children who reside outside the school district but within two miles of the charter school if the charter school is located within an area that the authorizer determines includes a high percentage of children who are at risk.

The law provides that any pupil who was enrolled in a school before conversion to a charter school must be enrolled in the charter school unless the parent or guardian of the pupil submits written notice that the pupil will not continue to be enrolled at the school.

Nevada law also states that If the local school board of the school district in which the charter school is located has established zones of attendance, the charter school must, if practicable, ensure that the racial composition of pupils enrolled in the charter school does not differ by more than 10% from the racial composition of pupils who attend public schools in the zone in which the charter school is located.

The law requires a charter school that is restarted to enroll a pupil who was enrolled in the charter school before the school was restarted before any other eligible pupil is enrolled.

Nevada law requires that in a county in which more than five charter schools are located and the total number of pupils enrolled in the charter schools exceeds 25 percent of the combined enrollment of all public schools, including, without limitation, charter schools, the state department of education shall, in consultation with all authorizers of charter schools in the county, determine whether holding a weighted lottery for admission to charter schools would improve diversity in charter schools that do not have a preference for at-risk pupils. If the department determines that a weighted lottery for admission to charter schools would improve diversity in such charter schools, the department shall, to the extent authorized by federal law, adopt regulations authorizing charter schools to establish a weighted lottery.

Nevada law requires that in a county in which more than ten charter schools are located and the total number of pupils enrolled in charter schools exceeds 50 percent of the combined enrollment of all public schools, including, without limitation, charter schools, the department shall, in consultation with all authorizers of charter schools in the county:

* Adopt regulations establishing a uniform enrollment calendar and process for enrolling pupils applicable to all charter schools in the county. The regulations must establish a lottery for admission to each charter school in the county. If a charter school does not have a preference for at-risk pupils, the lottery must, to the extent authorized by federal law, be a weighted lottery.
* Allow the board of trustees of the school district to provide input regarding the enrollment calendar, processes for enrolling pupils, and lotteries established.

Nevada law requires charter schools to hold lotteries if too many students seek enrolment in the school.

Nevada law allows a charter school to submit a written request to the state superintendent of public instruction for a waiver from providing the days of instruction required by state law. The law allows the state superintendent of public instruction to grant the request if the charter school demonstrates to the satisfaction of the state superintendent that extenuating circumstances exist to justify the waiver and that the charter school will provide at least as many hours or minutes of instruction as would be provided under a program consisting of the days of instruction required by state law.

Nevada law provides the following teacher certification requirements for charters:

(1) Except as otherwise provided in law, at least 80% of the teachers who provide instruction at a charter school must hold a license or endorsement to teach issued by the state superintendent of public instruction.
(2) If a charter school specializes in the construction industry or other building industry, teachers who are employed full-time to teach courses of study relating to business and industry must hold a license or endorsement issued by the state superintendent of public instruction.
(3) A teachers who is employed by a charter school, regardless of the date of hire, must be licensed to teach if the teacher teaches ore ore more of the core academic subjects.
(6) A charter school may employ a person who is hold a license ore endorsement to teach if the person has a degree, a license, or a certificate in the field for which he is employed to teach at the charter school and at least two years of experience in that field.

The state of Nevada requires collective bargaining for non-charter public school teachers. There are 10 topics that collective bargaining must cover: wages, insurance or fringe benefits, hours, length of preparation periods, length of the school year, leave, transfers and reassignment, layoffs, dismissal, and grievance procedures. Bargaining class load or size and evaluation procedures is permitted but not required. Only one topic, management rights, is expressly prohibited from collective bargaining. Nevada law provides that charter schools are exempt from district collective bargaining agreements.
Prior to the Supreme Court’s Janus v. AFSCME decision, Nevada state law prohibited unions from charging agency fees to non-union members of any collective bargaining unit. Therefore, the Supreme Court’s decision did not have any effect on unions in the state. There has not been any reactive legislation enacted.
In Nevada, a public employer has the right to recognize an exclusive representative. An employee organization must present a membership list showing that it represents a majority of employees in the unit. If the Local Government Employee-Management Relations Board doubts the organization’s majority representation, it may conduct a secret ballot election. The law does not provide for the frequency of elections, the content of the ballot, or for a runoff election.

Nevada law allows charter boards to hold multiple contracts and requires independent accountability for each school.
Nevada law also allows public charter schools to consolidate and form a single charter school operating one or more campuses under a new charter contract. It does not require independent accountability for each school, though. However, the state must consider the academic performance of individual campuses before submitting any grant application that may result in funds being distributed to a school or its authorizer.

Nevada law allows charter school students in schools not providing extra-curricular and interscholastic activities to have access to those activities at non-charter public schools by a mutual agreement.

Nevada law provides that the State Public Charter School Authority is the LEA for charters authorized by it and a college or university within the Nevada System of Higher Education. It also allows the Authority to select up to two of its schools to act as their own LEAs. The law does not provide similar clarity for charters authorized by school districts or regarding funding for low-incident, high-cost services for charter schools in the same amount or in a manner similar to other LEAs.
If the authorizer is the State Public Charter School Authority or a college or university within the Nevada System of Higher Education, law and regulation provide that a written charter contract must set forth the responsibilities of the authorizer and the charter school with regard to the provision of services and programs to pupils with disabilities who are enrolled in the charter school in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This provision does not apply to charters authorized by local school boards.

The law provides that a charter school is entitled to receive its proportionate share of any other money available from federal, state, or local sources that the school or the pupils who are enrolled in the school are eligible to receive.

Nevada law includes some of the model law’s provisions for equitable operational and categorical funding, but there is no evidence of the amount of funds charters receive versus districts.

Nevada law provides that each pupil who is enrolled in a charter school, including, without limitation, a pupil who is enrolled in a program of special education in a charter school, must be included in the count of pupils in the school district for the purposes of apportionments and allowances from the State Distributive School Account.

It also provides that a charter school is entitled to receive its proportionate share of any other money available from federal, state, or local sources that the school or the pupils who are enrolled in the school are eligible to receive.

The law does not provide funding for transportation similar to school districts.

In 2021, the state provided $15 million in federal funds to charter schools serving a large percentage of students in the federal Title I program.

Subject to legislative appropriation, charter schools may apply to the state department of education for available money for facilities if certain qualifications are met. However, the Fund to Assist School Districts in Financing Capital Improvements is not currently funded.Nevada law allows charter schools to contract with school districts for the use of facilities at a cost no more than the amount of per pupil dollars the district would otherwise spend on the building, but there is no requirement to offer right of first refusal.

Nevada law provides charter schools with access to the State-sponsored Account for Charter Schools, a revolving loan fund. The Account for Charter Schools revolving loan fund was funded for the first time in 2013 with a one-time State appropriation of $750,000. This funding must be used to make loans at or below market rate to charter schools for costs incurred in preparing a charter school to commence its first year of operations or to improve a charter school that has been in operation. The maximum loan amount is the lesser of $500 per pupil or $200,000. Repayment must be completed in three years.

Nevada law authorizes the Director of the Department of Business and Industry to issue bonds and other obligations to finance the acquisition, construction, improvement, restoration, or rehabilitation of property, buildings, and facilities for charter schools.
Nevada law allows charter schools to contract with school districts for the use of facilities at a cost no more than the amount of per pupil dollars the district would otherwise spend on the building.

Nevada law requires participation in the relevant employee retirement systems.

Nevada law defines a “charter school for distance education” as a charter school that provides a full-time program of distance education in order to treat them differently than brick-and-mortar charter schools. Nevada law limits enrollment in charter schools for distance education authorized by a district to only students residing in that district.
Nevada law allows a charter school management organization to apply directly to the State Public Charter School Authority to operate a charter school for distance education.
Nevada law places additional requirements into the application for a charter school for distance education, including a description of: the support available to each pupil in his or her home or community, including the availability and frequency of interactions between the pupil and teachers; the methods the charter school for distance education will use to administer any test, exam, or assessment required by state or federal law; the methods the charter school for distance education will use to assess the academic success of pupils; and the criteria pupils must meet to be eligible for enrollment at the charter school for distance education and the process for accepting pupils.
Nevada law requires the State Public Charter School Authority to adopt a standard charter contract to be used for each charter school for distance education.
Nevada law requires that any charter contract to operate a charter school for distance education entered into on or after July 31, 2019, must include a description of: the support available to each pupil, in his or her home or community, including the availability and frequency of interactions between the pupil and teachers; the methods the charter school for distance education will use to administer any test, exam, or assessment required by state or federal law; the methods the charter school for distance education will use to assess the academic success of pupils; and the criteria pupils must meet to be eligible for enrollment at the charter school for distance education and the process for accepting pupils.
Nevada law provides that for the purposes of calculating attendance, truancy, and transiency of pupils, a charter school for distance education may use the following methods: the amount of time each pupil spends on a computer, television, Internet website, or other means of communication used to administer the program of distance education; the progress of each pupil in completing tasks during a specific period of time; or the number of lessons and units completed by each pupil.
Nevada law deems the State Public Charter School Authority as a local educational agency for all charter schools for distance education which are authorized by the Authority.