Nevada’s Education System Shows Progress as Public Charter Schools Gain Support
While it's known that Nevada's K-12 education system has consistently ranked among the lowest nationally, the 2024-2025 Nevada School Performance Framework shows encouraging progress. Updated and released yesterday, the framework assesses schools using metrics on academic performance, chronic absenteeism, and graduation rates. Schools earn points for each, yielding an index score that determines their 1-to-5 star rating. Nevada schools have shown an 11% reduction in 1-star schools and a doubling of 5-star elementary schools in Washoe County. Statewide, 5-star schools rose to 17% from 11% in 2023-24, and 4-star schools increased to 13% from 10%. Public charter schools lead these rankings, driving significant improvements. All grade levels achieved gains in mathematics and English Language Arts proficiency. These incremental improvements suggest that sustained legislative efforts may be starting to yield results.
Over the past decade, education has consistently dominated Nevada's legislative sessions, with more bills introduced on this topic than any other. The 2025 Session continued this trend, prioritizing K-12 reforms despite fiscal limitations and partisan divides. Key reforms, ordered by scope and impact, included:
SB500: Secures $12.9 billion for K-12 funding (2025-27 biennium), ensuring historic investment levels for Nevada’s education system.
Pupil-Centered Funding: Increases base per-pupil funding to $9,414 (+5%), with additional weights prioritizing at-risk students and rural districts.
AB398: Allocates $128 million for teacher raises for hard-to-fill positions, including public charter school teachers after their exclusion in the previous session.
SB460: Invests $19 million in pre-K expansion, science-of-reading training for K-3 teachers, teacher apprenticeship programs, and a recruitment portal, while strengthening accountability measures for schools.
AB533: Enables statewide school transfers, supported by $7 million for transportation.
SB468: Allocates $7 million for transportation of public charter school students.
SB444: Restricts classroom cell phone use to improve student focus and reduce distractions.
Ultimately, the 2025 Session focused on strengthening Nevada’s education workforce and enhancing school access, with a strong focus on improving low reading proficiency rates and resolving debates over public charter school funding equity and inclusion. Despite early leadership disputes, bipartisan compromises propelled significant reforms, reinforced by Governor Joe Lombardo’s (R) commitment to including public charter schools in key policies.
Nevada’s approach to public charter schools has evolved dramatically, shifting from skepticism to recognition of their educational value. During the 2023 Session, public charter school employees were excluded from key funding, such as SB231, which allocated $250 million for teacher and staff salary increases but omitted charters. This sparked heated debates over equity and oversight, with Democratic lawmakers, often backed by teachers’ unions, advocating for stricter public charter regulations due to concerns about resource allocation. In response, Governor Joe Lombardo (R) pledged to veto any education legislation that excluded public charter schools, leveraging his authority to secure their inclusion in salary increases and educational reforms.
The Nevada School Performance Framework indicates that public charter schools, which consistently outperform traditional public schools in proficiency rates and lead rankings, especially in underserved communities, are key drivers of Nevada's educational progress. By early 2025, enrollment in Nevada’s public charter schools surpassed that of the Washoe County School District, highlighting their rising prominence. Backed by bipartisan consensus, Nevada’s growing support for public charters is significantly boosting the state’s educational rankings.
