Memo: NSEA Opposes Senate Bill 99 As Amended

Nevada Succeeds and Teach Plus offered an 11th-hour amendment to SB99 which was accepted by the Senate Committee on Education before NSEA had sufficient time to review. The first listed objective of the amendment was to "more accurately reflect the various educational stakeholders and employee organizations in Nevada." However, the language of the amendment only creates confusion and could disenfranchise educators across large regions of the state. The language in question reads as follows:

Two(2)of the five appointments must be made from a list of names of at least three(3) persons for each of the five( 5)positions that is submitted to the Governor by an employee organization representing the majority of teachers in the State who teach in the educational level from which the appointment is being made.

Two (2) of the five appointments must be mode from o list of names of at least three (3) persons for each of the five (5) positions that is submitted to the Governor by an employee organization representing the second largest share of teachers in the State who teach in the educational level from which the appointment is being made.

One (1) of the five (5) appointments must be made from a list of names of at least three (3) persons that is submitted to the Governor by an educator organization that provides training and programs to improve instructional practice and advocacy for education policy.

In t he first two paragraphs " representation" is not defined and could mean teachers who are active members of an organization, teachers who are represented in a bargaining unit, or teachers who are generally represented through ongoing advocacy. It is likely that there are at least three organizations who could make an argument that they qualify as either the organization referenced in the first or second paragraph. If the definition of "representation" is the number of members of a bargaining unit, then only teachers in Clark or Washoe Counties would be included. Teachers in Nevada's rural counties would be excluded. Meanwhile, language in the third paragraph is generic and could literally apply to dozens of educator organizations around the state. This unnecessarily vague definition could cause even more confusion.

NSEA has been the voice of educat ors across the state for over 100 years and serves as the nominating organization for entities such as the State Board of Education, the Teachers and Leaders Council, and the English Mastery Council. In our nominations, we balance geographical diversity of the school districts in this State along with demographic diversity.