This Wednesday at 6pm, Assembly Bill 400 will be heard in the Assembly Committee on Ways and Means.
With AB400, Governor Lombardo has dusted off a failed voucher scheme that will do nothing to improve the quality of public education in Nevada.
Transferring more public tax dollars to private schools is the wrong answer and it always will be. There has never been more school choice in Nevada. And yet, Nevada continues to fall further behind in most education metrics.
What does AB400 do? Among other things, it would direct $26 million to private school vouchers next year with a graduated increase up to 5% in 2032 (for a total of $260 million). Here are some of the other anti-public education efforts within the bill:
- Creates the Office of School Choice with an executive director position to oversee the backdoor voucher scheme
- Expands the voucher eligibility to 500% poverty level
- Allows local governments to sponsor charter schools
- Includes language to bring back the retention punishment under the “Read By Grade Three” literacy program.
The Nevada State Education Association stands in strong opposition to AB400. Public money should stay in public schools. Nevada should instead focus on property funding public education, including Time for 20 which calls for a 20% raise for all educators, a $20/hour minimum wage in our schools, and average class sizes of 20 students.
Send the Legislature an email and urge them to oppose AB400.
Call In Option
If you are able to provide testimony over the phone at the end of the hearing (likely closer to 8-9 PM):
- Call (888) 475-4499 during the hearing.
- When prompted to provide the Meeting ID, enter 81478038922, and then press #.
- When prompted for a Participant ID, press # again.
- When the operator asks if anyone is on the line for public comment, press *9. Please listen closely as they will ask you to unmute by announcing the LAST 3 digits of your phone number.
- Press *6 to unmute. You will then have two (2) minutes to make your comment.
Written Testimony Option
NSEA has a letter-writing campaign which you can find here. You can also take that same letter and submit it into public comment. Due to the Committee Rules, you will need to copy the text on that page and send it in PDF form with your information and any additional comments you would like to make. Please feel free to share your thoughts about how taking more money from our chronically underfunded schools would impact you. You can submit your public comment to the Committee here: [email protected]
