Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Private school parents: 100-day mandate for voucher money isn’t fair

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Senator Scott Hammond of the 77th (2013) Nevada Senatorial District.

Parents of private school students don’t want to put their children in public school for 100 days to be eligible for Nevada’s new voucher program.

That was the general consensus of four hours of public comment at a Friday hearing on the new law. Parents urged lawmakers to figure out another way to determine eligibility for the program, which currently requires students be enrolled at a public school for 100 days before their parents can receive money.

SB302, passed by legislators this year, says families can receive around $5,000 each year per student to use on things like private school tuition.

But parents with students already in private school told state Treasurer Dan Schwartz, who is tasked with drawing up the regulations for the program, that the law is exclusionary.

Chief among their arguments is that they pay taxes and don’t want to put their kids back into the public schools they are trying to avoid. Some parents said their children would have trouble adjusting to public school or have special needs public schools don’t accommodate.

“It’s my opinion that this law is unfair and does more harm than good,” said a Reno parent. “My hope is to not have to displace my children just to qualify.”

Others said finding the money to pay for private school has been a big sacrifice, and that being told they won’t be eligible for the program is “a slap in the face.”

The comments put state Sen. Scott Hammond, the Clark County Republican who sponsored the bill, in a tough place. He put the 100-day rule into the law because the state doesn’t budget for students who are homeschooled or in private school. Suddenly making them eligible to receive $5,000 a pop would punch a $200 million hole in Nevada's budget.

Writing that catch into the law was a big reason why it passed in the first place, Hammond said.

“Some of the criticism I think is good to hear because you want to make sure your bill becomes better,” he said. “But some of it is political reality. I know what I had to do to get it passed.”

A solution to the problem proposed by Schwartz and his staff has been to regard online classes and electives as sufficient for satisfying the requirement. That means a parent could, for example, keep their kid in a private school and have them take an easy web-based class through an online charter school for 100 days.

Many parents said they would support that solution, but the Clark County School District rebuked the idea. They don’t receive funding for part-time students who don’t spend state-mandated time in class.

What could make it into the final regulations is allowing parents with kindergartners to qualify for the program. Kindergarten is only offered in select Nevada schools and isn’t mandatory.

The criticisms underlined the urgency for finding a quick solution to the issues.

School starts in a few weeks, and many parents are currently stuck, not sure whether to keep their kids in private school or enroll them in public school.

“If you know the answer in 10 days, as opposed to 60 or 90 days … It would help us all have a complete picture in time for the school year,” said one parent.

They were joined by private school officials who said the lack of clear regulations made it hard for them to plan for the upcoming year.

“Trying to plan a budget for this has kind of been a nightmare,” said Karyn Murray, director of the Brookfield School in Reno.

The state teacher’s union urged caution, saying regulations also need to include accountability measures for private schools that receive state money. Currently, private schools are required to complete a process to become licensed to operate, but their performance is not monitored by state officials.

“We ought to move slowly and judiciously on these regulations,” said Mike McLamore, policy specialist for the Nevada State Education Association.

The first period of open enrollment for the program starts Jan. 4 and will last to Feb. 29.

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