On November 14, 2022, the Nevada Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights adopted a proposal to undertake a study of shortages of teachers and other education professionals in Nevada schools and equity in education. The focus of the Committee’s inquiry was to examine whether shortages of teachers and other education professionals create inequities in the areas of access, quality of teaching, student learning, and student discipline. In addition, the Committee examined whether long-term substitute teachers and education professionals have access to sufficient training. While other important topics may have surfaced throughout the Committee’s inquiry, matters that are outside the scope of this specific civil rights mandate are left for another discussion.
As part of this inquiry, the Committee heard testimony via videoconference on April 6, 2023; and April 13, 2023; and May 26, 2023. The following report results from a review of testimony at these meetings, combined with recorded testimony presented before the 2022-23 Nevada legislative session submitted during this timeframe. It begins with a brief background of the issues to be considered by the Committee. It then identifies primary findings as they emerged from this testimony. Finally, it makes recommendations for addressing related civil rights concerns. This report and the recommendations included within it were adopted by a quorum of Committee members present at a meeting on November 17, 2023.