CCSD opposes school choice bill, while lawmakers say it empowers families
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The Clark County School District is against a bill that would let parents enroll their children at any public school regardless of where they live.
Nevada lawmakers held a hearing for Assembly Bill 533 (AB533), also known as the open enrollment bill, on Tuesday with CCSD providing the lone dissent among speakers.
'As we talk about open enrollment, I just want it to be clear that we are providing as many seats as we possibly can to any school that's underutilized,' Brad Keating, assistant superintendent at CCSD, said.
Despite CCSD's opposition, the bill has support among Democrats, Republicans and the business community.
During testimony, supporters argued the bill's lottery system for placing children in schools outside of their neighborhood will be fairer than what's currently in place.
'As an educator, as a school leader, and as a policymaker — I see the potential this bill has to change lives and to change the trajectory of so many students and close the equity gap for families,' Democratic Assem. Selena Torres-Fossett said.
'Parents should have freedom': Nevada law aims to allow open enrollment in schools
AB533 would allow children to go to any school that has the room through a lottery system. Parents would have to apply first and if they're denied, there would be a mechanism where they could appeal the decision.
Supporters said this proposal is about creating no address discrimination.
'Families will do what is best for them and I think we should empower those families to make those decisions,' Torres-Fossett said.
The Vegas Chamber, the American Civil Liberties Union, Latin Chamber of Commerce, Americans for Prosperity and NAACP all came out in support of AB533.
Keating said the district is against it.
'We're still struggling to figure out the difference between the COSA process and what this lays out in law, so we want to work with the stakeholders to figure that out,' Keating said.
COSA is Change of School Assignment. According to CCSD, there are 16,000 students under COSA.
Lesson learned: Lawmaker takes second crack at help for English learners in Nevada schools
But unlike the new proposal, CCSD does not have a process to appeal a denial, according to the district's website.
'The reality right now is there is no equity. Those kids who are at schools where they aren't happy or not satisfied do not have other options unless they are attending a public charter school, or unless they're in a magnet program,' Torres-Fossett said.
Another point that came up with the bill was public transportation, but according to the bill's text, school trustees will create and submit a report to the state every year evaluating the issue.
Keating said the district has problems with the legislation's language on school capacity and the fact that a student's behavior will be used as a factor in their application.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Boston Globe
36 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
It's a really bad time to be an expert in Washington
At the Pentagon, 14 advisory boards have been dismantled, with curt, thank-you-for-your-service notes sent to Democrats and Republicans alike. Some of the boards dealt with obscure matters. But others focused on vital issues, like rethinking the U.S. nuclear arsenal as China's nuclear buildup, Russian President Vladimir Putin's episodic nuclear threats and Trump's ambitious demand for a 'Golden Dome' missile defense system have changed the nature of nuclear strategy. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Also gone: the board of experts who were trying to learn lessons from China's astoundingly successful hack into the country's telecommunications networks -- where, by all accounts, the hackers remain to this day. Then came historians at the State Department and the climate specialists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which employed experts in weather, oceans, climate and biodiversity. Advertisement The National Weather Service lost so many people that the agency had to hire some back. No such luck for researchers relying on the National Science Foundation, where projects are disappearing every month. Advertisement No one killed off the expert advisory board at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as it deliberated whether healthy children should receive the COVID vaccine. They did not have to. While it weighed the pros and cons, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his colleagues announced that they had already made their decision. 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Lacking the authority to fire the budget experts there, the White House turned to casting them as politically biased. And while every new president replaces board members and demands some fealty to the new leader's ideology, what has happened in the past four months seems to some in the federal government more like China's cultural revolution, where the only good ideas are the ones that flow from the leader, and both research reports and intelligence findings should support the president's desires. And when they are not, trouble follows. Just ask the National Intelligence Council, a small subset of intelligence experts -- many drawn from academia -- what happened when it came to the conclusion that the Venezuelan government was not controlling a criminal gang, an argument that Trump had used to justify deportations. The experts were told to 'do some rewriting' so the material could not be used against the president and Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence. 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41 minutes ago
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an hour ago
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Dupont Circle re-opened: Just hours before the official WorldPride parade kicks off, the National Park Service began removing the anti-scale fencing surrounding Dupont Circle park after the agency's decision to close the area sparked outrage among Washingtonians, Martin Austermuhle reports for The 51st. Earlier this week, the park service ordered Dupont Circle to be closed in order to 'secure the park, deter potential violence, reduce the risk of destructive acts and decrease the need for extensive law enforcement presences.' But to many Washingtonians, the move smacked of politics, given the Circle's centrality to the gay rights movement in the district. 'Dupont Circle is sacred ground for the LGBTQ+ community — a place with a rich history of protest, pride and joy,' Zachary Parker, an openly gay Democratic member of the city council, told POLITICO's Michael Schaffer. 'Closing it during one of the most significant global celebrations of our community sends the wrong message.' 'Rainbow-washing' meets the Trump era: Years of complaints from voices on the left about so-called 'rainbow-washing' — that is, when major corporations publicly tout their support for LGBTQ+ people during Pride Month without taking more concrete steps to help the community — have given way to a new question as corporate sponsorships dry up under Trump: Is 'rainbow-washing' preferable to the alternative of not supporting Pride events? Booz Allen Hamilton, the federal contracting giant, pulled out of being a headline sponsor of WorldPride in February. Other companies such as Deloitte, Comcast, Darcars Automotive Group and Nissan have declined to support the event this year despite contributing funding in previous years; some, like Nissan, have cited budgetary concerns as their reason for not participating. Similar stories abound across the country, as corporations roll back support for Pride out of fear of retaliation from the Trump administration, leaving many festivals strapped for cash, as POLITICO Journalism Institute's Rachael Dziaba reports for Playbook. In Washington, two months after Booz Allen dropped out, Capital Pride Alliance, the nonprofit that manages DC Pride, launched a 'Hate Is No Joke' fundraising campaign with an initial lofty goal of raising $2 million, according to the Washington Blade. The fundraiser's target has since been lowered to $1 million. As of Saturday morning, 'Hate Is No Joke' has amassed roughly $66,000. ('This is an on-going fundraiser with no definitive end to help us continue to raise funds even after WorldPride DC is over,' a spokesperson for Capital Pride told Playbook. 'We are on track for budgeted expectations for individual donations so far.') But some of those who've railed against 'rainbow-washing' see this all as a vindication. 'As the queer community, we should have never gone to corporations and expected that money to always be there,' said Jen Deerinwater, an organizer who is bisexual, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and participated in protests against corporate involvement in Capital Pride in 2017. 'Pride cannot solely constitute a parade with Deloitte floats and a concert series,' said Jack Petocz, who traveled to D.C. to attend WorldPride on behalf of the advocacy organization Gen-Z for Change. 'We will continue with or without the support of these major corporations, and truly go back to what Pride is all about: being a protest, being a liberatory force, and fighting for ourselves.' 'It's important to note that everyone has opinions on where funding for Pride should come from,' a spokesperson for Capital Pride told Playbook in a statement. 'A question may be, 'have the LGBTQ activists that you've spoken to, and who complain about corporate sponsorship actually donated to Pride themselves?' … [T]he major funders for most events, not just Pride, come from corporations. We did experience loss of support, but also received additional support from other new companies to help bridge that gap.' 2. RECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES: As the Senate reconvenes next week to continue hashing out the details of Trump's sweeping tax bill, CBO Director Phill Swagel is defending his agency from GOP lawmakers who believe its fiscal scoring of the megabill is 'too pessimistic' and 'tilts against Republicans,' WSJ's Richard Rubin scoops: 'What CBO is doing is what it is supposed to do, said Swagel, in his first direct response to GOP criticisms. … 'The tax cut is a tax cut. Revenue goes down,' Swagel said. 'There's improved growth, but not so much as to lead to the tax cut to pay for itself.'' 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Another legal victory: In a second unsigned order yesterday, the high court also ruled that DOGE 'does not have to turn over internal records to a government watchdog group as part of a public records lawsuit' for now, per NYT's Adam Liptak and Abbie VanSickle. And despite the president's high-profile fallout with his former DOGE chief this week, the organization is likely here to stay, with staffers 'deeply embedded' across several federal agencies, per NYT: 'Whether DOGE keeps its current Musk-inspired form remains an open question … but the approach that DOGE embodied at the outset — deep cuts in spending, personnel and projects — appears to have taken root.' 4. RUSSIA-UKRAINE LATEST: The Russian barrage of drone strikes today targeting the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv killed at least three people and injured 21, officials say. The attacks 'included deadly aerial glide bombs that have become part of fierce Russian attacks in the three-year war,' per the AP. 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Abrego Garica made his first related court appearance last night 'in the Middle District of Tennessee, answering 'Yes, I understand' in Spanish when U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes asked him if he understood the charges against him.' Abrego Garcia's lawyers claim the allegations should be ''treated with suspicion' because of the Trump administration's effort to publicly assail Abrego Garcia's character,' POLITICO's Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein report. AG Pam Bondi told reporters yesterday the 'intense scrutiny of Abrego Garcia had led to the break-up of the human smuggling ring he was allegedly involved in.' How we got here: 'Key moments that led to smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego García,' per WaPo's Steve Thompson 6. SCHOOL DAZE: Education Secretary Linda McMahon said she is seeing 'progress' on the administration's demands from Harvard and Columbia University as Trump ramps up his pressure campaign against the nation's academic institutions, NBC News' Vaughn Hillyard and Alexandra Marquez report: 'And you know why I think we're seeing progress? We are putting these measures in place, and we're saying we're putting teeth behind what we're looking at,' McMahon told NBC. 7. BLURRED LINES: 'A Super PAC Is Encroaching on the DCCC's Territory,' by NOTUS' Alex Roarty: 'House Majority PAC is actively recruiting candidates, vetting their backgrounds and even potentially running ads on their behalf in competitive primaries … The belief among some strategists is that House Majority PAC's ramped-up involvement this cycle represents a shift in how the Democratic party approaches House races, one in which the super PAC assumes more responsibilities.' 8. MIND THE GROUP CHAT Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is at the center of an ongoing Pentagon investigation exploring whether his Signal messages, reported earlier this year, contained classified military information 'and if anyone ordered texts to be deleted,' WSJ's Alex Ward and Nancy Youssef report: 'It is unclear whether Acting Pentagon Inspector General Steven Stebbins, who is overseeing the probe, will reach a public conclusion about whether the information was classified' at the time it was shared, but the IG is likely to release his findings ahead of Hegseth's scheduled testimony before the House Armed Services Committee next Thursday. 9. MARK YOUR CALENDARS: U.S. and Chinese trade officials will meet in London on Monday for another round of trade talks amid rising tensions between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, AP's Seung Min Kim reports: 'Speaking to reporters on Air Force One yesterday Trump 'said Xi had agreed to restart exports of rare earth minerals and magnets to the U.S. which China had slowed, threatening a range of U.S. manufacturers that relied on the critical materials. … Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will represent the U.S. side in the trade talks.' CLICKER — 'The nation's cartoonists on the week in politics,' edited by Matt Wuerker — 16 funnies GREAT WEEKEND READS: — 'A Bizarre PTSD Therapy 'Seemed Too Good to Be True,'' by The Atlantic's Yasmin Tayag: 'What if overcoming trauma can be painless?' — 'The War on Trees,' by Foreign Affairs' Justyna Gudzowska and Laura Ferris: 'How illegal logging funds cartels, terrorists, and rogue regimes.' — 'How Tech Company Recruiters Sidestep Trump's Immigration Crackdown' by ProPublica's Alec MacGillis: 'I had entered one of the most overlooked yet consequential corners of the United States immigration system: the process by which employers sponsor tech workers with temporary H-1B visas as a first step to getting them the green card that entitles them to permanent residency in the U.S.' — 'How measles tore through a remote West Texas city,' by NBC News' Brandy Zadrozny: 'Anti-vaccine activists seized on a deadly outbreak in Seminole, setting off a battle between fringe doctors and mainstream medicine.' — 'Musket vs. AR-15: Judges Are Throwing Out Gun Restrictions Because of Antiquated Laws From America's Founding,' by Chip Brownlee for The Trace: 'A 2022 Supreme Court decision that gun laws should align with the nation's 'history and tradition' has sown confusion in courtrooms and weakened longstanding limits on firearms.' — 'A Professor Was Fired for Her Politics. Is That the Future of Academia?' by Sarah Viren for NYT Mag: 'Maura Finkelstein is one of many scholars discovering that the traditional protections of academic freedom are no longer holding.' TALK OF THE TOWN OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED yesterday morning at the Swiss ambassador's residence in D.C. for a gathering of the intellectual community in which Matt Kaminski moderated a conversation on China, AI and Europe: Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), David Petraeus, Mike Gallagher, Rolf Dobelli, Corinna Hoyer, Ralph Büchi, Anne Neuberger, Julius Genachowski, Paul Nakasone, Heather Podesta, Juleanna Glover, Alan Fleischmann and Dafna Tapiero, Dmitri Alperovitch, Bruce Andrews, Anne Brady Perron, Sheel Tyle, Mark Vlasic, Jonathan Silver, Tomicah Tillemann, Raj Kumar, Ed Luce, Gary Knell, Afsaneh Beschloss, David Bohigian, Doug Rediker and Heidi Crebo-Rediker, Peter Cherukuri, David Feith and Amy Dacey. — SPOTTED last night at Elephant and Castle at Article III Project's 'Bold and Fearless Judges' event hosted by Mike Davis, who did a hit on Fox News in the middle of the event, and Otto Heck: Todd Blanche, David Warrington, Harmeet Dhillon, Andrew Ferguson, Emil Bove, Michael Thielen, Mia Heck, Ryan Giles, Lanny Davis, Gene Hamilton, Gary Lawkowski, Mark Paoletta, Steve Kenny, Gineen Bresso, Bill McGinley, Tom DeMatteo, Stanley Woodward, Patrick Davis, Lee Holmes, Kat Nikas, Aakash Singh, Sam Adkisson, Gates McGavick, Chad Gilmartin, Don McGahn, Terry and Katie Schilling, Bill and Katie Lane, Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves and Ted Groves, Arthur Schwartz, Jessie Jane Duff, Derek and Liz Lyons, Derrick Anderson, Megan Owen, Alida Kass, Graziella Pastor, Stuart McCommas, Brendan Chestnut, Dan Burrows, Kenny Cunningham, Jeff Clark, Lee Holmes, John Bachman, Mike Carter and Alex Swoyer. — SPOTTED at the Picnic Theatre Company's performance of 'Heaven Can Wait' at Tudor Place last night: Steve Rochlin, Christina Sevilla, Sara Cook, Bruce Kieloch, David White, Kimball Stroud, Michael Isikoff, Mary Ann Akers, David Corn, Amy Argetsinger, Indira Lakshmanan, Raquel Krahenbuhl, Riikka Hietajarvi, Nancy Bagley, Soroush Shehabi, Erica Payne, Gene Haigh, Julia Cohen, Neil Barrett, Puru Trivedi, Nova Daly, Kevin Rooney, Antonio Olivo, Amirah Sequeira, Chris Fowler, Alexa Newlin, Jennifer Grinspoon, Daniela McInerne, Dan Burrows and Hugo Verges. TRANSITION — Damian Williams is joining Jenner & Block as partner. He previously was at Paul Weiss and is a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. More from WaPo HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M) … former VP Mike Pence … Wendy Sherman … Bloomberg's Catherine Lucey … Netflix's Adonna Biel … SKDK's Stephanie Reichin ... Myra Adams … Christina Animashaun … FGS Global's Lars Anderson … Covington & Burling's Dan Erikson … former Reps. Alex Mooney ( and Susan Wild (D-Pa.) … Paul Kelly of the Livingston Group … retired Coast Guard Vice Adm. Brian Peterman … Jerry White … Nathasha Lim Symanski … Chrissy Barry of the House Homeland Security counterterrorism subcommittee … Microsoft's Kaitlin Kirshner Haskins … Jessie D'Angelo … Haley Dorgan … Elizabeth Thorp … Chris Ortman … Javier de Diego … KHQ's Bradley Warren … Dave Abrams THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here): POLITICO 'The Conversation with Dasha Burns': Rahm Emanuel. ABC 'This Week': Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy … House Speaker Mike Johnson. Panel: Chris Christie, Donna Brazile and Reince Priebus Fox News 'Sunday Morning Futures': Interior Secretary Doug Burgum … Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) … Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.) … Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). CNN 'State of the Union': Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) … Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) … Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.). Panel: Bakari Sellers, Xochitl Hinojosa, Kristen Soltis Anderson and Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.). MSNBC 'The Weekend: Primetime': Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) … New York Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani … South Carolina State Rep. Keishan Scott. NBC 'Meet the Press': Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) … Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) … Olivia Munn. Panel: Leigh Ann Caldwell, Sara Fagen, Symone Sanders Townsend and Melanie Zanona. CBS 'Face the Nation': Kevin Hassett … Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) … Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texa) … Janti Soeripto … Anthony Salvanto. NewsNation 'The Hill Sunday,' guest-anchored by Blake Burman: Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) … Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.) … Neil Bradley. Panel: Kellie Meyer, Tyler Pager, Jason Willick and John Tamny. FOX 'Fox News Sunday': Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) … Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas). Panel: Mary Katharine Ham, Josh Kraushaar, Marc Thiessen and Juan Williams. CNN 'Inside Politics Sunday': Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.). Panel: Astead Herndon, Olivia Beavers and Jeff Mason. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@ or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Zack Stanton, deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
