01-04-2025
‘Parents should have freedom': Nevada law aims to allow open enrollment in schools
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – For decades, Clark County School District students could only attend public schools near their homes. However, a new law could change the dynamic by giving families a choice.
Nevada lawmakers have proposed a bill to make sure a zip code doesn't determine a child's academic success.
AB 533 would allow children to go to any school that has 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, which has some parents on board.
'Previously, I've been against what they deem as school choice or vouchers. But this district has too many schools that are failing the students that go there. And so, by at least allowing parents to choose other public schools in the district, I think it's a step in the right direction,' Leonard Lither, who has two children enrolled in the Clark County School District, said.
One of Lither's children is in middle school, the other is in high school.
'Parents should not be bound to that school if the school is going to fail the kids and the district is not taking action to correct it,' Lither said. 'Parents should have the freedom to choose a different school.'
In a letter submitted in support of the bill, Matt Turner of Clark County told lawmakers he supports the bill as a father of two children.
'Because we don't qualify for any transfer programs and remain on the magnet school waiting list, we've had no choice but to pay for private school, something that's financially unsustainable for our family,' Turner said.
The idea of open enrollment appears to have bipartisan support.
Democratic Assem. Selena Torres-Fossett proposed the changes to open enrollment. She's also the chair of the Assembly Committee on Education.
In an interview with the 8 News Now Investigators, Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo signaled his support for open enrollment as part of school choice.
'School choice is, you know, all-encompassing. It's charter schools. It's different education opportunities. It's open zoning, the ability to receive transportation, to go to a different school versus a traditional place where you reside,' Lombardo said.
According to the bill, it would be up to a school board to decide whether it will provide a school bus for kids participating in open enrollment.
Some western states with open enrollment are Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Oregon.
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