The Nevada State Board of Education acts as the North Star of the Nevada education system, developing the vision and policy goals for student achievement. The Board sets policy standards to ensure that all students receive equal and equitable access to a high-quality education in a safe, respectful, and culturally responsive environment. They review and approve program outcomes, achievement data, assessments, opportunity gaps, and more to ensure students have the tools they need to graduate career-ready and globally prepared.

The State Board of Education is composed of eleven members; four members are elected from the four congressional districts in Nevada, and seven members are appointed. The Board is authorized under Nevada Revised Statute (NRS) 385.021.

With a vision driven by equity and focused on lifting up every student in Nevada, the Board adopted the following vision statement in July of 2021:

All Nevada students are equipped and feel empowered to attain their vision of success.

The Board then adopted two 5-year goals, which seek to continue to push Nevada forward and encourage our students to always aim higher. These goals are:

From Top 20 to Top 10: Move up in State rankings from 18th in September of 2020 to Top 10 by July 2026, as measured by the Academic portions of Quality Counts K-12 Student Achievement.

50% of Students Achieve CCR Diploma: Increase the overall number of students receiving the College and Career Ready (CCR) diploma from 23.9% in July 2021 to 50% by July 2026 and eliminate gaps of student groups while raising the overall average.

Nevada law requires the Board to develop a 5-year strategic plan to improve the achievement of students enrolled in public schools across Nevada, officially referred to as a “Statewide Plan for the Improvement of Pupils”. We often abbreviate this to “STIP”. The Board must submit this plan, or a revised plan, on or before March 31 of each year. The STIP is prepared for the State Board’s consideration by the Nevada Department of Education (NDE) and reflects feedback and input gathered from school districts, education partners, and stakeholders across the State. (These requirements are outlined in NRS 385.111-113)

The STIP must include evidence-based strategies to improve academic achievement, and address topics such as literacy, English language skills, school discipline, attendance, curriculum, assessments, instructional practices, professional learning, access to technology, graduation and progression, allocation of resources, and more. The STIP must also have clear goals, benchmarks, timelines, measurable criteria, and provisions for successful implementation and improvement. This five-year plan is then reviewed annually to monitor progress and revise as needed.

The STIP serves as a work plan and vision for improving education in Nevada over the next five years. You can learn more on our About our Strategic Improvement Plan page.

In June of 2020 the State Board of Education formed a workgroup that would focus on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), with a focus on community engagement and outreach. Founded by then-Board President Elaine Wynn, the DEI Workgroup began its work to address the digital divide under COVID-19. Past-President Wynn went on to work with the Nevada COVID-19 Task Force and develop ConnectingKidsNV, an unprecedented public-private partnership which successfully provided a device and connectivity to every student with an expressed need.

In January of 2021, the DEI workgroup realigned its goals to focus on increasing participation in college-level and career and technical education (CTE) coursework and increasing access to STEM learning. The Workgroup remains dedicated to improving student outcomes, closing opportunity gaps, and supporting all students, families, and educators.

The Workgroup is chaired by Board Member Tamara Hudson.

The Board underwent Silver State Governance training in January of 2021. This is a training which supports Boards in developing goals and guardrails to ensure that the Board is focused on students and student outcomes.