Senate Bill 200

Overview

Senate Bill 200 (2017, 79th Legislative Session) was signed into law on June 15, 2017 by Governor Brian Sandoval. The bill was sponsored by Senators Woodhouse, Denis, Ford, Spearman, Candela, Atkinson, Cannizzaro, Gansert, Manendo, Parks, Ratti and Segerblom and made Nevada a leader and role model for K-12 computer science education initiatives in the country.

S.B. 200 is ground-breaking legislation that will expand computer science education to ALL students in Nevada.

Here is the breakdown of the key points of S.B. 200:

  1. Section 2:
    • All public high schools, charter schools, and university schools for profoundly gifted students are required to offer a state board approved Computer Science course. This can be an online course offering.
    • These schools must also make efforts to increase enrollment of girls, students with disabilities, and underrepresented minorities in the field of computer science as identified by the state board.
     
  2. Section 3:
    • Before beginning 6th grade, all students are required to receive instruction in computer education and technology as approved by the state board.
    • If state board prescribes a high school computer education and technology course, the state board will prescribe the percentage of instructional time for the course that must be dedicated to computer science and computational thinking.
     
  3. Section 4:
    • A school must allow a student to count a course in computer science as a 4th year math credit OR a 3rd year science credit (only one credit total) for graduation upon successful completion of an AP Computer Science course, a CTE computer science course, or a CS course offered by an approved community college or university. This is ONLY after the student has successfully completed the required math or science coursework for which an end-of-course exam is prescribed.
    • The Department of Education, in consultation with the STEM Advisory Council’s Computer Science sub committee, will review all classroom instructional materials and make recommendations to the School Board.
     
  4. Section 5:
    • Adds computer science and computational thinking to the existing computer education and technology standards
    • Requires Computer Science and Computer Education and Technology professional development
     
  5. Section 6:
    • A Computer Science course (as outlined in Section 3) can count towards college admissions as a 3rd year science or 4th year math (beyond Algebra II) if the state board approves the course.
     
  6. Section 7:
    • Computer science must count as a math OR science credit (only one) towards the requirements for the Millennium Scholarship
     
  7. Section 8:
    • Creation of a computer science sub committee to advise the State Board, Academic Standards Council, Charter Authority, the Commission on Professional Standards, and trustees on computer science curriculum, professional development, and licensing.
    • The department, in consultation with the STEM Advisory Council (CS sub committee), will review each course in computer science submitted to the State Board for approval.
    • Appropriations:
      • Clark County School District
        1. Fiscal Year 2017-2018: $700,000
        2. Fiscal Year 2018-2019: $800,000
         
      • Washoe County School District
        1. Fiscal Year 2017-2018: $100,000
        2. Fiscal Year 2018-2019: $200,000
         
      • All other school districts and charter schools to be awarded through a non-competitive application process
        1. Fiscal Year 2017-2018: $200,000
        2. Fiscal Year 2018-2019: $400,000
         
      • Funds must be used by September 21, 2018 (FY 17-18) and September 20, 2019 (FY 18-19)
       
     
  8. Section 10:
    • Timelines:
      • 2017-2018 - Sections 4, 7, 8 effective July 1, 2017
      • 2018-2019 - Sections 3, 4.5 (4b above) and 5 effective July 1, 2018
      • 2019-2020
      • 2020-2021 - Section 6 effective July 1, 2020
      • 2021-2022
      • 2022-2023 - Section 2 and 8.3 (8b above) effective July 1, 2022 
     

Some updates:

Section 3a must be in place in all districts/charters by fall, 2020
Section 3b began in all districts/charters fall, 2019.

    • Gov. Sandoval sitting at table with Senators woodhouse, denis, ford, spearman, candela, atkinson, cannizzaro, gansert, manendo, parks, ratti and segerblom