NRS386.725. Adoption of policies and procedures; school choice for pupils; enrollment of pupils in empowerment school; no duty to provide transportation; procedure for empowerment school to obtain waiver from school district regulations.

      1.  The board of trustees of a school district that participates in the Program of Empowerment Schools may establish policies and procedures for public schools within the school district that wish to convert to empowerment schools which may provide for:

      (a) The process by which a public school may convert to an empowerment school, including, without limitation, the development of an empowerment plan for the school in accordance with NRS 386.740;

      (b) Autonomy for the principal of each empowerment school to decide issues relating to the operation of the school, including, without limitation, the school schedule, governance, incentives for employees, staffing, budgeting and the provision of instruction;

      (c) The opportunity for empowerment schools within the school district to offer an alternative schedule, including, without limitation, a longer school day or a longer school year, or both, and to offer school during the summer; and

      (d) Other matters as deemed necessary by the board of trustees.

      2.  The board of trustees of a school district that participates in the Program of Empowerment Schools shall adopt policies and procedures which provide for:

      (a) Accountability measures designed to ensure that pupils enrolled in an empowerment school are achieving certain goals and standards relating to academic achievement;

      (b) The process for the selection of empowerment schools and the approval of empowerment plans for those schools;

      (c) The process for renewal of empowerment plans;

      (d) The criteria for revocation of an empowerment plan for a school and the procedure for revocation; and

      (e) The time period for which empowerment plans will be approved.

      3.  A school district that participates in the Program of Empowerment Schools shall provide a process for a pupil who resides in the school district to attend:

      (a) An empowerment school regardless of the school which the pupil is otherwise zoned to attend.

      (b) A school that is not an empowerment school if the pupil is zoned to attend a school that converts to an empowerment school.

      4.  An empowerment school shall:

      (a) Enroll first the pupils who are zoned to attend that school.

      (b) After the enrollment of pupils pursuant to paragraph (a), if the school has space available, enroll pupils who are not otherwise zoned to attend the school on the basis of a lottery system.

      5.  A school district is not required to provide transportation to a pupil who attends a public school which the pupil is not otherwise zoned to attend.

      6.  A school district that participates in the Program of Empowerment Schools shall provide a procedure for an empowerment school to obtain a waiver from the requirements and regulations of the board of trustees of the school district. The board of trustees may not waive:

      (a) The requirements of a state or federal law or regulation.

      (b) A policy or requirement relating to safety, including, without limitation, hiring security personnel and following procedures designed to ensure the safety of the school, the personnel employed at the school and the pupils.

      (Added to NRS by 2007, 3278; A 2011, 879; 2013, 1925)