NRS389.520. Council to Establish Academic Standards: Establishment of standards; periodic review of standards; adoption of standards by State Board; establishment of policy for ethical, safe and secure use of computers.

      1.  The Council shall:

      (a) Establish standards of content and performance, including, without limitation, a prescription of the resulting level of achievement, for the grade levels set forth in subsection 3, based upon the content of each course, that is expected of pupils for the following courses of study:

             (1) English, including reading, composition and writing;

             (2) Mathematics;

             (3) Science;

             (4) Social studies, which includes only the subjects of history, geography, economics and government;

             (5) The arts;

             (6) Computer education and technology;

             (7) Health; and

             (8) Physical education.

      (b) Establish a schedule for the periodic review and, if necessary, revision of the standards of content and performance. The review must include, without limitation, the review required pursuant to NRS 389.570 of the results of pupils on the examinations administered pursuant to NRS 389.550.

      (c) Assign priorities to the standards of content and performance relative to importance and degree of emphasis and revise the standards, if necessary, based upon the priorities.

      2.  The standards for computer education and technology must include a policy for the ethical, safe and secure use of computers and other electronic devices. The policy must include, without limitation:

      (a) The ethical use of computers and other electronic devices, including, without limitation:

             (1) Rules of conduct for the acceptable use of the Internet and other electronic devices; and

             (2) Methods to ensure the prevention of:

                   (I) Cyber-bullying;

                   (II) Plagiarism; and

                   (III) The theft of information or data in an electronic form;

      (b) The safe use of computers and other electronic devices, including, without limitation, methods to:

             (1) Avoid cyber-bullying and other unwanted electronic communication, including, without limitation, communication with on-line predators;

             (2) Recognize when an on-line electronic communication is dangerous or potentially dangerous; and

             (3) Report a dangerous or potentially dangerous on-line electronic communication to the appropriate school personnel;

      (c) The secure use of computers and other electronic devices, including, without limitation:

             (1) Methods to maintain the security of personal identifying information and financial information, including, without limitation, identifying unsolicited electronic communication which is sent for the purpose of obtaining such personal and financial information for an unlawful purpose;

             (2) The necessity for secure passwords or other unique identifiers;

             (3) The effects of a computer contaminant;

             (4) Methods to identify unsolicited commercial material; and

             (5) The dangers associated with social networking Internet sites; and

      (d) A designation of the level of detail of instruction as appropriate for the grade level of pupils who receive the instruction.

      3.  The Council shall establish standards of content and performance for each grade level in kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, for English and mathematics. The Council shall establish standards of content and performance for the grade levels selected by the Council for the other courses of study prescribed in subsection 1.

      4.  The Council shall forward to the State Board the standards of content and performance established by the Council for each course of study. The State Board shall:

      (a) Adopt the standards for each course of study, as submitted by the Council; or

      (b) If the State Board objects to the standards for a course of study or a particular grade level for a course of study, return those standards to the Council with a written explanation setting forth the reason for the objection.

      5.  If the State Board returns to the Council the standards of content and performance for a course of study or a grade level, the Council shall:

      (a) Consider the objection provided by the State Board and determine whether to revise the standards based upon the objection; and

      (b) Return the standards or the revised standards, as applicable, to the State Board.

Ê The State Board shall adopt the standards of content and performance or the revised standards, as applicable.

      6.  The Council shall work in cooperation with the State Board to prescribe the examinations required by NRS 389.550.

      7.  As used in this section:

      (a) “Computer contaminant” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 205.4737.

      (b) “Cyber-bullying” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 388.123.

      (c) “Electronic communication” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 388.124.

      (Added to NRS by 1999, 3385; A 2007, 1963; 2009, 689; 2013, 1659)