Reductions in Force: Nevada
Exiting Ineffective Teachers Policy
Analysis of Nevada's policies
In Nevada, new legislation requires that seniority is not be the sole factor in determining which teachers are laid off during a reduction in force and the following factors may also be considered: 1) whether the teacher is employed in a "hard to fill" position, 2) whether a teacher has earned national board certification, 3) the teacher's performance evaluations, 4) the teacher's disciplinary and criminal record, 5) which type of license the teacher has earned, and 6) the degree earned by the teacher (including whether it relates to the subject area in which he or she teaches).
Recommendations for Nevada
Require that districts consider classroom performance as a factor in determining which teachers are laid off during reductions in force.
Nevada is commended for taking steps to ensure that seniority is no longer the sole factor in determining which teachers are laid off and for making it possible for teachers' performance evaluations to be considered during reductions in force. The state could strengthen this new policy by making the consideration of classroom performance a requirement rather than an option.
State response to our analysis
Nevada recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis.
-
Nevada
Select another topic
Delivering Well Prepared Teachers
- Admission into Preparation Programs
- Elementary Teacher Preparation
- Elementary Teacher Preparation in Reading Instruction
- Elementary Teacher Preparation in Mathematics
- Middle School Teacher Preparation
- Secondary Teacher Preparation
- Secondary Teacher Preparation in Science
- Secondary Teacher Preparation in Social Studies
- Special Education Teacher Preparation
- Assessing Professional Knowledge
- Student Teaching
- Teacher Preparation Program Accountability
Expanding the Pool of Teachers
Identifying Effective Teachers
- State Data Systems
- Evaluation of Effectiveness
- Frequency of Evaluations
- Tenure
- Licensure Advancement
- Equitable Distribution
Retaining Effective Teachers
Exiting Ineffective Teachers
Research rationale
See National Council on Teacher Quality, "Teacher Layoffs: Rethinking 'Last Hired, First-Fired' Policies." (2010); The New Teacher Project, The Case Against Quality-Blind Teacher Layoffs (2011); Boyd, Donald; Lankford, Hamilton; Loeb, Susanna; and Wyckoff, James, "Teacher Layoffs: An Empirical Illustration of Seniority v. Measures of Effectiveness" The Urban Institute, CALDER (2010); Goldhaber, Dan and Theobold, Roddy, "Assessing the Determinants and Implications of Teacher Layoffs." Center for Education Data & Research, University of Washington-Bothell (2010); Sepe, Christina and Roza, Marguerite, "The Disproportionate Impact of Seniority-Based Layoffs on Poor, Minority Students." Center on Reinventing Public Education (2010).