Governor Lombardo testified before the Nevada Assembly Committee on Education about 'restorative justice' on Thursday.
In his State of the State address, he implored the legislature to “remove the handcuffs” from teachers and administrator who want to have greater ability to discipline disruptive students.
Under a 2019 law, school administrators cannot permanently expel a child under the age of 11.
The only situation in which administrators can permanently expel a child is if that child is found to be in possession of a gun or drugs. Assembly Bill 330 would aim to repeal those provisions.
Lombardo testified, "Last year there were over 6,800 violent incidents reported at CCSD schools within a seven-month period from August ’21 to January ’22. There are 350 schools in Las Vegas and 320 of those schools reported at least one violent incident last year. That means over 90% of the schools within CCSD have reported a violence incident in the last year alone.
"Since 2019 there has been a 46% increase in violence and sexual assault reported within the Clark County School District, but the increase in school violence is not just limited to Clark County.
"In Washoe County, there has been over 7,400 violent incidents reported within the Washoe County School District in the ‘22 – ‘23 school year. Just two weeks ago there was a fight at Wooster High School in Reno that injured a police officer and seven students and resulted in two hospitalizations.
"By looking at the data we know the increase in school violence is not an isolated issue. It’s a statewide issue. We know that tens of thousands of families, students and teachers have been affected."
