Computer Science Education
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. SB 200 is a ground-breaking piece of legislation that will expand computer science education to ALL students in Nevada.
Senate Bill 313 (2019, 80th Legislative Session) was signed into law on June 6, 2019 by Governor Steve Sisolak. The bill was sponsored by Senators Woodhouse, Denis, Dondero-Loop, and Parks. SB 313 continues the work presented in SB 200 by providing funding for teacher endorsement reimbursement, NSHE pre-service teacher program development in computer science, and establishes an account to receive gifts and donations to further the CS education work in Nevada.
Click on the Effective Dates below to see when legislation requirements were due in the past and are due in the future.
SB 200 Effective Date: July 1, 2017
Effective July 1, 2017: A student may count the following courses for a 4th year math OR 3rd year science graduation requirement: an AP Computer Science course, a CTE computer science course, or a CS course from an approved community college or university. BUT they must have already passed their math and science courses that require an EOC.
Effective July 1, 2017: Computer science must count as a math OR science credit towards the requirements for the Millennium Scholarship.
Effective July 1, 2017: Creation of a computer science sub committee of the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council to advise the State Board, Academic Standards Council, Charter Authority, COPS, trustees, on CS curriculum, PD, and licensing (board members).
Effective July 1, 2017: FY 17/18 Appropriations - Clark $700K, Washoe $100K, rural/charter $200K*
* FY 18 Appropriations were as follows:
- Clark - $700,000.00
- Washoe - $100,000.00
- Nye in consortium with Storey, White Pine, Lincoln, Churchill, & Pershing - $100,701.61
- Carson City in consortium with Douglas and Lyon - $18,886.93
- Esmeralda - $16,783.60
- Mater Academy - $16,783.60
- Doral Academy - $16,783.60
- Legacy Traditional - $12,865.66
- Elko Institute AA - $10,195.00
- Discovery Charter - $5000.00
- Beacon Academy - $2,000.00
Grant allocations can be requested by districts and public charters (all schools under the same charter NAME are deemed as one entity)
SB 200 Effective Date: July 1, 2018
Effective July 1, 2018: Before beginning 6th grade, all students required to receive instruction in computer education and technology (CET). (ALL districts should have this curriculum in place for elementary students by Fall, 2020)
Effective July 1, 2018: The ½ credit high school graduation requirement must contain 50% of the current productivity tools instruction (Word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, etc) and 50% computer science (CS) and computational thinking (CT). (ALL districts should have this curriculum in place for secondary students by Fall, 2019)
Effective July 1, 2018: FY 18/19 Appropriations - Clark $800K, Washoe $200K, rural/charter $400K
Effective July 1, 2018: Computer Science and Computer Education and Technology PD
Effective July 1, 2018: Adds CS/CT to CET standards.
Effective July 1, 2018: The NDE, in consultation with the CS Sub committee, will review all instruction and make recommendations to the Nevada State Board.
State Board approved CS curriculum can be found here.
SB 313 Effective Date: July 1, 2019
1. Internet repository of resources to be built - This stemhub site will be built out to include more resources from and for districts
2. Account for Computer Education and Technology to be created to accept gifts and donations to further computer science education efforts in Nevada - i.e. teacher training, reimburse endorsement costs, build NSHE pre-service teacher programs, and incentivize teachers to earn a degree/credential specializing in computer science education
3. RPDP must provide training in computer science and computer technology to all teachers in Nevada
4. Funding allocation for the 19/20 and 20/21 school years is as follows:
- Clark County: $400K for each year
- Washoe County: $100K for each year
- Rural/Charters: $200K for each year by a non-competitive application process. Rural districts MAY opt to apply as a consortium as in the past. Grant applications will be published on the NDE website: http://www.doe.nv.gov/Grants/Home/
SB 200 Effective Date: July 1, 2020
Effective July 1, 2020: A state board approved computer science course can count towards college admissions as a 3rd year science or 4th year math (beyond Algebra II).
An NSHE institution will HAVE to recognize this CS credit to meet admissions qualifications for either a math or science credit.
If a student is going for the STEM seal at graduation, however, they cannot substitute CS for a higher math class.
SB 200 Effective Date: July 1, 2022
Effective July 1, 2022: All public high schools, charter schools, and university schools for profoundly gifted students must offer a state board approved Computer Science course. This may be an online offering.
Effective July 1, 2022: All of the schools mentioned above 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.
Effective July 1, 2022: NDE, in consultation with the CS subcommittee, will review each course in computer science submitted to the State Board for approval.
State Strategic Plan for Computer Science
Click here for the 2018 Nevada State Strategic Plan for Computer Science Education. We would love to hear any feedback on this strategic plan. Please send comments to Jaci McCune at the Nevada Department of Education.
Computer Science and Applications Half-credit Course
With today's advancing technologies in most every career path, the need for a basic knowledge in computer science and computational thinking, along with our current computer literacy, is essential for our students to be successful in the future. Our students need to understand how to not only be users of technology, but also creators of it. In order to accomplish this, some changes were put into law in June, 2017 with Senate Bill 200.
The former "Use of Computers" graduation requirement went through some changes to reflect the requirements in SB 200 which became effective July 1, 2018. Regulation R078-18 that addresses these changes passed the State Board on August 30, 2018 and the Legislative Commission on September 27, 2018, thereby codifying it into state law.
The updates include:
1. Name change to "Computer Education and Technology" which is in alignment with the wording in Senate Bill 200:
NAC 389.450 item #7 revised -
"Computer Education and Technology, for which at least 50 percent of the instructional time for the course is dedicated to computer science and computational thinking"
2. NAC 389.663, 389.664, and 389.688 all reference the change below regarding the half credit course towards high school graduation:
"If a pupil satisfactorily completes a course of study in computer education and technology during the sixth, seventh, or eighth grade, the pupil is not required to take the course of study in computer education and technology in high school and must only earn a minimum of 17 1/2*(this varies by diploma type) units of credit for required courses pursuant to subsection 2. The course of study in computer education and technology must be taught for at least one semester or trimester, or the equivalent, and must not be taught as part of another course of study. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as requiring a school district to offer a course in computer education and technology as part of the curriculum of a middle school."
NOTE: The K-12 Computer Science Standards AND the K-12 Technology Standards will be used to frame the concepts that are required to be taught in this half-credit course. The standards chosen are a subset of the complete high school standards for both which comprise the Computer Technology Education subject area. There may be some middle school standards incorporated for consistency and fluency of topics.
A GUIDANCE DOCUMENT for districts to use when creating/updating this course can be found here.
IMPORTANT: This new course must be in place with the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year. The Class of 2023 will be the first coming through under the new requirements for graduation. Districts may provide a waiver to any middle school student who has taken the half-credit technology course through the 2018-2019 school year. Please see this Guidance Memo 18-18 from State Superintendent Dr. Steve Canavero.
Nevada Computer Science Education Reports
This is where you can find links to the reports on Nevada Computer Science Education as released by the Nevada Department of Education Office of Standards and Instructional Support. Please contact Jaci McCune should you have any questions.