Board of Education refuses to budge on rules

Monday, Aug. 22, 2005 | 11:03 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Sophomores will still be required to have earned five credits before they are allowed to take the high school proficiency examination and children younger than 5 years old will continue to be excluded from kindergarten, even if they have a high IQ.

The state Board of Education on Saturday refused to change regulations on those two items.

The board also revoked the certificates of two Clark County teachers convicted of having sex with female students.

The board conducted a workshop on a regulation that sophomores who do not have five credit hours under their belts are not allowed to take the proficiency examination, which a student must pass in order to graduate.

The Clark County School District had complained that the regulation was onerous and resulted in extra paperwork. Craig Kadlub, director of government affairs for the Clark County School District, asked the board to conduct another public hearing in Las Vegas to allow school officials to voice their concerns.

But board member Gary Waters of Las Vegas said reducing or eliminating the five-credit requirement would weaken the image of the board in the eyes of the public and the Legislature. He said there needs to be an "external benchmark" for students to achieve before they are permitted to take such an important examination. The benchmark must be "rigorous," Waters added.

Louis Mendiola, a student representative on the board, said the five-credit requirement should be kept, but he said the state should make sure students know what classes they need to take in order to pass the exam.

Board member Merv Iverson of Las Vegas suggested there could be some flexibility put into the regulation and asked the board to hold another hearing in Las Vegas to allow Clark County school officials to state their case.

But Board member Barbara Myers of Churchill County said 15 counties are not requesting a change.

"We're not going to allow the tail to wag the dog," she said

The board said if Clark County School District officials had some proposals to lighten the paperwork, then they should submit those proposals to Keith Rheault, the state superintendent of public instruction. And those changes might be considered later.

The board conducted a workshop on a proposal to change its regulation to allow some 4-year-olds to enter regular kindergarten classes. Currently a child must be 5 years old to enter kindergarten.

Mary Cimo, president of Nevada Advocates for Highly Gifted Children, said a child with an IQ of more than 145 should be admitted to regular kindergarten.

In her prepared testimony, Cimo said these children will develop strong study habits by placing them in a stimulating environment.

But Sue Gurlides, president of the Nevada Gifted and Talented Organization, cautioned that putting children in an environment in which they are unlikely to succeed could 'be more harmful than helpful." Gurlides, in a prepared statement presented to the board, said the Clark County School District piloted a program in the 1970s for early admission to kindergarten that continued through the fifth grade. The School District canceled the program after teachers agreed that it was not the best approach.

"Many of the kindergartners were uncomfortable and unable to keep up socially with the rest of their classmates."

Rheault said school districts have the ability to form special classes for gifted and talented children and said the Legislature examined the question in 2003 and declined to approve a plan allowing students to start early.

In other action, the board revoked the permits of Clark County teachers Kenneth B. Stacy and Cornelius "Corky" Ausborne, both convicted of having sex with female students.

Stacy was placed on three years' probation in April after pleading guilty to having sex with a 17-year old student at Chaparral High School in July 2004.

Ausborne was given a two- to five-year prison term after his guilty plea to having sex with two middle school students in Clark County in 2004.