Enrollment: 499,000
K-12 Budget: $2.3 billion
Nevada ranked 50th on the Chance for Success Index, where it was outranked by all other states in both postsecondary participation and parent education.
The Silver State also ranked 48th out of 49 states on the School Finance Index, where its weaknesses included a rank of 47th on per-pupil spending. The state spends about $9,200 per student.
Until this year, Nevada had one of the nation’s oldest state education funding formula. Districts complained the model, created in 1967, was opaque and unpredictable.
Gov. Steve Sisolak, a Democrat, signed a new funding formula into law in June, but some education advocates weren’t satisfied with the measure.
The legislature created a $5 million incentive fund for teachers who work in Title I schools, which enroll high concentrations of students from low-income families.
The state also redirected funds generated by a tax on marijuana sales from a rainy day fund to an educational fund, estimating the move would generate about $120 million in additional school funding over the next two years.
For more about Nevada’s Quality Counts score, click here.
