Report reflects measures to boost in-person schools

The Nevada Health Response Center highlighted support provided by the Nevada Department of Education, Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health and other state agencies to ensure that Nevada students and educators can have access to in-person education in as safe a manner as possible.

This includes the release of the “State of Nevada Support of Education: COVID-19 Recovery and Response Report Version 1”, developed by NDE in coordination with other state leaders.

“From prioritizing education personnel for COVID-19 vaccinations to supplying critical PPE, to working with school districts to expand testing and contact tracing, I am proud of the state and local partnerships that are helping more children get back to in-person learning as safely as possible,” Gov. Steve Sisolak said. “State agencies such as the Division of Public and Behavioral Health and Nevada Department of Education will continue to provide any assistance, resources, and support necessary and available to ensure we can continue getting students back into the classroom.”

“I want to thank Governor Sisolak for his unwavering commitment to listening to and supporting the needs of our education system,” said Jhone Ebert, superintendent of public instruction. “I also want to recognize the district and school leaders, educators and staff who have been flexible and nimble in response to the circumstances created by COVID-19 while continuing to put the health, safety and social-emotional wellness of our students first.”

The report highlights several areas of pandemic response.

As of February 2021, the Nevada Division of Emergency Management has provided more than 4.5 million items of PPE to public, private, charter and tribal schools throughout Nevada.

To date, every educator in every county school district in the state either has received a first and/or second shot, is scheduled to get vaccinated or has had the opportunity to access vaccination under this priority group.

DPBH has worked to provide critical funding for disease investigation surge staff to support Clark County School District and the Southern Nevada Health District. There will be more than 150 staff to support CCSD by mid-March.

Nevada was one of only five states awarded federal funding through the U.S. Department of Education’s School-Based Mental Health Services Grant Program, money which will increase students’ access to qualified mental health service professionals.

DPBH has been collaborating with NDE on BinaxNOW rapid test rollout and distribution to all interested public, charter and private schools, regardless of their model for in-person or virtual instruction.

In January, Connecting Kids announced that the coalition formed under the governor’s COVID-19 Task Force has reached and connected every K-12 student in Nevada participating in distance learning, whether full or part time. In all 17 of the state’s school districts as well as state- and district-sponsored charter schools, every student participating in online learning because of COVID-19 restrictions has confirmed at-home access to the internet and a computer.