Nevada class-size reduction proceeds

Nevada lawmakers aren't objecting to a state Board of Education regulation aimed at reducing the pupil-teacher ratio in some special education classes.

But members of the Legislative Commission said Tuesday a bill draft will be sought next year to ensure regulations aren't used to bypass the legislative budget process.

The Board of Education approved the smaller class sizes in January, eight months after the 1999 Legislature adjourned. The smaller class sizes will cost about $4 million to implement in the coming school year.

The Board of Education agreed to reduce the caseloads for speech pathologists from 60 students to 50 and the class sizes for early childhood and general special-education teachers from 24 students to 22, to take effect this fall.

The decision caused a conflict because money for the smaller classes wasn't in the budget approved by Gov. Kenny Guinn and the Legislature.

The regulations were allowed to take effect after lawmakers got assurances that federal funds are available to fund the smaller class sizes in the 2000-01 school year and that local school districts wouldn't be required to find money for the program.

In other action, members of the Legislative Commission criticized the state Parole and Probation Division for failing to collect restitution from parolees and not even being able to say how much is going uncollected.

Panel members reacted after being told by auditors that Parole and Probation doesn't know how many offenders are required to pay restitution, how many are behind in those payments, the total owed to victims and how much those offenders still owe when they get discharged from parole.

''This is just appalling,'' said Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas. ''We enact legislation to help victims, make it a public policy of this state, and the division cannot even identify the people who owe restitution.''

Sen. Ann O'Connell, R-Las Vegas, who chairs the commission, said the division blames the lapse on the fact it has had several different directors in four years.

Legislative Auditor Gary Crews told the commission that division officials say they will have better information once a new computer is operating and that things are improving under the direction of Richard Wyett, who was recently named to head Parole and Probation.