LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — With less than 30 days left of the Nevada Legislative Session, Gov. Joe Lombardo spent Monday touting a school choice bill that he hopes will pass before the June 5 deadline.
The Republican governor visited Mountain View Christian Schools, a private academy that serves students from preschool through 12th grade.
Assembly Bill 400 would expand school choice options for parents, though the legislation faces an uphill battle in the Democratically controlled body.
"This isn't something we're attempting to start," Lombardo said. "This isn't something that is just an idea, and we hope it works. We've seen it work across the nation."
In Nevada, a family must meet certain income requirements to be eligible for the Opportunity Scholarship Program. For the 2022-23 school year, the scholarship cap was set at about $8,700 per student.
Just over 1,400 students in the state attended schools under the program this year.
While at Mountain View, Lombardo listened to testimony from nearly a dozen parents who said they were thankful for the program.
That included Mountain View parent Claudia Lomeli.
She said her kids attended a public school for a time, but that they felt "safer" and received more attention at Mountain View.
Lombardo said Monday's roundtable discussion was designed to help build momentum for the bill, though critics on the Democratic side of the aisle have long expressed concern about public resources going toward private schools.
