Nevada Department of Education opens public comment on five-year strategic plan

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The Nevada Department of Education is seeking public feedback on its draft Statewide Plan for the Improvement of Pupils, a five-year strategic roadmap aimed at raising student achievement and streamlining coordination across the state’s school systems.

Presented to the Nevada State Board of Education on Wednesday, Sept. 9, the draft plan is open for public review through Oct. 21. Educators, parents, students and community members can review the document on the department’s website and submit feedback through an online survey. Following the public comment window, department officials will review submissions and make revisions before presenting the final plan to the State Board of Education and submitting it to the governor in November.

Dr. Victor Wakefield, Superintendent of Public Instruction, noted that the proposal directly reflects feedback gathered during visits to schools across the state during his first 100 days in office.

“I heard a consistent message: we need greater clarity about where we are headed and how we get there,” Wakefield said. “This plan responds to that call. It establishes a clear direction for what we want students to experience every day and a focused plan for how we will work together to deliver better outcomes. Now, we are asking Nevadans to help us make that plan stronger.”

Organized around five core priorities—Strong Foundations, Empowering Pathways, Equipped Educators and Leaders, Informed and Connected Families and Aligned Systems—the plan establishes a framework to ensure that “every day, Nevada students are building knowledge of the world, engaging with grade-level content and instruction, solving complex problems and making progress toward their postsecondary goals.”

Mandated under state statute, Nevada’s statewide education plan was recently updated through Senate Bill 460 during the 2025 Legislative Session. The legislation directs the department to prepare and annually review a five-year plan in consultation with local school districts, state boards, commissions and education councils. The plan identifies specific implementation strategies and performance metrics, holding the department accountable for coordinating state resources, information and administrative authority to support local schools.