Nevada Department of Education (NDE) was found to be in noncompliance with Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

October 4, 2024, United States Department of Education (USDOE) Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) issued a differentiated monitoring support (DMS) letter and report addressing the findings of its investigation of NDE. The investigation led to OSEP identifying three counts of noncompliance with IDEA, required actions NDE must take to come into compliance with IDEA, and other concerns for which it provided recommendations.

OSEP monitors all IDEA Part B and C programs through its DMS system and "differentiates its approach for each state based on the state's unique strengths, progress, challenges, and needs." This cyclical monitoring process focuses on states' general supervision systems and, according to OSEP "will continue to provide support and technical assistance that is differentiated based on each state’s needs."

USDOE has a long history of posting letters and reports to its public-facing site months to years after issuing them to the state education agencies. The result is a wide range of letter and report dates. November 12, 2024, OSEP director Valerie Williams announced the October 4, 2024, NDE findings in her monthly email titled “OSEP Update.”

OSEP's Findings of Noncompliance

OSEP identified the following three areas of noncompliance:

NDE “does not have a reasonably designed general supervision system, including policies and procedures, for subrecipient monitoring and fiscal management, consistent with 2 C.F.R. §§ 200.332(b), (d)-(f) and (h), 200.339, and 34 C.F.R. §§ 300.149, 300.600 through 602, and 300.604.”

NDE’s "grant award notifications (GANs) do not include the required information consistent with the requirements in 2 C.F.R. § 200.332(a)."

NDE “does not have mechanisms in place to ensure due process hearing decisions are implemented within the timeframe prescribed by the hearing officer, or if there is no timeframe prescribed by the hearing officer, within a reasonable time set by the State as required by 34 C.F.R. §§ 300.149, 300.511 through 300.514, and 300.600.”

OSEP’s Recommendations

OSEP stated a concern that “NDE has not developed State-specific resources (e.g., guides or manuals) to inform parents and the public of their IDEA dispute resolution rights” and provided examples of how parents might be negatively impacted by this lack of resources. OSEP recommended that “NDE develop State-specific dispute resolution guides and manuals for parents and the public. Additionally, the State should amend its procedural safeguards document to include the State’s burden of proof provision pursuant to NRS § 388.467.”