1. A college or university within the System is eligible to apply to the State Board for a grant of money to establish the Nevada Institute on Teaching and Educator Preparation.

2. The Nevada Institute on Teaching and Educator Preparation shall:

(a) Establish a highly selective program for the education and training of teachers that:

(1) Recruits promising students pursuing teaching degrees from inside and outside this State, with priority given to students from inside this State;

(2) Upon completion of the program, makes a student eligible to obtain a license to teach pupils in a program of early childhood education, kindergarten, any grade from grades 1 through 12 or in the subject area of special education in this State;

(3) Is thorough and rigorous and provides a student with increasing professional autonomy and responsibility;

(4) Allows a student to obtain experience in schools that serve high populations of pupils with disabilities or who are at risk or have other significant needs;

(5) Provides, in a manner that is aligned to the demographics of pupils in this State, the skills and knowledge necessary to teach the diverse population of pupils in this State;

(6) Identifies opportunities for placement of students who complete the program in public schools throughout this State; and

(7) Provides instruction concerning the most contemporary and effective pedagogies, curricula, technology and behavior management techniques for teaching;

(b) Identify a target number of students to be selected for participation in the program each year, which must be not less than 25 students;

(c) Establish requirements for each person who has completed the program to serve as a mentor to future students selected for the program and collaborate with the program to build a community among students participating in the program and persons who have completed the program;

(d) Conduct innovative and extensive research concerning approaches and methods used to educate and train teachers and to teach pupils, including, without limitation, pupils with disabilities or pupils who are at risk or have other significant needs; and

(e) Continually evaluate, develop and disseminate approaches to teaching that address the variety of settings in which pupils in this State are educated.

3. The Nevada Institute on Teaching and Educator Preparation may:

(a) Apply for and accept any gift, donation, bequest, grant or other source of money, or property or service provided in kind, for carrying out the duties of the Nevada Institute on Teaching and Educator Preparation; and

(b) Support a student who is participating in the program by allocating money to the student or reimbursing the student for the costs of obtaining a teaching degree or a license to teach pupils.

4. An application to establish the Nevada Institute on Teaching and Educator Preparation pursuant to subsection 1 must demonstrate the ability of the applicant to:

(a) Meet the requirements of subsection 2;

(b) Provide additional money for the establishment and operation of the Institute that matches the grant of money awarded by the State Board; and

(c) Sustain and expand the Institute over time.

5. As used in this section, “pupil ‘at risk’ ” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 388A.045.

(Added to NRS by 2017, 4372; A 2019, 2020)