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Sandoval vetoes high school proficiency exam bill
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CARSON CITY -- Gov. Brian Sandoval has vetoed a bill that would have allowed some high school seniors who do not receive passing scores on all parts of the proficiency exam to receive full-fledged diplomas.
Assembly Bill 456 had been amended last week so it would go into effect immediately and help struggling students this year.
"Although this bill may allow more students to graduate from high school, it represents diminished expectations for our students and lower standards for obtaining a high school diploma in Nevada," said Sandoval in his veto message. "In my State of the State address, I said that our education system emphasizes too many of the wrong things. AB456 is another example of this paradigm and would send the wrong message to our students."
Assembly Speaker John Oceguera, D-Las Vegas, said Thursday that there will be no votes taken to try to override Sandoval's veto of the high school bill or three other vetoes made Wednesday evening by the governor.
During hearings, Clark County School District officials said they expected 100 more students a year would receive diplomas if the bill became law. Many of those would be students who fell a few points short of the passing score on the math portion of the four-part test, while passing the other sections.
To qualify, students would have needed to have at least a 2.75 grade-point average, complete all class requirements and have good attendance records.
The bill passed the Assembly 33-9 and the Senate 13-8 with Republicans voting in opposition.
"I am committed to improving our education system and enhancing student achievement," Sandoval said. "Because this bill provides a way to hide or ignore a student's achievement problems, rather than fix it, I veto it."
Kelly Camargo, 17, a senior at Liberty High School in Henderson, is graduating this month but was disappointed the bill was vetoed.
"I have plenty of people I know who have missed (passing the proficiency exam) by one point, two points maybe even three points, " Camargo said. "For him not to pass the bill is not good. I don't like it."
Legislators this session have not tried to override any of the four previous vetoes made by Sandoval. His eight vetoes this session pale in comparison with the record 48 vetoes by former Gov. Jim Gibbons in 2009.
Sandoval also on Wednesday vetoed these bills:
■ AB253, which would have increased fines by as much as $30,000 against employers who willfully violate Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Act rules. Almost all Republicans had voted against the bill, and Democrats lack the two-thirds bloc needed to override the veto.
■ AB254, which would have increased the ability of the state to cite employers for failing to correct workplace conditions when "any employee has access to a hazard." Sandoval said that job site safety improvements were made in 2009 and he supported safety improvements, but the bill was "ambiguous." Most Republicans also opposed the bill.
■ AB135, which would have required judges to make additional findings before revoking the probation of probation violators. Sandoval, a former federal judge, said the bill "undermines the ability of courts to effectively enforce sentences." The bill passed on party-line votes.
Review-Journal writer James Haug contributed to this report. Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.
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Thank God ! Now I have at least a little more hope for our education system regarding the right to receive a High School Diploma!
theshadow. Of course the Democrats believe in education, not just passing students along. I'm very surprised that Brian didn't veto this bill. Republicans have long been against education.
@rwsdao: "Take a look at the test questions and see what the kids have to master. Then look again and ask yourself which of the questions has anything to do with real life? How about some real life questions?" Actually, Q3 is process of elimination; Q4 works for those who live on a budget (how many meals could you make from different ingredients); Q7 is a real life statistical question; Q8 is about averages - also needed in real life; Q9 is process of elimination again; Q10 is comprehension skills...I really don't see any issues with the math comprehension exam. I went through these exams and graduated from a local Vegas high school. Sounds like you don't want people to better themselves. In real life as you say, I do use similar formulas every day in my career field - and it's not in engineering or science.
@Liberal.Socialist: If students cannot pass these exams, and trust me - the teachers I had made sure their students were exposed to very similar questions before they were given the proficiency exams - then the students themselves needs to smarten up. Teachers don't want their students to fail. This means the students are too busy on Facebook & Twitter, to pay attention to the skills they need to earn a decent living. Math, especially as they are essential for problem solving in the real world beyond high school.
@TankerUSMA1975: The questions should be varied. Before I saw Allen's comments, I did those questions on two post-it notes & I dislike math, but learned to respect it. I found my solutions different than Allen. Question 1 my answer is 730. Solution: Take the difference (n) and multiply by 3, then add the result to the previous number. Question 2's answer is 4 miles. I enjoyed geometry because it was visual for me. Draw out the route and look at it. It's a right triangle. Find the hypotenuse. Formula: a squared plus b squared equals c squared. All students should know these basics.
@Liberal.Socialist: The problem is two fold, and there is no one solid solution. Teachers are not measured by student success and students are not required/supported by their parents to be successful. Teachers can only be merited for what they bring to the table to teach the students, but if the students refuse to learn and sit there, then the student will ultimately fail. We can shove all the support measures needed for a student, but if they won't learn, what more can you do? "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't force it to drink."
Come on Sandoval - dummy it down so more Mexicans can get diplomas!
Sandoval also on Wednesday vetoed these bills: Anything that protected worker rights while making it easier for employers to violate safety laws and treat their employees anyway they want. What a good little Republican governor we have. Profit over people every time!
Jerry, I'm not sure where you got your diploma, but you are not using "their" and "there" correctly. Also, "thru" is not right. When making a critique about our educational system, your arguments might be more compelling if you use spell check before posting.