KVIG Informative

More than 20 new Nevada laws took effect July 1. The ones most likely to change daily life for Southern Nevada renters and parents got the least attention.

Assembly Bill 396 clears the way for homeowners in Clark and Washoe counties to build accessory dwelling units — backyard cottages or converted garages — on residential lots, according to reporting by the nonprofit Nevada Independent. The law sets statewide rules limiting how local governments can restrict the units and establishes a framework for when they must be allowed.

The measure also changes how homeowners associations can regulate accessory dwellings, including rental restrictions tied to the units, per the Nevada Independent’s review of the legislation. For homeowners priced out of building equity any other way, the law opens a path that didn’t reliably exist before this month.

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On the education side, Nevada school districts must now set formal limits on student cellphone and device use during the school day under a separate law taking effect this month. Districts are required to build a disciplinary system that escalates for repeated violations, with exceptions carved out for emergencies, teacher-approved classroom use, and students who need a device under a disability accommodation or individualized education plan.

A third law, Assembly Bill 533, expands school choice by letting students transfer to public schools outside their assigned attendance zone when space allows, through an application process each district must publish by grade level and available seats.

The Nevada Department of Education told the Nevada Independent that a $7 million transportation grant tied to the new fiscal year, which began July 1, will help cover transportation costs for students attending schools outside their assigned zone. Priority goes to students in low-performing school zones and those without other transportation options.

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Separately, new licensing rules let Nevada school districts hire teachers licensed in another state on a provisional, one-year basis while those teachers pursue Nevada licensure, provided they pass background checks. Districts must report the hires to the state. The same rule changes expand certification pathways for career and technical education instructors and for candidates completing counseling, nursing and social work programs.

None of these laws got a press conference at the governor’s mansion. The accessory dwelling law hands Clark County homeowners a tool most of them don’t know they have yet. And whether a school choice law that reads well on paper actually reaches the families it’s written for may come down to whether that $7 million transportation grant is enough money to get them there.