Health planner asks Board to require county health representation on private-school emergency planning committees

A submitted comment to the board asked for a statutory change to ensure consistent public-health input on private-school emergency operations planning.

Joe Ginty, a planner for the Southern Nevada Health District Office of Public Health Preparedness, told the board in a written submission that private schools currently may invite a representative of the county or district board of health but are not required to do so under NRS 394.1685. Ginty urged the board to recommend adding language requiring "at least one representative of the county or district board of health in the county in which the school district or charter school is located designated by the county or district board of health" as part of private-school emergency-operations plan development committees, mirroring the requirement in NRS 382.241 for public and charter schools.

Ginty said the voluntary model has worked in practice but formalizing the requirement would impose "little to no additional burden on private schools" while giving private-school communities consistent access to public-health expertise. He offered to provide further information as the board's review continues.

The request was submitted in writing and the board recorded it as part of the Executive Order 2603 comment record; no action was taken at the workshop.