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2.01.2025

Nevada’s 2025 Legislative Session - What to Expect and How to Get Involved: Begins on February 3rd!

The legislative session is when lawmakers (also called legislators) meet to discuss and pass laws. In Nevada, the legislative session happens every two years, and the 2025 session – which begins on Monday, February 3rd - will be an important time to shape policies that impact families, education, healthcare and more. 

During this session, state senators and assembly members will propose new laws, debate existing ones, and decide how to spend money on programs and services. Many of these decisions will affect your family and your child’s future.

Why Should Families of Young Children Get Involved?

Laws made during the legislative session affect all parts of life. For families with young children, these decisions are especially important because they can impact:

• Early Childhood Education: Access to quality early education, from child care and preschool to kindergarten, can shape their future success in school and life.
• Healthcare: Access to affordable healthcare, including visits to the doctor and important vaccines, is essential for keeping your child healthy and safe.
• Family Support: Many laws help families with financial support, food resources, and housing. If your family is facing challenges, the right laws can provide critical assistance.
• Child Safety: New laws are often created to protect children from harm, such as ensuring safer toys, safer schools, or protection from neglect and abuse.
• Community Resources: Community programs can offer help with food, housing, and more, and the legislature helps to determine how much funding these programs receive.

By getting involved, you can make sure your voice is heard and help lawmakers understand the needs of families like yours. The issues that matter to you—like better schools, more affordable child care, or healthcare for all children—are often being discussed and debated in the legislative session. Legislators need to hear from you so they know how the decisions they make may impact you and your family.

How Do Laws Affect Your Family?

Sometimes, it can feel like laws are far away from your everyday life, but they actually touch many parts of it. For example:

• Education: In Nevada, lawmakers decide how much money will go toward public schools, including early childhood education programs. If you want your child to have access to a good preschool or a safe, well-funded elementary school, your input can help decide how much money is spent on education.
• Healthcare: Healthcare laws determine whether your child can see a doctor when they're sick, how much it costs, and what types of medical care are available. If there’s a new law that might improve healthcare for your family, your support could help make that change happen.
• Financial Support: If you need help paying for things like groceries, housing, or child care, the legislature decides what programs are available to assist you. By speaking up, you can help ensure that those programs are there when your family needs them.

5 Key Issues Impacting Young Children and Their Families in the 2025 Session

In the 2025 legislative session, many important issues could come up that affect families with young children. Below are a few of the issues that are expected to be discussed, including some of the bills (or BDRs) that have been submitted for the 2025 session. Click here to see the full list (hint: use the search bar to enter keywords to find BDRs that include issues important to you).

Note: BDRs are “bill draft requests” and are ideas for laws that only provide a hint of what the law would address. Some BDRs will never become bills. See “Tips for Getting Involved” below to learn more about how to stay informed about which BDRs or bills will be discussed and voted on during the session.

1. Child Care: Many families in Nevada struggle to find affordable, high-quality child care. Several legislators are working on bills that may impact access, affordability, and quality of child care in Nevada. You can raise your voice to let them know why this issue matters for families like yours. There are currently three bill draft requests (BDRs) that mention “child care” (76, 187, and 528).
   
   
2. Support for Families in Need: Laws that provide financial support for low-income families could help parents who are struggling to make ends meet. This includes food assistance, housing help, or programs that provide free or reduced-cost health care. There are currently two BDRs that mention food assistance (75 and 911), 20 that mention housing, and nearly 70 different BDRs related to health care. 
   
   
3. Investing in Early Education: Research shows that the first few years of a child’s life are crucial for their development. By advocating for more funding for early childhood programs, you can help ensure that your child and others have access to high-quality learning experiences.
   
   Prekindergarten has been an issue that many legislators, and the Governor, have mentioned as a priority leading into the 2025 session. While there is currently only one bill (Senate Bill 58) that specifically references prekindergarten, it is likely that there will be a lot of discussion on this topic,
   including funding to expand access to the Nevada Ready! PreK Program.
   
   
4. Protecting Children’s Safety: From laws that make schools safer to rules about childproofing products, lawmakers can create policies to protect children from harm. If there are laws that would make a difference in your child’s safety, your voice can help make those laws stronger. There are currently at least six BDRs related to child welfare (abuse and neglect issues), and two bills related to school safety (Senate Bill 38 and Assembly Bill 48).
   
   
5. Early Childhood Systems: Many states, including Nevada, are looking at how they can better serve young children and their families by improving how programs and services at the state level are managed. These governance structures can take different forms, but focus on a “no wrong door” approach to accessing services. There are currently two BDRs (1 and 105) and one bill (Senate Bill 82) that propose to establish an Office of Early Childhood to help coordinate and streamline early childhood programs and services.

Tips for Getting Involved in the 2025 Legislative Session

Now that you understand why it's important to get involved, here are some tips on how you can take action during the 2025 legislative session.

1. Stay Informed

The first step in getting involved is staying up to date with what’s happening. You can follow the Nevada State Legislature’s website to read about upcoming bills and legislation. 

• Nevada Legislature Website – Main site that includes links to the 2025 session (as well as previous sessions), finding and contacting your legislators, links to view hearings, and much, much more!
• 2025 Session Page – Direct link to the 2025 Legislative Session, including the BDR (bill draft request) list mentioned above and all of the information and links you need to keep up to date and informed.
• Personalized Bill Tracking – Anyone can sign up to receive personalized bill tracking for up to 10 BDRs, bills, or budgets at no cost (you can track more with some paid options). It’s easy to sign up and use! Several organizations also have bill tracking services – see below for a couple options that focus on children’s issues.

Many organizations that support families and children also provide updates on what’s happening in the legislative session, so make sure to follow their newsletters or social media pages.

• Children’s Advocacy Alliance - The Children’s Advocacy Alliance advocates in the areas of health, child welfare and equitable access, school readiness and early childhood systems, and economic well-being. They also have a 2025 session bill tracker with links to important bills.
• Nevada Institute for Children’s Research and Policy - The Nevada Institute for Children’s Research and Policy (NICRP), located within the School of Public Health at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to improving the lives of children through research, advocacy, and other specialized services. Click here for their updated bill tracker (Google doc link).

2. Contact Your Legislators

One of the most direct ways to make an impact is to contact your state senator or assembly member. You can call, email, or write a letter to let them know what’s important to you and your family. Don’t be afraid to reach out! Legislators want to hear from the people they represent. When contacting your legislators, try to:

• Be clear about what issue you care about.
• Explain how the issue affects you and your family.
• Politely ask them to support or oppose specific bills that will impact your child’s future.

Who’s My Legislator feature on the Nevada Legislature website allows you to easily find out who your legislators are by typing your home address into the search bar. This feature also provides links to your legislators with relevant information about them and how to contact them.

You can also access the full list of Assembly Members and Senators on the Nevada Legislature website. 

3. Attend Public Hearings and Meetings

During the legislative session, there are public hearings and meetings where lawmakers discuss and debate bills. These meetings are open to the public, and anyone can attend to share their opinion. Some hearings allow for public comments, where you can speak up and make your voice heard. You can also submit written comments if you can’t attend in person.

• View the list of online live and upcoming meetings by clicking here.
• The Legislative Social Events Calendar includes in-person events and advocacy days hosted by different groups and organizations throughout the session.

If you are interested in sharing your opinion or would like to provide public comment on a bill impacting children and families, but would like assistance, please contact the Children’s Advocacy Alliance for support.

4. Join or Support Advocacy Groups

Many nonprofit organizations work to support families and children by advocating for better laws and policies. Joining these groups can give you access to important information and provide opportunities to participate in larger advocacy campaigns. These groups often have tools to make it easy for you to contact your lawmakers and get involved in the process.

5. Raise Awareness in Your Community

Sometimes, just talking to others in your community about the issues that matter to you can make a big difference. You can spread the word about important legislation, encourage others to get involved, and work together to advocate for change. The more people speak up, the stronger your voice will be.

The 2025 legislative session is an important time to make sure the needs of families, especially those with young children, are heard. By getting involved, you can help shape laws that will improve the lives of your children and others in your community. Whether you contact your legislators, attend public hearings, or support advocacy groups, your voice matters. It’s your opportunity to make a difference in how Nevada supports families and children, now and in the future.

Visit the First 5 Nevada “Get Involved” page to learn more about the process and how to ensure that your voice is heard on these important issues!