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1.01.2025

2025 Nevada Legislative Session: What Families with Young Children Should Know and How to Get Involved

The 2025 Nevada Legislative Session is just around the corner, and it brings with it an exciting opportunity for families with young children to engage in shaping the policies and laws that will directly impact their lives. 

From education and healthcare to child welfare and family-friendly policies, the legislative session is an essential avenue for parents and caregivers to voice their concerns and advocate for their children’s well-being.

As a parent or caregiver, it can be overwhelming to know where to start when it comes to engaging with the legislative process. Below, we’ll explore what the Nevada Legislature is, how it impacts families, and what steps you can take to get involved.

What Is the Nevada Legislature?

The Nevada Legislature is the state’s law-making body, made up of two chambers: the Nevada Senate and the Nevada Assembly. Every two years, Nevada holds a regular legislative session in which lawmakers discuss, propose, debate, and pass bills that become state law. The 2025 legislative session will begin on February 3, 2025, and run through June 2025, with the potential for special sessions if needed.

During this time, state lawmakers (Senators and Assembly members) will address various topics affecting residents, including funding for public education, health programs, housing, and services for children and families. Laws passed during the session can have a significant impact on local schools, child care programs, healthcare access, and even tax policies that influence family budgets.

Click here to learn more about the Nevada Legislative Process.

For families with young children, the legislative session is an opportunity to advocate for policies that will directly benefit their kids, such as:

• Early Childhood Education: Advocating for better access to affordable child care, preschool programs, and kindergarten readiness initiatives.
• Healthcare and Safety: Working to improve access to pediatric healthcare services and child protective laws.
• Family Support: Promoting laws that improve family leave, financial support for parents, and family-friendly workplace policies.
• Children’s Rights: Addressing issues like bullying prevention, mental health services, and equitable opportunities for children of all backgrounds.

Understanding what’s on the table in the 2025 session and how to participate can make a big difference in making your voice heard.

5 Key Issues to Watch for in 2025

While the 2025 session will bring a wide range of bills up for debate, several key areas are particularly relevant to families with young children:

1. Coordinating Services: Families need seamless access to a wide range of programs and services, from prenatal care to early education, mental health supports, and health care, among others.
   Nevada’s early childhood system currently includes more than 60 programs operated under 26 different chapters of Nevada statutes (state law) and 40 different budget accounts. Several bill draft requests are pending to consider ways for Nevada to streamline these programs to remove barriers and increase access to services for families.
2. Education and Child Care: Education remains a top priority in Nevada. Lawmakers are likely to discuss how to improve access to quality early childhood education, including preschool programs and child care, especially for low-income families.
   Advocacy groups have long called for increased funding for early childhood education programs to better prepare young children for school.
3. Affordable Healthcare: Affordable healthcare is a major concern for many families, especially with the rising cost of medical care. This could include discussions on expanding Medicaid, improving access to pediatric care, and ensuring that families have the support they need to keep their children healthy.
4. Affordable Housing: Families with young children may be especially vulnerable to housing instability. Proposals that address affordable housing could help ease the burden on families looking for safe, affordable places to live.
5. Mental Health and Well-being: Mental health has become an increasingly important issue, especially among children and adolescents. Addressing the mental health needs of children—whether through school programs, healthcare, or community support—may be a key focus during the legislative session.

5 Ways to Stay Informed

Understanding what is happening during the legislative session is the first step in being involved. There are several ways for families to stay informed about the key issues and ongoing bills:

1. Follow the Nevada Legislature Website: The Nevada Legislature’s official website provides updates on the session, a calendar of events, bill tracking, and the status of proposed laws. The site also features a list of upcoming hearings, where you can see when bills of interest to families are being discussed.
• How to Search for Bills: The Nevada Legislature website has a system called “NELIS” that allows you to easily search for bills using keywords. You can also search through the bill draft requests (BDRs), which are basically placeholders for bills. BDRs only have very brief descriptions and do not provide details of what the bill is proposing.  Steps for how to search for bills and BDRs:
1. Go to the NV Legislature Website at https://www.leg.state.nv.us/
2. There are several ways to get to the search function, but this is one of the quickest: On the left side of the screen, hover over “Session Info” and click on “83rd (2025) Session”, then select “BDR List”. NOTE: if you select “Bill Information” you will only see BDRs that have been drafted into bills. Selecting “BDR List” allows you to see pending requests as well as bills.
3. Under “BDRs” there is a search box – enter any key words, legislator name or a BDR/Bill number to search. For example, you might type in “Early Childhood” or “Child Care”. Remember that spaces matter – you will get different results with “Child Care” versus “Childcare”.
2. Sign Up for Bill Tracking: The NELIS system on the Nevada Legislature website allows you to sign up for bill tracking so you can receive notices of updates to bills that are important to you. Anyone can sign up to track up to 10 BDRs, Bills, or Budgets at no cost. Click here to learn more about tracking and how to sign up.
3. Subscribe to Legislative Newsletters: Many advocacy organizations and government offices send out regular newsletters during the session, offering updates on legislation and action steps. Subscribe to these newsletters to receive timely information. There are several organizations throughout Nevada that send out updates – these are two of the groups that focus on early childhood:
• Nevada Institute for Children’s Research and Policy at UNLV
• Children’s Advocacy Alliance
4. Attend Public Hearings: Public hearings are an important part of the legislative process. During these hearings, lawmakers hear testimony from the public on proposed bills. You can attend hearings in person or watch them online through the Nevada Legislature’s website. It’s a great way to stay up-to-date and see firsthand how the process works.
• From the main page of the website, you can click on “Scheduled Meetings” or “View Events” to view hearings online.
5. Join Advocacy Groups: Many nonprofit organizations, including those focused on children’s rights, education, and family services, are active during legislative sessions. They often offer tools to help families stay informed and advocate for specific bills. Consider joining a local advocacy group to access resources, receive updates, and participate in campaigns.
• Visit our Get Involved page to learn more about advocacy organizations focused on early childhood.

5 Ways to Get Involved

There are many ways families can get involved in the 2025 Nevada Legislative Session. Here are some of the most impactful actions you can take:

1. Contact Your Legislators: Your elected representatives are there to represent your interests, and they need to hear from you. You can contact your Nevada Senators and Assembly members by phone, email, or social media to express your thoughts on proposed bills. Let them know how important issues like affordable childcare, healthcare, and family leave are to you.
• Click here to Find Your Legislator
• You can also see information about all legislators on the website. To see the list of current Assembly members, click here. To see the list of current Senators, click here. 
2. Testify at Legislative Hearings: If you have a personal story or viewpoint that could help inform lawmakers, consider testifying at a legislative hearing. Testifying allows you to share your experiences and provide valuable insight into how a particular issue affects families like yours. You can sign up to testify either in person or remotely during the session.
3. Participate in Lobby Days: Many advocacy organizations organize “lobby days” where families can come together to meet with their representatives, discuss important issues, and advocate for specific bills. These events are typically scheduled in advance, and you can participate to help push for legislation that benefits families.
• Children’s Week at the Legislature will be March 10th to 13th, 2025. Visit the website to learn more about how you can get involved!
4. Attend Legislative Town Halls: Legislators often hold town hall meetings where constituents can come and ask questions, voice concerns, and share feedback. These are great opportunities to engage directly with your representatives and ask about the issues that matter most to you.
5. Share Information with Your Community: Spread the word about key issues and bills that could impact families. Sharing what you know through social media, word of mouth, or community groups can help build momentum and get more families involved.

The 2025 Nevada Legislative Session presents an important opportunity for families with young children to become involved in shaping the future of our state. By staying informed, engaging with your legislators, and advocating for policies that will support the well-being of children and families, you can make your voice heard. 

Whether you’re interested in education, healthcare, or family-friendly policies, there’s no better time to take action and ensure that Nevada remains a great place for families to thrive.