[7][clarification needed] Aware that Nevada public schools were facing significant financial difficulties, Governor Charles H. Russell appointed the School Survey Committee to assist in reorganizing the state's education system.
The student body was 51.49% White, 35.64% Hispanic, 5.94% American Indian or Alaska Native, 5.94% of multiple races, and 0.99% Black.
[10] 13.86% of students had an Individualized Education Program, 9.9% were English language learners, and 98.02% met the state's definition of poverty.
[5][13] In October 2007, the district established a policy banning students from speaking Spanish on bus rides or in school.
[15] However, the policy was swiftly criticized as discriminatory, with opponents pointing to the sizable Hispanic population in the school district—at the time, 12 of 30 high school students were Hispanic, and the letter informing families of the policy had been published in both English and Spanish.
[14] In January 2008, the ACLU published a letter to the school district asking for the removal of the policy, as banning use of a language violated the First Amendment of the Constitution.
[16] District superintendent Robert Aumagher agreed to meet with the ACLU to amend the policy, and it was ultimately rolled back by February 2008.