City of Henderson gets first charter school

City takes control of education, gives parents more choices

By Brittany Sheehan  

Nevada News and Views

Picture this: You’re sitting at your kitchen table, looking at your child’s report card from the local public school. The grades aren’t great. The class sizes are huge. You wish you had better options. Well, if you live in Henderson, Nevada, you just got some.

The Henderson City Council just approved their very first charter school. It’s called Kesher Academy, and it will open in fall 2026. This might sound like small news, but it’s actually a big win for people who believe local communities should control their own schools.

What Just Happened?

The City of Henderson has approved its first charter school operator, Kesher Academy, to open a new school in fall 2026. The unanimous vote came during a special City Council meeting held Tuesday. The school received approval after the city looked at four different applications.

Kesher Academy is a proposed Hebrew-language charter school that uses the Hebrew language as “a means of fostering cultural connection, academic engagement, and global citizenship.” It is asking to open with 125 students in kindergarten through second grade, then scale up to 375 students, in kindergarten through seventh grade, over a six-year period.

Henderson Mayor Michelle Romero made it clear why this matters: “As a Council, we feel strongly that cities should have greater control over education in their communities, and this is a major step toward that goal.”

Why This Is a Big Deal for Conservatives

This story hits right at the heart of what conservatives believe about government. Instead of having distant state bureaucrats make all the decisions, Henderson is taking control of its own schools. That’s exactly what limited government looks like in action.

Think about it this way. When your local city council approves a school, those are people you can actually talk to. You might see them at the grocery store. Your kids might go to church with their kids. That’s real accountability.

Charter schools also give parents what they want most: choice. If the regular public school isn’t working for your child, you now have another option. And it’s still free, just like traditional public schools.

Henderson residents place a high value on education, ranking it as a top community priority alongside public safety. Now they can do something about it at the local level.

How This All Started

This didn’t happen overnight. Assembly Bill 400, which passed during the 2023 state legislative session, allows cities and counties to submit an application to the Nevada Department of Education seeking authorization to sponsor charter schools. Governor Joe Lombardo, a Republican, pushed for this change.

Before this law, only the state could approve most charter schools. Now cities can step up and take charge. Henderson and North Las Vegas were the first two cities in Nevada to get this power.

What the Numbers Show

Henderson is growing fast. The City of Henderson, Nevada, is a thriving community with over 300,000 residents, including more than 75,000 children under the age of 18. That’s a lot of kids who need good schools.

The city can now sponsor up to four new charter schools. There is a limit to how many students these new schools can serve, as mandated by Assembly Bill 400 — about 7 percent of school-aged children in Henderson.

What Critics Are Saying

Not everyone loves this idea. Some people worry that charter schools take money away from traditional public schools. Others think the government shouldn’t be involved in running any schools at all.

Some education officials prefer keeping control at the state level. They argue that bigger organizations have more resources and experience.

But Henderson officials disagree. They think local control means better schools that fit what their community actually needs.

What’s Next?

Henderson isn’t done yet. The city got four applications for charter schools this round. Three were turned down, but those applicants may revise and resubmit their proposals within the next 30 days. The Council will reconsider those applications at a future meeting.

The city is also accepting new applications right now. If you want to start a charter school in Henderson, you have until January 30th to submit your notice of intent.

What You Can Do

If you like what Henderson is doing, here are some ways to support local control of education:

Contact your city council members and tell them you support charter schools. Show up to school board meetings and ask questions. If you live in another Nevada city, ask your mayor to apply for charter school authority too.

Most importantly, stay involved. Local control only works when local people pay attention.

This is about more than just one school in one city. It’s about proving that communities can solve their own problems better than distant bureaucrats. Henderson just showed the way.

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Brittany Sheehan is a Las Vegas-based mother, policy advocate and grassroots leader. She is active in local politics, successful in campaign work and passionate about liberty.