LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — There is a statewide teacher shortage and an area feeling it the hardest is Clark County.

Nevada lawmakers are trying to address that issue by introducing a measure and funds to make it easier for teachers to get licensed.

Three education-related bills went before the Senate Education Committee, one is SB 438. It seeks to address the high number of teacher vacancies by creating a program called, Teach Nevada Scholarship.

State Sen. Roberta Lange, (D) Clark County, is the sponsor of SB 438, which would cost around $50 million. She also serves as the Senate’s assistant majority leader.

Brandon Summers is a substitute teacher for the Clark County School District and offered his advice for getting more people into the teaching profession.

“I think every state and every school district needs to work on increasing pay so that they can attract teachers to work for the districts,” Summers said.

Summers says teachers at CCSD are stretching themselves thin due to vacancies.

“The short staffing makes it hard for you just to be able to do your job and go home, a lot of time you have to take on other responsibilities,” Summers said. “It takes time away from the classroom when you could be doing lesson planning.”

The other two education bills besides SB 438 that lawmakers heard on Wednesday are SB 291 and SB 282.

Nevada is averaging nearly 28,000 teacher job openings, according to data shared with lawmakers. Clark County School District Superintendent Dr. Jesus Jara previously said the district has more than 1400 vacancies.

Miranda Garcia is a student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas studying to become a teacher at CCSD.

“I struggled a lot in school, and I wouldn’t have made it without my teachers, and I want to be able to help students who’ve struggled like me,” Garcia said.

A graphic shared with the Senate Education Committee shows the highest concentration of teacher openings in Clark County are in parts of the Las Vegas Valley where black and Hispanic students are the majority.

Garcia has benefited from a scholarship. She’s a recipient of the Nevada Institute on Teaching and Educator Program. She says she’s thankful for the award and that it will hopefully get her into a CCSD classroom soon.

“The scholarship is amazing it helps me not only pay for my classes, but my textbooks,” Garcia said.

The Clark County Education Association says it has yet to take a stand on SB 438 saying, “We are not taking a position on that bill at this time because we need to learn more. It is currently light on details, has a significant fiscal note of $50 million, and requires more analysis on our part.”