By Elizabeth Tegtmeier
District 7 Representative
The State Board of Education met in Lincoln on June 7, 2024. One important topic that has concerned parents, teachers, administrators, and taxpayers alike is reading instruction. Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) staff is designing the system that will guide Nebraska schools and educator preparation programs in delivering evidence-based reading instruction.
This past spring the Nebraska Legislature passed LB1284 which appropriated $1.8 million to provide current classroom teachers with additional training in high-quality core instruction that includes the concepts of phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. NDE staff reallocated an additional $6 million from unused but previously designated federal pandemic relief funds to increase the training outreach of the regional literacy coaches. While the NDE has been offering these trainings on a smaller scale, the increase in funding will allow more teachers to be trained. In addition, as a result of the revisions to Rule 20 promulgated by the state board and recently signed into effect by Governor Pillen, educator preparation programs within the state will be required to train future teachers in this instructional model starting in the 2025-26 school year.
A key function of the state board is the annual approval of public and private schools. Both accreditation and approval are the result of adherence to requirements set by the state board and are reviewed by NDE staff before being brought to the state board. 347 schools and or districts were approved by the board. These include public, non-public, interim-program, and special purpose schools.
Educational units not seeking accreditation or approval can apply for Exempt School status through the NDE website. Due to significant delays and issues with the previous exempt (home) school filing system, the Unicameral passed LB1027 designed to streamline the process for filers and the NDE. Many measures in the 40-year old state statute addressing exempt schools had never been utilized and were removed as a result of support from the state board and NDE. As of June 7, nearly 900 filings had been opened with over 700 fully completed.
LB1306 abolished the Nebraska Professional Practices Commission (NPPC) as a hearing body for Nebraska teaching certificate holders who have committed a crime or violated the standards set for teachers in state statute and NDE rules. Now the initial hearing will be conducted by a board-appointed hearing officer and will continue to be adjudicated by the state board. This process should alleviate the multi-year backlog created by delays in NPPC hearings.
In 2023, the Nebraska Legislature passed LB705 which included a $1 million appropriation for the Teacher Apprenticeship Program. This program provides a unique pathway to prepare teachers including on-the-job training, job-embedded professional learning, and college credits for candidates interested in becoming teachers. In implementing this program, the NDE looked to existing pilot programs which had been supported by federal pandemic relief funding. These programs had created paraprofessional to teacher programs which could be slightly adjusted to meet apprenticeship requirements. To expand the program beyond the three current sites, the NDE applied for federal funding through the Nebraska Department of Labor and anticipates notification of this award soon.
Finally, it was a delight to honor a District 7 elementary teacher, Megan Mullen, and two others who are state finalists for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Ms. Mullen teaches 5th grade and middle school STEM at Paxton Consolidated Schools. She coaches Science Olympiad, hosts family STEM nights, and assists fellow teachers in planning STEM activities. I wish her success as she competes for this national award.
The next scheduled meeting of the board is August 2, 2024, at the NDE building in Lincoln.
This summary is submitted by Elizabeth Tegtmeier, District 7 representative, and is not an official statement of the Nebraska State Board of Education.