May 2020 | Nebraska Department of Education
Equitable Educational Opportunities
Elizabeth Eynon-Kokrda and Lauren Micek Vargas from the Education Rights Counsel presented to the Nebraska State Board of Education on how to provide equity during a pandemic. The presentation included highlights of many of the successes happening across the state and the challenges they see moving forward.
2020 Nebraska Teacher of the Year
The 2020 Nebraska Teacher of the Year Megan Helberg joined the board remotely to fill them in on her busy year thus far, even with the pandemic closing school buildings and canceling events. She has participated in several virtual conferences as well as online learning at her school and statewide with the Nebraska State Education Association. She noted that missing big events, like a trip to Google, has been hard but she is thankful to lead by example in making the most of a difficult situation.
Approval of Grants and Accreditations
Board members voted unanimously to grant the Commissioner authority to approve a continuation grant to operate the Teacher Education and Compensation Helps or T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Scholarship program and to approve awards for continuation of the Early Learning Connection Partnership Grants.
The board also voted to approve accreditation for Educational Service Units under Rule 84 and approve Interim-Program Schools to operate for the 2020-2021 school year under Rule 18.
Early Learning Connection Partnership Grants
Petition for Declaratory Order
The Educational Service Units Coordinating Council (ESUCC) petitioned the board for a Declaratory Order to allow the Nebraska Department of Education and the commissioner to make decisions on rules and regulations in the best interest of schools and students during the pandemic. The board voted to ask the commissioner to consider the petition and come back with a recommendation in June.
The petition is designed to allow the department to chart a course forward for all schools versus answering questions as they come in one at a time.
