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May 2026
Apprenticeship Program
Staff celebrated Apprenticeship week by showcasing the apprentice programs available in Nebraska and inviting several apprentice teachers to share their stories about the programs.
Since 2023, the Nebraska Department of Education has administered the Nebraska Teacher Apprenticeship Program, leveraging an annual $1 million state appropriation. In 2024, the NDE was awarded two US Department of Labor Grants to scale up apprenticeship work. Apprenticeships, while relatively new to education fields, provide a promising approach to tackling workforce shortages in our schools.
By 2027, 180 fully certified teachers will have been added to the Nebraska workforce.
Apprentice Program Presentation
Nebraska Teacher of the Year Quarterly Report
2026 Nebraska Teacher of the Year Sarah Hardin filled the board in on her year so far. She has presented at dozens of speaking engagements across the state. She filled the board in on what she has heard from schools and teachers during her travels. She also previewed a few big national events on the schedule including Washington Week and a trip to Space Camp.
Information on NDE Artificial Intelligence (AI) Efforts
Chris Wlaschin, NDE Information Systems Officer, presented work on policies and usage of artificial intelligence at the NDE. Nebraska has developed a multi-layered approach to artificial intelligence, combining state agency guidelines, emerging legislation, and alignment with federal frameworks.
Early Childhood Education Continuation Grants
The purpose of the Early Childhood Education Grant Program is to improve access to early
childhood education/prekindergarten programs. Early Childhood programs operated with grant funds are required to operate in compliance with Rule 11 – Regulations for Approval of Prekindergarten Programs Established by School Boards or Educational Service Units and for the Issuance of Early Childhood Education Grants.
Continuation grants are for the 2026/2027 school year
Award Funding from the Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) Grant
Board members approved Year 3 funding for the 46 Nebraska Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) subgrantees, contingent upon the federal Grant Award Notification. The CLSD
grant is a five-year, approximately $55 million federal award (2024–2029) designed to improve literacy outcomes for children from birth through grade 12 through evidence-based reading instruction, aligned professional learning, and implementation of high-quality instructional materials. As required by the grant, at least 95 percent of funds are distributed through a competitive subgrant process, with allocations aligned across birth–kindergarten entry (15%), grades K–5 (40%), and grades 6–12 (40%).
This continuation is necessary to maintain momentum in a multi-year implementation effort that aligns with state and federal priorities around improving literacy outcomes. The State Board previously approved these 46 subgrantees in August 2025 following a competitive application process, and districts have been actively implementing their approved plans since fall 2025.
Provide Funds to the Nebraska Statewide Workforce and Education Reporting System (NSWERS)
NSWERS is partnership between the Nebraska Department of Education, the Nebraska State
Colleges, the University of Nebraska and the six public Nebraska community colleges to share data
and develop a comprehensive, sustainable, and robust lifelong learning and workforce longitudinal
data system serving the needs of the people of Nebraska. NSWERS serves an important role for NDE because of its growing capacity to provide cross-sector longitudinal data in areas of interest to NDE and K-12 education stakeholders. NSWERS receives no state funding from the legislature and is currently funded by a variety of grants from non-profit foundations and contributions from NSWERS Partners.
Revisions to the Nebraska Council on Teacher Education (NCTE) Organizational Policies
The Nebraska Council on Teacher Education (NCTE) as an advisory body of the Nebraska State Board of Education. The membership is appointed by the State Board of Education from representatives of state-wide organizations which have a direct involvement or interest in teacher and administrative preparation, and from Nebraska approved educator preparation programs. Board members voted to approve changes to organization membership and timeline regarding posting meeting agenda and associated materials.
21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) Grant Funds
The Nebraska 21st CCLC department will release the 2026 afterschool grant using both federal 21st CCLC funding & Expanded Learning Opportunities state funding.
Currently the funds provide afterschool & summer programming at 121 sites serving K-12 students in 31 communities. These programs create an afterschool environment focused on three overarching goals: 1) improving overall student academic success, 2) increasing positive behavior and social interactions, and 3) increasing active and meaningful family and community engagement.
Rural Health Transformation Project Funds
Governor Pillen announced Nebraska’s Rural Health Transformation Program, through which the
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) received a five-year grant from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. DHHS will enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Nebraska Department of Education to be a subrecipient of these funds for project objectives that have a direct connection to and benefit for the school nutrition programs.
The program will:
• Provide grants (with a maximum award of $100,000 per school or school district per year) to rural
schools to transition their food preparation and storage infrastructure to support increased frequency of scratch and semi-scratch prepared items on menus.
• Provide technical assistance support for the procurement and acquisition of locally produced and
grown food items suitable for the school foodservice setting.
• Provide grants to fund food infrastructure equipment to support development of healthy kitchen-ready products that reduced preparation burden on schools.
• Implement the Nebraska School Nutrition Training Institute for school foodservice staff to acquire
continuing education and experiential learning that supports utilization of scratch-cooking techniques and chronic-disease-prevention menu design
Contract for Safe2HelpNE Hotline
NDE has established the Safe2HelpNE report line as a statewide anonymous reporting system to support threat assessment teams and reduce potential risks and incidents of violence. Boys Town, USA serves as the communications center. The communications center is functional 24/7/365 with trained crisis counselors receiving reports and notifying school district threat assessment teams of the details of the reports. This reporting system supports public and nonpublic K-12 school threat assessment teams, the intent of which is to reduce risk and incidents of targeted violence including harm to self, others, or school property.
Nebraska Teacher Apprenticeship Program Funding
With the passage of LB705 in 2023, the Nebraska Department of Education has been charged with
creating and administering the Nebraska Teacher Apprenticeship Program, meant to “recruit and
increase the number of teachers throughout the state by utilizing an apprenticeship model for training.” The legislature currently appropriates one million for this program annually.
The Department is continuing to administer the Nebraska Teacher Apprenticeship Program with the state allocated funds.
Teacher Apprenticeship Program
Approve New and Expansion Early Childhood Grants
The purpose of the Early Childhood Education Grant Program is to improve access to early childhood education/prekindergarten programs. Early Childhood programs operated with these grants are required to operate in compliance with Rule 11.
Funds are available for awarding new and/or expansion grants to public school districts to serve
preschool aged students in the 2026/2027 school year.
The list of proposed grants includes a total of 8 districts with an estimate of 212 children to be served in 13 classrooms.
Professional Learning for Leaders Grounded in the Science of Reading
The Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) Office of Teaching, Learning, and Assessment is preparing to initiate a contract with the AIM Institute to provide professional learning for building and district leaders grounded in the science of reading. This contract will address an initial scope of work with a vendor pool established to address ongoing and future needs based on participant needs.
Career and Technical Education State Model Programs of Study and Standards Revision Project
The Nebraska Department of Education’s (NDE) Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education is
preparing to initiate the next statewide revision of Nebraska’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) State Model Programs of Study and course-based standards across all six CTE content areas. This work directly aligns with the State Board of Education’s strategic priority of Equipping Learners for the Workforce by ensuring that Nebraska students graduate with the academic, technical, and career readiness skills necessary to succeed in high-skill, high-wage, and high-demand careers.
NDE updates CTE Programs of Study and course-based standards on a five-year cycle to maintain quality, consistency, and statewide coherence. This review cycle reflects the rapid pace of change in industry and workforce demands.
Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) Audit Report
The ACFR audit is an annual audit performed by the State Auditor’s office on the financial information for the State. The purpose of the ACFR audit is to make sure the State’s financial statements are correct and that appropriate controls are in place to protect State resources. The attached ACFR Management Letter notes the findings related to the Department of Education.
Approve Nonpublic and Interim-Program Schools for 2026-2027
On an annual basis the State Board of Education approves operations for Nonpublic Schools. Private and parochial school systems may operate as approved schools by complying with the provisions of Rule 14. This set of requirements establishes minimum standards for the operation of nonpublic schools and supports the missions and goals of nonpublic education in Nebraska while insuring a level of quality and equality of educational opportunity. The State Board also approves the operation of Interim-Program Schools.
Priority School Designation
The State Board of Education has approved the designation of Omaha Northwest Highschool, Scribner-Snyder Secondary School and Bayard Secondary School as a priority schools under Nebraska’s Accountability for a Quality Education System Today and Tomorrow (AQuESTT). The priority school designation progress includes reviewing student achievement data for all Needs Support to Improve schools such as performance on NSCAS and ACT, graduation rates, etc. As priority schools, the school and district staff will collaborate with an Intervention Team to identify and guide school improvement efforts in school leadership, educator effectiveness, improvement of instruction, school culture, community engagement, and use of data for continuous improvement.
Isanti Elementary, Middle and Highschool are currently designated priority schools. The NDE must have at least three schools designated as priority.
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