001Mhm. >> Mhm. >> You have 8 minutes. >> All right. The board meeting will begin in just about a minute. >> I don't know if we have any public comment. >> I have it already. I don't think we do at this time. >> Okay. All right, the June 5th State Board meeting will now come to order. Good morning and welcome to the June 5th, 2026 State Board of Education meeting. Board members, please engage your microphones before speaking and turn them off when you are finished speaking. Please note that board members may be using their cell phones and laptop computers to access the agenda and information related to the meeting. Live streaming is available through the State Board of Education website. Would the recording secretary please call the roll? >> Christian Christensen. >> Here. >> Maggie
002Douglas. >> Here. >> Lisa Schoenhoff. >> Here. >> Liz Renner. >> Here. >> Kirk Penner. Sherry Jones. >> Here. >> Elizabeth Tegmeyer. >> Here. >> Debra Neely. >> Here. >> Commissioner Maher. >> Here. >> Seven present, one absent. >> Quorum is established. Please rise and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Information regarding the Open Meetings Act is posted as you enter the room from the main entrance doors. The Open Meetings Act is also posted on the State Board of Education website. The next item of business is the Commissioner's report. Commissioner Maher, please provide your report. >> Good morning and thank you.
003First of all, there is one item that has been identified to be removed from the consent agenda. If board members wish to remove additional items from the consent agenda, please fill out the form at this time. Any items removed from the consent agenda will be taken up under additional business. >> Do you know the number? >> I don't know the number, but it's dues. >> The The item is the item based on dues. Okay. Well, first of all, I'd like to welcome Dr. Mike Tihan and the Ed Add students from UNK who are in the audience here today. Thanks for being here. I hope you learn a lot and are duly entertained. At least learn a lot. All right. Second, I was thinking this morning I I texted my my daughter who was in her
004van with her husband and her three kids, and they were leaving from just outside of Lincoln to go to Rapid City, South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore. So, I think it's a 9-hour drive if I remember. And I was thinking about, "Oh my gosh, I remember the days of having three little ones in a vehicle for that long." I hope they have videos of some sort to to help go through that time. But, also I was thinking about what a great time, number one, to see part of America. Um kind of a tradition from our family to theirs. I hope families this summer have an opportunity to have those traditions. I hope also that all school employees and certainly all students get a chance to rest and relax this summer. Um my next topic is
005to recognize gentleman out here by the name of Grant Norgaard. Grant, would you please wave to the board? You uh have hired Grant to be the assistant commissioner, and he starts next month. But today, he's here as a representative of GNS. I didn't know he was going to be here. Welcome. I appreciate you being here, and I look forward to August when you're sitting over here. Welcome, Grant. My next topic is a topic regarding a future-ready conference. We were excited to start the week off here in this building uh by hosting the future-ready Nebraska conference here at the NDE offices. We had a great set of speakers, and the theme was digital literacy in the age of AI, empowering future-ready learners. We had attendees from all over the state, both in person and virtually, and
006enjoyed enjoyed topics ranging from digital citizenship, accessibility, universal design for learning, and AI with intention. I'm grateful to our teaching and learning, assessment, and communications teams for their work putting together such an important conference. A special thank you to Doranne Avy for leading that work. My final topic for my report today is a topic that you're probably all aware of, that on May 29th, 2026, Governor Pillen issued an executive order, order number 26-14, establishing statewide reporting, prevention, and educational requirements regarding antisemitism in Nebraska's public education system. So, I'll be talking about the order as we go here. When I talk about the order, that's what I'm talking about. In the order, Governor Pillen issues three directives for action to be taken by the Nebraska Department of Education. The first directive requires NDE to submit an
007annual report to the governor's policy research office. The second uh requires NDE to incorporate certain provisions related to anti-Semitism into our employee code of conduct conduct. And the final directive requests that NDE provide materials to local schools surrounding Jewish-American history. My purpose in having this in my report is to provide you with the course of action for the department. First, it's important to to address what you all know, the NDE is a constitutional agency and not a code code agency. I think that's that distinction is important when to remember when reviewing this order. Second, uh given the fact that the order um is largely based on discrimination, I think it's important to state that the NDE is adamantly opposed to discrimination in any form. Let there be no doubt about that. So, um digging in
008a little further now, as mentioned, the order addresses three specific areas, an annual report, code of conduct revisions, and a request to provide materials to local schools. I'm going to talk about each one of those a little more in depth. Regarding directive one, should be noted that the schools are already in a position to provide assurance against discrimination in any form through the Title VI assurance statement that our schools sign. In addition, schools are required to send to the Department of Education a disciplinary report annually. One other point point for this portion of the order is that NDE does not investigate Title VI complaints, which are those complaints specific to discrimination. So, there may not be anything to report, at least currently. I have reached out to the governor's office and will be meeting to
009to work through what this means in terms of the order and in terms of what we're capable of doing at the Department of Education. Directive two deals with the code of conduct revisions. The order requires the Department of Education to incorporate a standard definition of anti-Semitism into its employee code of conduct and to adopt explicit prohibitions against anti-Semitic conduct. In addition, it requires the Department of Education to maintain policies fully consistent with federal and state civil rights protections. In working with our legal counsel, a review of the Department of Education's current employee policies was completed. Based on this review, IN the DE currently has anti-discrimination provisions that would be sufficient to cover the requirements for prohibiting the type of discrimination covered in the order. This is for both union covered employees and rules covered employees.
010Ultimately, IN the DE's code of conduct addresses the concerns raised in the order. The only item that IN the DE's code of conduct does not do is explicitly include the definition and examples of anti-Semitism found in the order. We will review that and determine whether we further action is warranted on that second portion. Directive three is a request to provide materials to local schools. My summary on that is that the order requests that the Department of Education provide all public and non-public schools with supplemental materials and curricula aligned with state academic standards as it pertains to Jewish-American history during pre- and post-revolution, the Holocaust, and the state of Israel. And provide professional learning resources to support best practices in instruction on the subjects listed. Our opinion on that particular topic is that the order does
011not require, nor does it rely on any authority to require the NDE to to perform action in this particular area. However, the order does make a request for NDE to act, and had a conversation with folks in this area here in the department, and we believe that there are ways to address this issue. Again, this will be something that when I meet with the governor's office, with his team, we'll see what both parties have on mind, on on the third portion of that directive. So, I I bring this to you today for a couple of reasons. Number one, I've had questions about "What are you going to do about the order?" And the fact of the matter is, we have a great respect for every office in this state, governor's office included. Number two, I
012think when we get something like this and we put it in front of us, I think we have to put it through the lens of what's best for the state of Nebraska, and in our instance, what's best for our schools and the students we serve, and we're certainly doing that. We're trying to do our best to not make this a political issue, and make this an educational issue, and that'll be how we approach addressing this topic. That concludes my report. >> Thank you, Commissioner Maher. >> It doesn't include my >> just going to ask you to um have your update on the strategic plan. >> There is one other thing that we've been working on from time to time in the office. As you know, the strategic plan, um and uh you all approved that
013strategic plan in December. Here we are in June, and when I was out earlier this week or last week, I think it was last week, down in Auburn talking to a group of administrators at the end of the year, one of the things that I talked to them about is this is not an item that we put together, sat on the shelf. This is an item that we put together with great intention. Our board had great buy-in. We have we and we are now working on the implementation phases of the strategic plan. I am very pleased and proud of the work that has been done by by all, but certainly by Lane Carr, Jessica Dworsky, and Dr. Ryan Foote. And with that, I'll turn it over to Dr. Foote. >> Greetings and good morning. Again,
014I'm Ryan Foote. And I'm glad to uh provide a an update on the status of of the strategic plan of the Nebraska Department of Education. I'll say your strategic plan, the board's, the commissioner's, the agencies. Uh you adopted this in December of 2025, and we went to work in implementation um shortly thereafter. And so, the last 6 months have been in that implementation phase, and now we're starting to um I'll say planning and implementation phase, and now we're starting to move to fuller implementation. So, good life, great schools, excellent education. Uh really excited and proud of the name that we've put to the strategic plan. And you know, we continue to talk about not letting it sit on the shelf. And so, now the rubber hits the road with that or starts to hit the
015road with that more cuz we can only say that for a few months before you and the public start saying, "Okay, but show us show us what you're doing." Right? And so, we're starting down that path today. Uh you might recall you will recall when we first gave you a print version, it was huge. It was much bigger than this, right? And I joked that you couldn't sit it on the shelf cuz it wouldn't fit on the shelf. We got a lot of feedback from folks saying, "We need a little bit smaller, more portable version of it." So, that's what we're putting in front of you today. And this is also available on the strategic plan website off of the NDE main page for folks, uh the public, whomever to download. And this is the
016version, for example, that we'll intend to distribute to partners like state legislators, for example. Not all of the pieces of this of the original strategic plan are in here, but the core elements including the mission, the values, the strategic priorities, and the strategic outcomes you'll find in here. So, the core pieces of that are found here. Also, another piece that you have and is available to the public online is a one-pager uh that includes the mission, values, and the strategic priorities and outcomes. So, maybe you're out working with uh constituents, citizens, for example, feel welcome to download this. We can make copies for you of this as well to share. So, everything that we are doing and working on and focusing on is grounded in these four strategic priorities. And I know that you can
017read them. I'm going to say them um for those auditory learners. Strategic priority one, accelerate student achievement. Priority two, grow the educator pipeline. Three, equip learners for the workforce. And four, provide exceptional service. And often times we have um made a slight distinction between those where the first three are very outward facing in terms of the work that we do with schools, clients, students, families, and other partners. The fourth strategic priority being more inward facing on how we do business as a state agency in in state government in Nebraska. And that strategic priority four is where the focus is today on the update to you and the public. So, within providing exceptional service, there are three outcomes part of that plan. Again, I'm going to say them uh for everybody's benefit including my own to
018keep this language uh front of mind. So, that first outcome, improved agency-wide efficiency. The second, increased responsiveness and communication. And the third, improved capacity building. And so, the task for our staff, particularly our office administrators, officers, those who lead the offices that make up this agency, they were tasked with building an operational plan that got to and that provides metrics uh for each of those three outcome areas. And so, uh there was a lot of latitude in terms of what that could look like because some of our offices are very um are very their work is quantifiable, right? Like you can count the work. Maybe through a help desk ticket or how many teacher certificates are issued within a given period of time. Others, um it it's not as quantifiable in that way. And so,
019the task for office administrators and officers under the directive of the commissioner was to work with their deputy commissioner and one another to develop those operational plans that they will then be guided by over the course of at least the next year in terms of how they do work and how we do business as it relates to those three strategic outcomes under provide exceptional service. And so you can see there, I'm not going to read each of those bullet points. You can see there what that process looked like. And our team that the commissioner mentioned earlier of Lane Carr, Jessica Jaworski and me, mostly the first two, held office hours with our office administrators where they could come in and get ideas, maybe if they were struggling with what this could look like for their
020office, get ideas from one another. And I'm really proud of our all of our office leaders in that respect because they were very willing to dig in. Digging in in some cases as a division. I know that Dr. Staven worked with her divisional leaders to come together as they were looking at the operational plans and where there might be some overlap. And our folks were willing to come into those those meetings and say here's what I'm thinking, get feedback from us, get reinforcement from us in terms of their thoughts. Their deadline for that was May 1st and everybody met that. And we reviewed those, gave a little bit more feedback, and then we pulled out from those some of the metrics that we want to share with you today so that you can get a
021sample of how our folks are viewing their work and how they're holding themselves accountable to providing exceptional service. And so what you're going to see in the next slides are what we have pulled out as the samples from each office. You'll see each office represented across those three strategic outcomes in different ways. And you'll see some very quantifiable metrics. You'll see some that are more qualitative in nature where it's described by words and and the work. I'm not going to read each of them to you, but I'll leave them there for a moment so that you can see them and if you have questions as we go through those, feel welcome to interject with questions and I'll try to leave them on the slide with enough time for you to read them. This will be
022available to you, too, to review after the meeting. I hope that print's not too small. Okay, so here's some examples from our offices on outcome 4.1, improved agency-wide efficiency. You'll see what they their desired outcome is, their metric and their strategy, how they intend to go about doing that. Here's a few more examples for 4.1. >> We move to 4.2. Increase responsiveness and communication. So, you'll see some additional examples. And then 4.3, improve capacity building. Okay, there was a lot of good silence there, a lot of good reading time. And I know I moved through those maybe a little faster for some. It felt like, why why can't you just keep moving? I wanted to give you an opportunity to see it. Uh one thing I'm again, I'll reiterate, I'm really pleased with the with
023our leaders' responses to participating in this activity. And I've said this a couple times in internal meetings and I haven't had anybody push back yet. But in the time that I've been here, I don't know that we've engaged in an activity quite like this where we put this task to office leaders. I'm also really proud of the involvement and engagement with Vocational Rehabilitation, an important part of our agency, as well as Disability Determination Services. And sometimes sometimes those parts of our organization aren't as seen. And DDS, for example, is a great space where we can report on metrics that they already have to report to the Social Security Administration and a willingness there to improve in their work. One thing that you might have noticed too, or will when you dig into this a little
024bit further, you might see, "Hmm, this this group is looking at doing a ticketing system and this group is looking at doing a ticketing system." And we already have some ticketing systems in place. And one thing that I see as a possibility as we move through the first few months of the implementation of this is, "Where are we seeing some standout practices that we can scale across the agency where it makes sense?" And so I think there are some great examples of that. And as our folks implement and continue to implement those practices, we're going to learn from one another in terms of how to grow and become more efficient as an agency. That all sounds really good. And so we'll see where that is in a few months or in a year. But the
025commitment from the commissioner directed to me and to Lane and to Jessica and to all of our leadership and all of our staff is, um, is to intentionally implement this plan. Uh, our leaders next, uh, point of contact with this is August 1st for them to then report to the commissioner on, that's their first reporting, um, phase is August 1 in terms of implementation. And so what we intend is by way of the commissioner, uh, either through commissioner reports or other mechanisms to lift out some of those, um, exemplary stories from those offices to share with you. Here's a space where we are making a difference in terms of providing exceptional service with respect to each of those three outcomes. There may be an opportunity to to share with you where some lessons learned and
026where we had to retool and rethink how we are approaching, uh, these operational plans. So, initial implementation is underway. I mentioned the August 1st progress report due. I would expect then that sometime after, um, the August meeting that we would be back and then on a regular cadence sharing with you, um, some of those pieces of what we're learning through the operational plans. That's one small part of the strategic plan. It's it's one of the four. And as we think about the outward-facing work in the education and client-focused space as it relates to VR, there's those first three strategic priorities. And so a lot of work taking place in that space on strategic priorities 1, 2, and 3 in terms of cross-agency action teams. And so part of the implementation was for the commissioner to
027appoint an action team lead from within the agency and for all offices to have, uh, relevant representation in each of those. And those teams have been working over the past few months. And I would say um in some cases um uh looking at what we do really well and thinking about scaling that up, but also thinking differently or what we could do differently in those spaces. And so you'll see there uh who is leading each of those action teams. And they meet very regularly. We also, meaning Lane and Jessica and I, meet with them on a regular basis as well to bring them together to see um what questions they have, what barriers they might be experiencing, also to learn from one another. And they are on a path then to submitting those action plans
028to the commissioner. And we expect and plan then to report out to you at the August meeting where we're at on those action plans. And there I think you'd see a little bit more detailed information on each of those as it relates to the work of those three strategic priorities. Glad to answer questions or provide additional information that you might have. Or or desire. >> Do you have a question, Deborah? >> I just make a statement. >> Mhm. >> Uh I just I know I uh touched on this a little bit yesterday in committee, but just really wanted to say this publicly. Like I've uh I'm very impressed with the work of this and the intentionality of uh implementing it. Uh you guys had an amazing inclusive process to develop it. And uh I've worked
029on I mean my whole career has been in uh leadership roles for non profit profits or government agencies, and I um have done a million strategic plans, but I've never seen one, you know, go from such a great implementation to such intentionality. Uh I mean, that great development to such intentionality around implementation. And I know that this is at all levels of the organization, and just kudos to all of you. Uh it's it's really impressive and uh kind of rare in this world. And so, and I yet I think it's extremely important, and it will be useful in decision-making and in so many other ways. So, thank you for your leadership, and thanks to everybody that's been involved in the process. >> Thank you. >> Any other questions or comments? Okay. Thank you, Dr. Ford.
030>> That concludes my report. >> Thank you, Commissioner. Uh per our standard operating procedure, there is no president's report. We will now move to our public comment period. This period may be available to any person who wishes to address the board on any matter that is on the agenda or within the board's purview to act. Up to 90 minutes will be allowed for public comment period. A majority of members present and voting may take action to extend the total amount of time allowed for public comment period. A majority of members present and voting may also [clears throat] take action to allow or terminate public comment at any time during a meeting. If you're not signed in and wish to speak, please sign in at this time. Those wishing to speak must be signed in at
031the table outside the meeting room. Each individual speaking to the board will be required to complete a sign-in card for identification of oneself. Individuals are required to include on the sign-in card their name, address, name of any organization represented, and agenda item or topic that is within the board's authority to act. Individuals may be prohibited to speak in public comment if the sign-in card does not include the information required. Persons speaking to the board during public comment should state their name, city, and state at the beginning of their allotted time. They may submit printed materials for the board but may not use any other form of media. Anyone refusing to be identified will be prohibited from speaking. Each person may address the board for up to 5 minutes. A majority of members present and voting
032may take action to reduce or extend the amount of time allotted to all speakers. If at any time persons appearing before the board exceed the time limitation set forth in this policy or on the agenda, or become abusive or threatening in language or behavior, it shall be the responsibility of the president to refuse permission to continue to address the board. We have one public comment card submitted. Vice President Renner will announce the name. >> Uh good morning. Could Doug Kagan please come to the podium? >> Good morning. Doug Kagan, 416 South 130th Street, Omaha, representing Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom. For too many years American students have learned to apologize for American exceptionalism, taught to passionately criticize our institutions instead of praising them. We suggest that Nebraska classrooms teach our students the uniqueness of our nation,
033the huge sacrifices of our founding fathers, and those who came after. We are an exceptional nation based on personal freedom with inherent individual rights and democratic ideas. Its creation and organization reflected consistent commission commitment to liberty, self-government, and and the rule of law. >> [clears throat] >> The Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a think tank focused on K-12 education, in its state of state standards for civics and US history in 2021 gave Nebraska a D in civics and a D- minus in US history. It's, quote, "Nebraska civics and US history standards are inadequate. In addition to containing little of substance, especially in history, the rigid structure and overbroad indicators made logical presentation of the subject matter difficult. We believe the current standards accentuate too much evaluating the historical and social context of events from so-called marginalized
034and underrepresented groups. Certainly, these groups deserve mention in the standards. If there appears too much emphasis on foreign cultures and insufficient concentration on US exceptionalism, too much criticism over history, and too much emphasis on leftist historical figures with exclusion of conservative patriots. Teaching American exceptionalism is crucial to instilling national pride, understanding of the dynamics of our constitutional republic, and fostering quality citizenship. We must instruct our students about the fragility of liberty to appreciate our nation's accomplishments and their obligations as future adult citizens to safeguard our founding principles. The revised standards should emphasize patriotic content, especially including it in K-2 classes. Instead of comparing various political ideologies, the curriculum should focus on the failures of hostile ideologies such as socialism and communism like the Florida Civic Literacy Excellence Initiative. Eliminate action-oriented civics that encourage students to
035protest about the defects in our political system and its failures sometimes violently instead of giving attention to our constitutional order. Avoid material that prompts ideologically extreme activism such as climate change. Depoliticize content vocabulary. Avoid ideologically extreme terms like equity, diversity, culturally aware, and socially responsible citizenship that embeds ideological arguments and suppresses pluralist debate with traditional civic terms reflecting American values. We encourage board members to examine social studies standards proposed and offered by the Hillsdale College K-12 curriculum American Birthright published by the Civics Alliance a K-12 model designed precisely to teach students the historic and civic foundations of US liberty. Also the 1776 Commission the America First Policy Institute and the America 250 Civics Education Coalition. These sources emphasize Western civilization the elaboration of concepts of liberty, individualism, republicanism, and tolerance. The curriculum should include a
036wider selection of documents illustrating the intellectual background of the founding documents with them and American history. The department should publish a documents list and provide lesson plans and professional development to facilitate instruction in these documents of liberty. Thank you. >> Thank you. That concludes our public comment. There is no written comment submitted. Is there a motion to adopt the consent agenda? >> I move to adopt the consent agenda without six Hold on. 6.7b. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you. It has been moved and seconded to adopt the consent agenda with the exception of item 6.7b. Per board policy, there's no discussion on the motion to adopt the consent agenda. Would the recording secretary please call the roll? >> Renner. >> Yes. >> Douglas. >> Yes. >> Christiansen. >> Yes. >> Jones.
037>> Yes. >> Tegmeyer. >> Yes. >> Penner. >> Yes. >> Neary. >> Yes. >> Schoenhof. >> Yes. >> Aagard. >> The affirmative has it and the consent agenda is adopted. The next item of business are reports of the standing committees. I will report on behalf of the executive committee meeting. The executive committee reports on its June 4th, 2026 meeting. Members present were chair Elizabeth Tegmeyer, vice chair Liz Renner, Sherry Jones, and Debra Neary. The committee reviewed five information items. First, the committee received an update on the implementation of the strategic strategic plan. Second, the committee received an update on the status of current legislative priorities. And the ESC staff provided a draft of legislative priorities for the 2025-2027 biennium. All board members, you should have these at your place. Um and we are asking the
038executive committee um is asking all board members to review these draft priorities and provide any relevant feedback to Lane Carr by June 30th. These right here. They look like this. If you don't have them, I know that Lane will get them to you. Before you leave today, please don't leave without them. Um, third item. The committee reviewed the recommendation of an appointment to the State Rehabilitation Council. This item appeared on the consent agenda for approval. Fourth, the committee reviewed the notice of vacancies on the Special Education Advisory Council. NDE staff provided information on this item. And finally, the committee reviewed the notice of vacancy for the Nebraska Council on Teacher Education and NDE staff provided additional information on this item as well. This concludes the executive committee report. Elizabeth Tegtmeier, chair. Are there any questions
039on the executive committee report? Deborah? >> Just a comment. Can I add that? Uh, as you're thinking about the legislative policies, uh, one of the things that we discussed, our policy priorities, I should say. One of the things that we that came up in our discussion that I didn't see in there anywhere, but yet I keep hearing from my constituent constituents and uh, was about like cell phone policies and AI policies and and other technology concerns and and so I'm I'm looking for help in, uh, as you're thinking about these priorities, if anyone else shares that kind of a concern, you know, helping word something or think about what that would look like. I, you know, I was thinking just last night like, uh, you know having you know um maybe a legislative around creating
040conditions for learning or student readiness and engagement or something that focuses on every student being present focused connected and prepared to learn just uh because there are behavior things that are happening in the school that we might that if impact school learning and as I said there's technology concerns that definitely do and so uh do we want those to be legislative priorities is sort of what I'm asking and I don't know the answer to it but I'm hoping we can brainstorm it. Thank you. >> Thank you for bringing that up. So yeah if you if you have any ideas like that please just email those to Lane and the committee will be looking at those again in August. Uh next item of business is the budget and finance committee chair Kristen Christensen will report on
041behalf of the budget and finance committee meeting. >> The budget and finance committee reports that at its Thursday June 4th meeting members present were Kristen Christensen Kirk Penner Maggie Douglas and Lisa Schonhoff. The committee reviewed 10 action items including contracts for professional learning for leaders grounded in the science of reading the Nebraska technology initiative DDS medical consultants child program fam and family outcomes measurement system the national student clearinghouse and a grants management system which were all recommended for approval by the committee. The committee also reviewed three separate grants recommending approval for all three which included the 2026-27 revision action grants mental health professional demonstration grant funds and mental health services grant funds along with the subcontract request to fulfill these grant requirements. Additionally, the committee recommended approval of the mandatory assurance statement for mental and
042behavioral health services [clears throat] discretionary funding. The committee then reviewed three discussion items, which included board member travel expenses, a grant application for the state implementation fund related to the literacy grant, and accepting the 2025 single audit report. Last, the committee reviewed eight information items, including contracts for the Nebraska Career Connections license, a required USDA child nutrition program system, and USDA child nutrition program compliance monitoring requirement. In addition to reviewing the comprehensive English language proficiency assessment process, an update on the CLSD grant expenditures, and the 2026-27 Nebraska improvement grants, potential strategic grant opportunities that have been applied for, and an overview of the 2027-2029 biennial budget request process. We did a lot, but this concludes the budget and finance committee report. >> We're always grateful to the budget and finance committee [laughter] members um for
043their work. Are there any questions on the report? Seeing none, are there any questions on the reports on item 7.2.A? Is there a motion on item 7.2.B? >> Yes, Madam Chair. I move to authorize the Commissioner to approve a contract for professional learning for leaders grounded in the science of reading. >> Second. >> It is moved and seconded into authorize the Commissioner to approve a contract for professional learning for leaders grounded in the science of reading. Is there any discussion on the motion? The motion is to authorize the Commissioner to approve a contract for professional learning for leaders grounded in the science of reading. Would the recording secretary please call the roll? Tegtmeyer >> Yes. >> Neary >> Yes. >> Penner >> Yes. >> Christiansen >> Yes. >> Renner >> Yes. >> Jones >> Yes.
044>> Schonhoff >> Yes. >> Douglas >> Yes. >> Eight yes. The affirmative has it and the motion to authorize the commissioner to approve a contract for professional learning for leaders grounded in the science of reading is adopted. Is there a motion on item 7.2.C? >> Yes, Madam Chair. I move to authorize the commissioner to contract for the Nebraska Technology Initiative. >> Second. >> It is moved and seconded to authorize the commissioner to contract for the Nebraska Technology Initiative. Is there any discussion on the motion? The motion is to authorize the commissioner to contract for the Nebraska Technology Initiative. Would the recording secretary please call the roll? Schonhoff >> Yes. >> Neary >> Yes. >> Christiansen >> Yes. >> Renner >> Yes. >> Jones >> Yes. >> Douglas >> Yes. >> Penner >> Yes. >> Tegtmeyer
045>> Yes. >> Eight yes. The affirmative has it and the motion to authorize the commissioner to contract for the Nebraska Technology Initiative is adopted. Is there a motion on item 7.2.D? >> Yes. I move to authorize the commissioner to contract for DDS medical consultants. >> Second. >> Is moved and seconded to authorize the commissioner to contract for DDS medical consultants. Is there any discussion on The motion is to authorize the commissioner to contract for DDS medical consultants. Would the recording secretary please call the roll? Douglas >> Yes. >> Penner >> Yes. >> Tagtmeyer >> Yes. >> Neary >> Yes. >> Christianson >> Yes. >> Renner >> Yes. >> Jones >> Yes. >> Schoenhof >> Yes. >> Eight yes. The affirmative has it and the motion to authorize the commissioner to contract for DDS medical consultants
046is adopted. Is there a motion on item 7.2.E? >> Yes. I move to authorize the commissioner to contract for the child program and family outcomes measurement system Results Matter. >> Second. >> It is moved and seconded to authorize the commissioner to contract for the child program and family outcomes measurement system Results Matter. Is there any discussion on the motion? The motion is to authorize the commissioner to contract for the child program and family outcomes measurement system Results Matter. Would the recording secretary please call the roll? Renner >> Yes. >> Douglas >> Yes. >> Christianson >> Yes. >> Jones >> Yes. >> Tagtmeyer >> Yes. >> Penner >> Yes. >> Neary >> Yes. >> Schoenhof >> Yes. >> Eight yes. The affirmative has it and the motion to authorize to the commissioner to contract for the
047child program and family outcomes measurement system Results Matter is adopted. Is there a motion on item 7.2.F? >> I move to authorize the commissioner to approve the 2026-2027 revision action grants. >> Second. >> It is moved and seconded to authorize the commissioner to approve the 2026-2027 revision action grants. Is there any discussion on the motion. The motion is to authorize the commissioner to approve the 2026-2027 revision action grants. Will the recording secretary please call the roll? >> Schonhoff >> Yes. >> Neary >> Yes. >> Christensen >> Yes. >> Renner >> Yes. >> Jones >> Yes. >> Douglas >> Yes. >> Penner >> Yes. >> Tagtmeyer >> Yes. >> Eight yes. >> The affirmative has it and the motion to authorize the commissioner to approve the 2026-2027 revision action grants is adopted. Is there a motion
048on item 7.2.g? >> I move to authorize the commissioner to contract for the National Student Clearinghouse. >> Second. >> It is moved and seconded to authorize the commissioner to contract for the National Student Clearinghouse. Is there any discussion on the motion? The motion is to authorize the commissioner to contract for the National Student Clearinghouse. Will the recording secretary please call the roll? >> Douglas >> Yes. >> Penner >> Yes. >> Christensen >> Yes. >> Renner >> Yes. >> Tagtmeyer >> Yes. >> Schonhoff >> Yes. >> Neary >> Yes. >> Jones >> Yes. >> Eight yes. >> The affirmative has it and the motion to authorize the commissioner to contract for the National Student Clearinghouse is adopted. Is there a motion on item 7.2.h? >> Yes, I move to authorize the commissioner to contract for the
049grants management system. >> Second. >> It is moved and seconded to authorize the commissioner to contract for the grants management system. Is there discussion on the motion? Motion is to authorize the commissioner to contract for the grants management system. Would the recording secretary please call the roll? >> Neary? >> Yes. >> Tegtmeier? >> Yes. >> Renner? >> Yes. >> Christensen? >> Yes. >> Penner? >> Yes. >> Schonhoff? >> Yes. >> Douglas? >> Yes. >> Jones? >> Yes. >> Eight yes. The affirmative has it and the motion to authorize the commissioner to contract for the grants management system is adopted. Is there a motion on item 7.2.i? >> Yes, I move to adopt the mandatory assurance statement for mental and behavioral health services discretionary funding. >> Second. >> It is moved and seconded to adopt the
050mandatory assurance statement for mental and behavioral health services discretionary funding. Is there any discussion on the motion? >> Yes, I Kristen too. Yes, thank you. Um just wanted to share a few thoughts with this. Um heard about this for the first time less than a week ago and uh was eager to have a discussion in committee yesterday um to try to come to a an agreement so that we can continue passing mental health funding for our school districts and our ESUs um but as I was reading it I literally lost sleep over the very last sentence and that was just the uh terms of the termination of funding. Um that if a if a district is found to be in violation of the conditions of the statement that their funding for mental and behavioral health
051services would be terminated. Um and the way that it's written felt very gray to me and was concerned about um how that would look in practice. And uh reached out to Bryce with my question and thank you for your um patience with me as I asked you the same question probably 15 different times. Um but came to an open mind like I said was eager to to discuss this in committee and had the thought of an amendment um kind of prepared in my mind if um I was still concerned about it, but um my concerns were unfounded um and want to make it really clear why that is and um how this will kind of look moving forward. Um this assurance statement will be signed by superintendents if it's passed with every grant that we
052that they receive for mental and behavioral health services. Um so the termination of funding would be tied to that grant specifically. Um and that was my concern was that if a if a superintendent signs this today and then 10 years down the line a counselor is found to be in violation of um the mandates in this assurance statement that um that they would be that they'd have to lose some mental health funding. Um and my concern was for how long and and if they'd ever be able to receive funding again. And that was that was not the case. That is not the case. Um so I'm grateful for the collaboration of the department and thanks for Kirk for bringing this forward. Um and excited that we can hopefully move forward with some mental health supports
053for our districts. >> Any other comments? >> Yeah, so um I didn't have any questions till I just heard you speak and I mean I I've spent the last few days running this assurance past lawyers, teachers, mental health professionals, school leaders, school board members, uh everybody that uh uh might be able to uh give me some insight about this and what I learned is that it doesn't change anything that we already have in place, that it's I guess for some intentionality, but I was told that it was for our 11 million dollars in mental health grants that were uh considering today for only. So, when you said for 10 years down the road, like am I incorrect that it is only for these grants that were approving today? Commissioner? >> This will be an a
054an assurance statement that we could use quite frankly with any grant going forward. Um and they and the only way it would change, I would say, is if statute changes cuz it it is based on statute. >> But would we need would we approve it then every time that we use it? >> Depends on if we make it policy or not. >> Okay, so right now it's just an assurance statement for these grants, so it isn't policy. Okay, thank you. >> I just wanted to um give a high five to the staff, to the budget committee, and for anyone involved in kind of the thought that went into bringing the this statement and these grants back to the table. Um it just I'm I'm really pleased that we're finding ways to to address concerns and
055do um think through what we want that would be best for for our schools in terms of mental health services. So, um I just I got all my question questions answered and appreciate the hard work behind this. >> Actually, before you speak So, [clears throat] now I have a question where I didn't have a question. >> [laughter] >> So, and my question is actually for the commissioner. So, we're at adopting this assurance statement for mental and behavioral health services discretionary funding. So, does this apply to all mental health grants going forward or do we have to continue to adopt this every single time we get a mental health grant? >> Good question. We would We would apply this to every mental health grant going forward. Here's the Here's the issue that it probably needs addressed.
056At a meeting not so long ago, you said I wasn't going to be here forever, which surprised me. >> [laughter] >> None of us will be, right? So, at some point in time, does does it fall through the cracks and get lost? I think we need to address the issue of how does how how does this stay in place long term? Short term, I have no worries. And the And the short answer to your question is yes, it will be attached to all mental health grants that we distribute for the for the foreseeable future. >> So, So, what I hear you saying is either with application of the grant or receipt of the grant, the school district or ESU would then sign this as they are accepting that funding. >> Correct. >> So, each time.
057So, they get a mental health grant this year and in 2 years, they get another one and they sign it again. >> Correct. >> to apply to that bucket of money that we're giving at that moment. >> That's correct. >> Okay, thank you. >> So, >> I haven't had a turn yet. Okay, [clears throat] yes. So, Kirk had his light then Lisa, do you want to defer? Okay. >> Okay. Um, I had also had a just a couple questions and I didn't even know I was going to ask this until later when we have another item, but it pertains to this item. So, um >> [clears throat] >> as I'm reading the state statute that's in here, it's basically, I mean this this whole assurance statement is based on state statute. So, we really shouldn't
058need it, but we do need it. And the reason why we need it is because um the state statute that says involvement of parents, guardians, and educational decision-makers need to be involved in the mental health um programming that occurs. We've had many um constituents reach out and say that hasn't happened. And so, how how do we make sure this doesn't get lost when you're gone and um because while these are state statutes and majority of superintendents are following it, there are going to be those few and I've seen it firsthand of those that don't follow the state statute. So, even though it's the law, it's been broken. And so, how do we make sure that we keep this at the forefront? So, for example, if we have 500 educators being trained on a mental health
059initiative, how do we make sure those 500 educators fully understand the law that is in this assurance statement and that it doesn't disappear? >> First, I would say assurance statements aren't new to superintendents. They're they're used to this as as you mentioned. So, that that part, I think in terms of being a refresher and a a ref a refresh or a reminder for districts, I think that'll be um a a good thing. The second thing that's specifically answer your question on how do we make sure this stays in place, let me come back to you in August at our next meeting with a with a plan for that. It probably includes policy development, but I'm not positive today. I'm not ready to tell you that, but let me let me talk about come back to
060you in August and talk about sustainability of the assurance statement. >> Okay, so Kirk, do you want to defer to Deborah or you want to speak? Cuz you haven't spoken. Well, I'm just trying to you know >> No, that's fine. So, would it not take a vote of the board to eliminate this assurance statement for grants moving forward? Is that Is that not It may be Dr. Ford could answer that or Dr. Maher. Your call. >> I think I think the um the answer is yes. Here's my Here's my fear. 10 years from now where where is it? 15 years from now, where is it? Um because it it doesn't it doesn't fit anywhere in a rule or in a policy right now. So, I I think we need to look at um at at
061that and then then we then we have I think the sustainability that we're looking for in the assurance statements. That's what I'll come back to you with in August. >> Go ahead, Deborah. >> We can >> Seriously, go ahead. >> I just But at this point and maybe we we can work through this. At this point, this assurance statement will be attached to every mental health grant moving forward. And the only way to eliminate it at this point is a vote of the board. What happens 10 years from now is something that you're addressing. So, 5 years from now when you're not here and I'm not here, that assurance statement is still in play unless it was voted down by the current board. >> That is accurate. >> Okay. >> Deborah. So, um if we
062were to vote it down, basically, we would be saying we're going to vote down following the laws that are already in place since this doesn't do anything except point out what's already in the law. So, uh I never see that happening, you know, that we're ever going to intentionally say we're not going to follow the laws, you know, uh but I want to go back to a statement that you made earlier in your board report around discrimination practices and uh you know, basically, uh you reminded us that uh we are not the police for a lot of these policies that and I would imagine that in this case we're not the policing agency, either. If somebody breaks the law, then that isn't us that needs to address that. Am I correct in that? >> I
063I I see a couple of elements to what you asked there. Number one, if there's a a violation of the law, the what happens in regards to that violation of law would be determined by another agency, but if we knew it, we'd have to report it. That's That's number one. The second thing, the second function that we would have is if we know there is a violation of the successful implementation of the grant in the assurance statement, what we say is we will cease funding at that point. So, we So, we do have um that obligation. >> Okay. Any further questions? Share, you have one. >> Yes, I just want to make a comment. As a former school counselor for 14 years, I looked at this and I think this assurance statement would have been
064helpful to me as I served as a school counselor because to be honest, I don't know when a lot of these were written, but I did not know about these statutes and I think many counselors are probably in the same boat. So before we can fulfill the requirements, we have to know they exist. And so I see this as being very helpful to my fellow speaking feel like a school counselor yet, um school counselors and that's why I am supportive of this. So thank you. >> Great. Any further questions or comments on this item? Okay, the motion is to adopt the mandatory assurance statement for mental and behavioral health services discretionary funding. Will the recording secretary please call the roll? Penner? >> Yes. >> Douglas? >> Yes. >> Jones? >> Yes. >> Schonhoff? >> Yes.
065>> Tegmeier? >> Yes. >> Renner? >> Yes. >> Neary? >> Yes. >> Christensen? >> Yes. >> Eight yes. The affirmative has it and the motion to adopt the mandatory assurance statement for mental and behavioral health services discretionary funding is adopted. Is there a motion on item 7.2.J? >> Yes, I move to accept the mental health service professional demonstration grant funds and authorize the commissioner to sub contract to fulfill grant requirements. >> Second. >> Okay. It is moved and seconded to accept the mental health service professional demonstration grant funds and authorize the commissioner to subcontract to fulfill grant requirements. Is there any discussion on the motion? Um I just I do want to say that I because last time we saw these come through that the names are the names are they don't really tell you
066what's in them and and there's two mental health grants and I got a little um it I didn't open them up but this one um includes training 28 school um psychology trainees and 500 educators to receive professional development and um I I always always have concern when we put more on teachers' plates. Um so so I'm concerned about giving our teachers more responsibility. However, I had had a conversation with Kristen on I think it was Monday. The These weeks are busy it kind of blurs Tuesday Tuesday morning. Um and I had a I had said that I would if the assurance statement went through that I would support these. So while I am actually not in favor of adding to our teachers um plates I will keep my word and and and support this um
067because I had given you assurance an assurance statement that I would. So just wanted to say yeah Maggie. >> When Dr. Rita explained these grants to us they were just about the training of school psychologists. So I was wondering if she could maybe speak to that about why the teacher training is mentioned in the grant. If you um want to know why the wording is there. Would you like to call Dr. Rita? >> Yes. >> Okay. Okay. >> Good morning. Zena Britta, student services officer. Happy to answer any questions. >> Meggy Can you Yes. Um with Elizabeth's question and I had the same question when it came around the first time. It does mention the training of teachers, but when we got into it, the money was more about training people to become school psychologists.
068So, can you speak to why >> Absolutely. >> Thank you. >> Uh the training for the teachers are not required. Uh however, if the schools decided or ESUs they want to uh make sure that the educators are aware of uh what are the signs and symptoms and they would like to get some of the trainings. So, we put this as a an optional if only if the district school district they required and and want to have training for the educators. >> Thank you, Dr. Rita. Oh, Meggy you have more? >> Yeah. Um and if I could tag Oh, sorry. If I could tag on to that, uh superintendents that I spoke with a couple months ago had told me that that is like ideal that school psychologists could provide training as it's needed. However, because
069there's such a need for school psychologists for assessments, that that's like a long goal, not in the near future, anyway. >> Thank you, Meggy. Deborah? >> And I guess my understanding is that when we are training teachers, it isn't so they can become school counselors, it's so that they can help you know, have the tools to make the classroom more productive, to de-escalate, to help identify situations that might need referrals. I mean, I I don't see it as tasking teachers with more work. I see it as helping them have tools that really help their classrooms be more effective. And am I correct in understanding that? >> That is very correct. Uh however, the trainings for educators is not required by, you know, yes. Mhm. >> Any other questions or comments on this item? >> I
070would just make a comment cuz that was important to me that it's an option for teachers because I do hear from teachers that they don't want the extra burden of mental health service giving that to students. Their plates are full. So, they would much rather send refer a student to a mental health professional, their counselor, their social worker in their schools. So, I'm very strongly want to protect teachers. They need to be teaching. So, I'm glad to hear that it's an an educational an educator's option to receive this. Thank you. >> Thank you, Dr. Rita. All right, the motion is to accept the mental health service professional demonstration grant funds and authorize the commissioner to subcontract to fulfill grant requirements. Would the recording secretary please call the roll? >> Renner. >> Yes. >> Jones. >>
071Yes. >> Tegtmeyer. >> Yes. >> Douglas. >> Yes. >> Christiansen. >> Yes. >> Nery. >> An enthusiastic yes. >> [laughter] >> Schonhoff. >> Yes. >> Penner. >> Yes. >> Eight yes. The affirmative has it and the motion to accept the mental health service professional demonstration grant funds and authorize the commissioner to subcontract to to fulfill grant requirements is adopted. Is there a motion on item 7.2.K? >> Yes, I move to accept the school-based mental health services grant funds and authorize the commissioner to subcontract to fulfill grant requirements. >> Second. >> It is moved and seconded into accept the school-based mental health services grant funds and authorize the commissioner to subcontract to fulfill grant requirements. Is there any discussion on the motion? Okay, don't really see any. I just want to add that I think that
072this demonstrates this these motions, this series of three, really demonstrate um the progress of this board and I appreciate that that coming together and and working and finding a way to to make things happen. So, thank you. >> Thank you. >> Can I tag on to that? Committee yesterday was delightful, um truly. I think it was one of the best collaborative, respectful conversations that we've had um over something that we have passionately disagreed out disagreed about in the past and uh so thanks, committee. >> Thank you. That's how that's how boards should be. So, thank you so much. The motion is to accept the school-based health services grant funds and authorize the commissioners to subcontract to fulfill grant requirements. Would the recording secretary please call the roll? >> Nery? >> Yes. >> Jones? >> Yes.
073>> Christiansen? >> Yes. >> Schonhof? >> Yes. >> Tegmeyer? >> Yes. >> Renner? >> Yes. >> Douglas? >> Yes. >> Penner? >> Yes. >> Eight yes. The affirmative has it and the motion to accept the school-based mental health services grant funds and authorize the commissioner to subcontract to fulfill grant requirements is adopted. Agenda item 7.2.L, state implementation fund grant application. Board members, are there any questions or discussion on this item? Okay, item 7.2.M, accept the 2025 single audit report. Board members, are there any questions or discussion on this item? Okay, seeing no questions, um the board is going to take a brief recess and we will reconvene at 10:25. >> Mhm. >> The board meeting will resume in 1 minute. >> Is organization of Is there any element like if you There's redundancy, but if
074there are What are you looking >> All right, board members, if you could resume your seats. Okay, the meeting the board meeting will resume. Everyone, please take your seats. Okay. All right, we are on item 7.3, Planning and Evaluation Committee. Chair Lisa Schonhoff will report on behalf of the Planning and Evaluation Committee meeting. >> The Planning and Evaluation Committee reports on their committee meeting on June 4th, 2026. The members present were Lisa Schonhoff, Sherry Jones, Deborah Neary, and Kristen Christensen. The committee reviewed two action items related to the accreditation of public and non-public Rule 10 school systems for the 26-27 school year and the accreditation of Nebraska Educational Service Units for 26-27. The committee recommends board approval of these items. The committee reviewed discussion items with NDE staff providing summaries and answering questions related to
075the approval of educator preparation programs for the 26-27 school year and the conditional approval of new non-public 14 school systems. The committee reviewed informational items related to the Nebraska Correctional Youth Facilities Special Purpose Agreement Proposal, the approval of plans of corrections for rule 10, 14, and 18 school systems, and interim program schools, the annual reports for approved pilot programs and processes, the annual priority school progress update, and the approval of priority school progress plans. NDE staff will bring informational items to a future meeting for discussion and subsequent approval where appropriate. This concludes the Planning and Evaluation Report. >> Are there any questions on the Planning and Evaluation Committee report? Is there a motion on item 7.3.A? >> I move to approve the accreditation of public and non-public rule 10 school systems for the 2026-2027 school
076year. >> Second. >> It is moved and seconded to approve the accreditation of public and non-public rule 10 school systems for the 2026-2027 school year. Is there any discussion on the motion? Motion is to approve the accreditation of public and non-public rule 10 school systems for the 2026-2027 school year. Would the recording secretary please call the roll? >> Penner >> Yes. >> Tagge Meier >> Yes. >> Christensen >> Yes. >> Neary >> Yes. >> Douglas >> Yes. >> Jones >> Yes. >> Renner >> Yes. >> Schonhoff >> Yes. >> Eight yes. The affirmative has it and the motion to approve the accreditation of public and non-public rule 10 school systems for the 2026-2027 school year is adopted. Is there a motion on item 7.3.B? >> I move to approve the accreditation of Nebraska's educational service
077units for 2026-2027. >> Second. It is moved and seconded to approve the accreditation of Nebraska's educational service units for 2026-2027. Is there any discussion on the motion? The motion is to approve the accreditation of Nebraska's educational service units for 2026-2027. Would the recording secretary please call the roll? Renner? >> Yes. >> Douglas? >> Yes. >> Christensen? >> Yes. >> Jones? >> Yes. >> Tagtmeyer? >> Yes. >> Penner? >> Yes. >> Neary? >> Yes. >> Schonhoff? >> Yes. >> Eight yes. The affirmative has it and the motion to approve the accreditation of Nebraska's educational service units for 2026-2027 is adopted. Item 7.3.C, approval of educator preparation programs for 2026-2027. Board members, are there any questions or discussion on this item? >> Commissioner, I would just like to confirm um based on the work of the rules
078committee and our revision of rule 20 that this year um the educator prep programs would be signing their assurance statement that they are instructing teacher candidates in the science of reading? >> Yes, I did a quick check to the back of the room and yes, that is accurate. >> Okay. I am grateful for that. Uh we while we appreciate our CLSD grant to um further uh literacy and and understanding in our teachers and administrators, um we need our new ones coming into the field to be having that training before they become teachers and so thank you to our rules committee and I'm grateful that they will be signing this assurance statement. So thank you. Any other comments or questions? Okay, item 7.3.D conditional approval of new nonpublic rule 14 school systems. Board members, are there
079any questions or discussion on this item? >> Just real quick. So the rule 14 schools just have a little bit less uh required of them through NDE, but they still follow statutes from the Nebraska legislature. Is that >> Is that a statement or a question? >> a question. >> Commissioner, would you restate your question cuz it >> [laughter] >> Can you restate that? >> Dr. Maher, would you like me to restate that? >> Let me let me try to answer what I think I heard and see if it The there is a distinction between accreditation and approval. Yes. And I would say there is [clears throat] less rigor in approval than there is in accreditation. In terms of state statutes, I can't think of any state statutes that wouldn't apply for an approved school versus
080an accredited school. I I don't know that state statute comes comes into play there. >> Thank you. >> Deborah? >> I just wanted to add on and just um experiences I've had in the last 8 years regarding these I I've had parents who have called me who had their kids in approved schools that they spent a lot of money attending and they couldn't get their kids the colleges that these kids wanted to go to would not accept those students because they were approved schools and they were not accredited schools. And so what I've learned is Nebraska will accept students from approved schools. But, out of state, most colleges won't because it isn't the same It isn't the same education. All right, any other comments on this discussion item? Okay, item 7.4, Chair Maggie Douglas will
081report on behalf of the Rules and Regulations Committee meeting. >> Thank you. The Rules and Regulations Committee reports on June 4th, 2026 meeting of the committee. Members present were Chair Maggie Douglas, Vice Chair Kirk Penner, Liz Renner, and Elizabeth Tegtmeier. Committee members reviewed the report on rules. NDE staff provided information on revisions to Rule 6, Regulations and Standards for Uniform Sharing of Student Data Records and Information. NDE staff provided information on revisions to Rule 19, Regulations Regarding School Enrollment. NDE staff provided information on revisions to Rule 55, Rules of Practice and Procedure for Due Process Hearings in Special Education Contested Cases. NDE staff provided information on revisions to Rule 59, Regulations for School Health and Safety. This concludes the Rules and Regulations Committee report, Maggie Douglas, Chair. >> Are there any questions on the Rules
082and Regulations Committee report? Okay, do we have a motion on item 6.7.B? We are in additional business. >> Madam Chair, I move to authorize the Commissioner to approve annual dues for the Education Commission of the States. >> Is there a second? A second. It has been moved and seconded to approve the commissioner. I didn't hear that exactly. Can you >> Commissioner of the states. That's based on state statute. >> Okay, to Okay, so it is been moved and seconded to authorize the commissioner to pay the dues for the education Approve >> Approve the annual dues >> for the education >> commission of the states. >> Okay. >> Per state statute. >> All right, I'm going to read that again then. It has been moved and seconded to authorize the commissioner to approve the annual dues
083for the education commission of the states according to state statute. So, it's been moved and seconded. Is there any discussion on the motion? Liz. >> Just want to make sure I'm understanding what's happening. So, there were three associations that were up for approval for annual dues and so you're pulling out just one for approval. So, could someone >> You can make another motion. >> We'll make another motion then for the others. Got it. Okay, thank you. >> So, any other questions or comments on the motion? Okay, the motion is to authorize the commissioner to approve annual dues for the education commission of states per state statute. Would the recording secretary please call the roll? >> Renner. >> Yes. >> Schonhoff. >> Yes. >> Jones. >> Yes. >> Christiansen. >> Yes. >> Douglas. >> Yes. >>
084Neary. >> Yes. >> Penner. >> Yes. >> Tegtmeyer. >> Yes. >> A S? >> The affirmative has it and the motion to authorize the commissioner to approve annual dues for the Education Commission of State per state statute is approved. Are there any other additional motions? >> Yes, President Tagemeyer. I move to authorize the commissioner to approve annual dues for CCSSO and NASBE. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> It has been moved and seconded the commissioner to approve annual dues for CCSSO and NASBE. Is there any discussion on the motion? Okay, the motion is to authorize the commissioner to approve annual dues for CCSSO and NASBE. Will the recording secretary please call the roll? Neary? >> Yes. >> Penner? >> No. >> Schonhoff? >> No. >> Tagemeyer? >> No. >> Christensen? >> Yes. >>
085Douglas? >> Yes. >> Jones? >> No. >> Renner? >> Yes. >> Four yes, four no. The opposition has it and the motion is lost. The next items on the agenda, items 9.1 through 9.4 are information items and written reports for the board. Agenda item 10, good of the order. This section of the agenda is intended for board members to offer informal observations of the work of the state board. Board members may make brief announcements about attendance at future events for the purpose of informing other board members. No business or motions or suggested actions of the board may be offered at this point in the agenda, nor should board members engage in substantive discussion about other agenda items or introduce new agenda items. Does anyone have anything for this section of the agenda? Thank you to
086those who attended in person and who tuned in to the broadcast. The next meetings of the State Board of Education are scheduled for August 6th and 7th, 2026 in Lincoln, Nebraska. The June 5th, 2026 State Board meeting is adjourned. Was that discussed in committee? Don't you guys do a thumbs up or a thumbs down on