April 2023 State Board of Education Meeting

001good morning the April 14th State Board of Education meeting will now come to order good morning and welcome to the April 14 2023 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 this meeting the meeting is also live streaming through the State Board of Education website with the recording secretary please call the roll Patsy kojons here Lisa Fricke here Patty goobles here Jacqueline Morrison Kirk Penner here Sherry Jones here Elizabeth tegmeyer Here Deborah Neary here Deputy Commissioner Friesen here seven present one absent there are seven members present Quorum is established please rise and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance

002information 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's website with that we have our first special presentation this is agenda item 2.1 month of the military child resolution Lisa would you please read the resolution yes I would be honored to do so whereas more than 8 000 Nebraskans exhibit profound courage and selflessness in serving American armed forces whereas Nebraska schools serve nearly 4 000 military connected students whereas military-connected children have been found to change schools up to nine times between kindergarten and high school and face other unique challenges related to military parental deployment whereas the Nebraska Department of Education recognized 35 purple star schools which created or strengthened programs and supports for military

003connected students whereas the military Interstate children's compact Commission of which Nebraska is a proud member recognizes April as month of the military child and whereas the month of the military child provides an opportunity to salute our military-connected children and acknowledge the sacrifices made by military families worldwide with an emphasis on the experiences and needs of children of military members serving at home and overseas now therefore be it resolved the Nebraska State Board of Education extends its profound gratitude for the veterans active duty and reserved members of the Armed Forces and their families for these sacrifices they make daily resolve that the Nebraska State Board of Education recognizes April 2023 as the month of the military child resolve the Nebraska State Board of Education recognizes April 14 2023 as purple up for military kids day and

004encourages students Educators and public to wear purple in support of our military connected children and resolve the State Board of Education directs the Nebraska Department of Education to continue building coalitions to raise awareness for support and advocate for military connected children and their unique needs signed on behalf of the Nebraska State Board of Education this 14th day of April by President Patty goobles and vice president Kirk Pinner Thank you Lisa is there a motion related to the resolution yes Madam president I move to Proclaim April 2023 as the month of the military child and April 14 2023 as purple up for military kids day and to adopt this resolution is there a second I second that motion thank you Patsy we have a motion and second is there any discussion related to the resolution I

005see no discussion the motion is to Proclaim April 2023 as the month of the military child and April 14 2023 as purple up for military kids day and to adopt the resolution with the recording secretary please call the roll Johns yes niri yes freaky yes tegmeyer yes Google's yes Jones wholehearted yes Morrison Pinner yes seven yes one absent the affirmative has it and the resolution is adopted at this time we will have a presentation from Leanne yanikoff the school liaison manager at Offutt Air Force Base Leanne if you would please come forward we'll also have a presentation of the resolution thank you so much for inviting us and having this and recognizing our military children I brought some visitors with me today and I am proud to introduce Colonel John Williams commander of the 155th

006air refueling wing and his wife Dr Carrie Williams I am also proud to print or to announce Colonel Jason cooling commander of the 55th Mission support group and Lieutenant Colonel Ryan Davis commander of the 55th for support Squadron I also like to recognize everybody else that joined us today to support our military kids so when I call your names please stand Master Sergeant Ray Salvador first sergeant 55th for support Squadron Miss Tricia Lodi the deputy director of the 55th Force support Squadron Miss Amy Salter 55th for support Squadron operations officer Captain Mark Young Wing executive for the 155th air refueling wing from the Army guard the warrior Family Support Captain Joshua Ruby and Sergeant John musilik and we also have Kara Loken joining us today whose husband is Colonel John Loken at this time I

007would like to invite Colonel Williams Colonel Cooley and Colonel Davis up for your presentation thank you so much [Applause] it was an honor to present this certificate of appreciation to you sir thank you for your service thank you should that be careful this is the way we do it that's the way we do in the military well as a as a product of the Nebraska school system um this is probably somewhere that I never envisioned being as a child but I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to make some brief remarks and to recognize some very special people in our lives our children in my role as a commander of the 155th air refueling Wing here in Lincoln I'm often asked to speak on a variety of mission related topics however I'm most pleased

008to join you today because of my role as a father of three military children we're here today to salute the military child and acknowledge their contribution for acknowledge their contribution for some historical context the honor of recognizing the military child came about in 1986 when Former Defense secretary Casper Weinberger suggested the proclamation I was a teenager in 1986 and my dad had retired from Offutt Air Force Base um but I was still living in the Bellevue Community and we had a deep connection with that community off it was my dad's last Duty station so I did not endure at the constant cycle of moving that my siblings and many of my friends had to contend with I did however have a front row seat to this lifestyle it was during my youth that I learned

009that it was normal to have temporary friends that leftover moving boxes made the best forts and that there were some pretty interesting Accents in our community if you just stopped to listen we routinely welcomed new friends to our neighborhood introduced each other to every imaginable outdoor game developed some pretty intense bonds and then reluctantly wished our friends safe travels when it was time for them to move on to their next assignment if we were lucky sometimes our friends came back to us a few grades later when their parents were reassigned to offit it's kind of a fun expression that once you get off it you can't get off it as a parent of three children uh you know that were uprooted on what my wife and I referred to as our big adventure and I

010think we did that to assuage their fears of moving uh the topic of military children is near and dear to our hearts during a family PCS or permanent change of station I have to remember not to use acronyms to the Czech Republic I got to experience what it was like to pack up my house say goodbye to my family and neighbors and uproot my children and my spouse from their schools and employment and travel Halfway Around the World when we arrived at our new post we were assigned to a house in a small village so not on a not on a military installation where we felt incredibly safe and while we were barely functional post-jet lag Neighbors From a few doors down also assigned to the Embassy knocked on our door to greet us and

011make us feel welcome they folded our kids in with their kids and said time is limited here we don't make friends we just are friends powerful words that eased much of the anxiety that comes from making these new connections we've actually been friends with his family ever since and I should mention that they were State Department employees not military kids and so while we recognize military the military child let us not forget the children of all U.S agencies serving abroad It's Not Unusual particularly at military ceremonies to talk about the sacrifices of our spouses and and their work to contribute to maintaining the household in our absence but I think we sometimes Overlook the most fragile members of our team and the impact that not having a consistent consistent access to a parent can have

012on them while I have talked about moves the deployment of a military pyramid can also take a toll on a child birthdays holidays and Soccer Games celebrated via FaceTime or social media often after after the actual event has occurred impact our kids and undoubtedly find their way into their school life as I'm certain many of you today here have experienced I was told the official flower of the military child is the dandelion because the dandelion can put down Roots almost anywhere and successfully grow while our children are incredibly resilient uprooting and replanting isn't without cost or stress and it's important that we recognize this here in our communities on average military children change schools six times between kindergarten and high school graduation often after the school year has already begun the stress of adapting to

013a new environment learning a new school system making new friends and cultivating relationships cannot be understated fortunately there are resources such as the purple star program the purple star Pro program was established to ease Transitions and challenges of military-connected families by encouraging Local Schools districts to implement practices that assist military children as they transition from one school to the next while the vast majority of Nebraska's military children reside in the Omaha area I'd like to encourage those beyond the metro to be attentive to Children serving of members throughout the state in the air and Army National Guard and the reserve Armed Forces these service members work and reside within our local communities and deploy regularly as part of their service to our state and nation and their children can also benefit from your support while

014resources exist to support military children the awareness of a great teacher and a community can make all of the difference on behalf of team offit and the Nebraska Military Department I'd like to thank all Nebraska teachers and school officials for supporting for the support that they provide to our military children on a daily basis thank you [Applause] okay thank you so much Colonel Williams our pleasure our next special presentation is from Renee Jones our 2023 Nebraska teacher of the year to provide her quarterly report thanks for being here of course thank you that was really special for me to hear that presentation because I am a military child who lived overseas and had many of those experiences so what a cool opportunity for me to be here for that thank you good morning I'm excited

015to be here I'm sure many of you know that my tenure as teacher of the year have been without obstacles but I'm really excited to be here today to talk about all of the great and wonderful things I've got to do in spite of a lot of really mean and false statements so without further Ado I'll try to the green button right no not the top there we go okay um so so far during my time as the Nebraska teacher of the year I've had the opportunity to engage in a variety of professional development opportunities that started for me when I was able to go to um Anaheim not Anaheim geez Santa Clara California I got to visit the Google campus and I got to go to a really powerful storytelling Workshop about how impactful

016stories are both for children and for educators and just kind of spreading the word I was able to take part in a transferring trauma Summit that was held in Omaha really kind of focusing on the mental health of Educators within our state with the students and just kind of um what are things you know what you know what are people dealing with what do things look like in school and then I also have taken part in a restorative practice training for educators through Lincoln Public Schools so so the big kind of takeaways that I've gotten from these experiences so far is I got to talk to many different Educators and one program that really stood out to me is that esu1 has developed this five-year tiered plan that kind of mimics like the mtss pyramid

017for students but it's all about how do we support and help Educators and so it's this really awesome very new way of like how do we not Band-Aid but rather than like fix a systemic issue that people are experiencing and I really focused a lot on restorative training and being a part of trauma capable teams and just figuring out how do we best serve our kids I've got to spend a whole bunch of time with future Educators both in the undergraduate capacity and with high school students who have expressed interest in becoming teachers I've got to go to Doane University I've got to go to the university of nebraska-lincoln and I've got to go to Midland University all meeting with undergraduate students just having conversations sharing strategies what are they seeing during their time in

018the classrooms as they start observations and some during their student teaching and then I got to spend an incredible day with Ed Rising which is just focusing on high school kids who have you know expressed interest in becoming teachers and their energy was amazing and just overall people just kept talking about like the impactful teachers that they get to experience currently you know that they're currently in experience with and how they have already recognized that this is something that they then want to give back to their community so really really powerful um overall the undergraduate students they felt overwhelmed and unsure of what is my life going to be like when I do get into the classroom what can I expect they were nervous about behaviors that they're either experiencing or they're hearing and so

019I felt like they felt uneasy overall was my was my gist but like I said overall Ed Rising the students they are in the high school currently and they are enjoying it so much so that they want to become teachers so that was really powerful and really uplifting to get to be able to spend the day with them so it's very cool I have um been in a few different schools and we'll continue to try to make efforts to go into a few different districts that are different from LPS different than my experience the first one I got to do is go to Laura Dodge Elementary School and that's in Omaha public schools and I spent time in a kindergarten classroom a second grade classroom a first grade classroom and a little bit with fifth

020graders and um wow kindergarten is very different than the high school life that I'm in I don't think that that teacher sat down like for a second her patience was out of this world and just like you could just feel the love that they had you know that all of those teachers had for their schools and it was a very um cool different perspective to be able to see and also to just be able to look these Educators in the eye and be like thank you thank you for showing up every day thank you for you know the work that you do and to just be be a listening ear I also headed um to North Platte and got to go to North Platte High School the picture that you see here is this is

021a student at North Platte and she has done taken all the art classes that they have and they kind of were like how do we continue to challenge her and celebrate her and so they decided that they didn't have many decorations on their walls they had just these big old white walls and so um they've allowed students to you know submit drawings and kind of do this so she's been working on this semester-long project of doing a mural as you can kind of see here and so the as I walked by in the hallway you know other students were walking by touring her on it was just this really beautiful moment to see during my time in those schools and speaking with other Educators at a variety of different conferences and things overall I hear

022pretty frequently that people are overwhelmed that they feel like there's so much on their plate and that they they want to do their best they're trying their best and they just they're they just feel incredibly overwhelmed um and even with that even with this feeling of overwhelm and kind of like a oh boy they are still showing up for kids every single day they are absolutely figuring out creative spaces and creative ways um to fit the needs of the kids and so it was really really neat to see North Platte had a lot of technology that they were implementing next year to help you know Target a truancy and tardy program and a variety of different things so it's been very neat to see them through a different lens a couple other things that I've

023done I got to go to the nsca dinner with a senator I was able to be on drive time with Dan Parsons last week and again just yesterday actually I got to meet with a few other Educators in Nebraska and be on a panel for the Omaha World Herald judging scholarships for a variety of seniors I got to talk to two Educators they're actually in the metro area they do a podcast called what the world needs now and talking just about highlighting education and teachers and just like fig you know their their goal is to figure out what does the world need and to stay positive and to keep people in the profession and it was a really awesome opportunity and then at the nsea dinner I had some conversations with the people at my

024table which are pictured here and we just kind of somehow got into a discussion about cell phones um and what is really challenging in high school and kind of what's the whack-a-mole problem that we're just seeing over and over and over again and so I went home and for several weeks I did a lot of research about cell phones what are people doing Nationwide to combat the cell phone issue what are people doing locally and just been trying to have that discussion you know I looked at I had an experience when I was at a show with the Yonder pouch which is like it's like a cloth pouch that locks and you need some special device to get it out so you keep your cell phone on your person but you can't actually access it

025and there were schools that have definitely implemented this strategy but overall the consensus was that it just was fairly expensive and not that effective so I'm still kind of researching that to figure out how do we make teachers feel heard and students to be supported you know kind of to take that barrier of cell phones away and we'll just keep plugging away at that so um and then I think this is my last one but upcoming um I head out at the end of next week I get the opportunity to go to Washington DC with the 2023 State teachers of the Year cohort into some really fun things there I'm gonna then head back for the nsca delete delegate assembly excuse me and then I was selected to speak at the innovate School Summit um

026in Las Vegas this summer and then later that month I'll follow up and I'll get to go to space camp a childhood dream of mine that I never thought would be real so I am over the moon for that quite literally it's um yeah it's a very cool thing and um and then of course I'll be at administrative days in Kearney here a fun summer that is to be had yeah that's good thank you May yeah do board members have questions about the report from Renee I don't have questions but I must say uh that I feel the love from you for your students and have since the very first moment that I watched you receive this honor how much deserved honor and I would like to tell you that once the link always a

027link yes ma'am and my heart is with you thank you and I am sorry that you have had to face so many obstacles along the way but space camp will make it all worth it I promise you yes okay I think and I'm still interested in working on cell phones with you and talking about it absolutely so let's not forget that absolutely remember all the good and look forward to space camp and know that you are appreciated and honored thank you thank you um I add to what Patsy uh mentioned and just want to thank you for that amazing inspiring report at night too at some point want to talk about cell phones in high schools because yeah that's complex yes um but I want to just put on the record that I believe you

028are an amazing representative as Nebraska's teacher of the year and I thank you for being a voice for all teachers in our state who are struggling right now uh I'm proud to have you representing Nebraska uh and the State Board of Education in your comments today you mentioned obstacles uh and I just want to be on the record uh stating that I am very sorry uh that your reputation was attacked repeatedly that your personal safety became a concern for you and your family and that your family members were hurt because of the attacks on you and I I think is that your husband that's with you today I'm delighted to see that you have lots of uh love and support from your husband and I know you do from your school district um last May

029let me get my notes back okay um you were still I'm on a state that you were selected as the teacher of the year because you demonstrated success in all of the required qualifications which include that candidates must be exceptionally dedicated knowledgeable and skilled teachers they must have the respect and admiration of parents colleagues and students which you did have and do have that they must play active and useful roles in the community as well as in the school be poised and articulate and possess the energy to withstand a busy schedule you are all of these things and much more and I've been really impressed with the national work that you were doing even before you became teacher of the year with the National Council of English teachers I admire that you are a published

030author and that you've been recognized for awards by your own school district and by the Lincoln Public Schools Foundation it is is clear that in your work towards a master's degree in education you've learned how to support all of the children in your classroom regardless of their backgrounds or challenges that they bring to school and as we know there's a lot of challenges that kids bring into the classroom again I'm very proud to have you representing Nebraska throughout this entire year and thank you for the important work that you're doing your inclusiveness and your exceptional contributions to teaching Lisa I do have a question about first of all I just want to say your energy and how you talk and how you definitely care about your students and all people around you is very evident

031just talking to you my question is in your travels so far in this position of Honor have you encountered something memorable from a student along the way that you will carry with you or from a teacher something that stood out that made you stop and think wow that was amazing yeah absolutely both students and teachers for one I've had the opportunity to meet an educator from quite literally all over the globe you know there are 55 State teachers of the Year nationally and it's really cool to now have this group of people that I can bounce ideas off of like hey I'm struggling with this lesson and connecting it with my students or even back to the cell phone thing of like this cannot be a Lincoln high thing that I'm experiencing right or even

032a Nebraska thing where we're struggling with cell phones and now I've got 54 other people where I can say hey well what what do cell phones look like for you what kind of things are you doing and everybody's just been so welcoming and Bridging the gaps of like let's use our strengths so that we can just show up and do what's best for kids and that's been really cool it's not been this like well I'm the teacher of the year and I'm the teacher you know it hasn't been like that at all it's been like how do we help each other how do we support each other and that moment when I got back from California it was it was just this moment of like I I get to be a part of something so

033amazing and it was just a really humbling um experience and it continues to be because I'm in contact with these people many times a day um which is and I get to see what they're doing via social media and for me um I've had many moments over the last specifically the last few weeks where um you know students are on social media they see all of the things that are out there and I've had many many students come up to me and ask questions and just some to say thank you and while I always say you know this is not something I'm going to talk about at school and with students of course um I I listen to them and to hear their concerns and um and then quietly go and do the work on

034the back end but not to involve them I think that's you know unprofessional and unnecessary but um I've had many aha moments with students and also at Ed Rising it was amazing to see these kids being so excited about education and knowing that they had a teacher somewhere in their you know some were seniors but some were Juniors or sophomores somewhere along the line that said you know that meant enough to them where they were like this is this is how I'm going to contribute this is what I'm going to do so a lot of really cool things thank you for asking you're very welcome thank you for what you're doing of course Renee I wanted to ask you because you you mentioned that when you are speaking to prospective teachers that you hear fear

035yeah how do you help um assure prospective teachers that it's a great profession and not to be fearful I mean what do you say to help them get through that feeling of fear sure for me personally I think it's really important that I listen first you know that I give them the space to make sure that they know that like hey you're not wrong you know like it's okay to be fearful it's okay to do things um that feel uncomfortable in fact it's probably really necessary to do things uncomfortable but I really try to in my presentations focus on strategies like tangible things that they can take into their classrooms into their observations or into you know their student teaching and I have a thing that I I kind of swear by but every Friday

036before I leave school I make a positive phone call home every Friday I'm going to end my no I'm going to end my week on a positive note I'm going to make sure that I'm just remembering the good and because it's so easy to get lost in the bad or the the bad is so loud sometimes and just giving people little little strategies to help keep them afloat and just acknowledging that yeah there is some heart in this profession but boy there's a whole bunch of good too and just really sharing that thank you so much Renee we look forward to your next report awesome thank you so much foreign our third special presentation this morning is a presentation related to the Milken educator award David jesperson good morning David jesperson communications director at the

037Nebraska Department of Education and today I have the privilege to introduce to the board the newest Milken educator Award winner from Nebraska in January we helped surprise Lisa Moody a special special education teacher at Jefferson Elementary in Omaha Dr frizon was on hand along with dignitaries from Ops and Congressman Don Bacon was there as well for those of you that were not able to attend or missed some of the television coverage and media coverage of that event we have a video produced by milk and foundation on the event that we can show now morning morning good morning to you now we have a special guest here today to help us recognize and thank the staff at Jefferson Elementary School the Milken family has been a friend and supporter of Education since 1987. your teachers and

038principals are some of the most important people in your life in sports athletes get gold medals entertainers get American Music Awards but our teachers haven't been part of the celebration before we leave here today an educator right here is going to receive this national award the Milken educator award goes to Lisa Moody I was very surreal I didn't expect it to be me in the least and um it's real surreal I don't feel like it's real I was born with Cerebral Palsy and so I dealt with um living in a world that wasn't built for me every day of my life and so I was raised to not let it Define who I was what better way to serve kids than to you know work with kids with special needs because I could be a

039role model or an example of what it's like to keep persevering uniquely I have that perspective congratulations Miss Moody just like one teacher in the entire state of Nebraska getting this recognition Excellence is what you're about congratulations the difference that you make for your students making sure that they are a part of the whole Community we thank you we congratulate you great work um I am fortunate to work in an amazing school with an amazing staff and supportive administrators um I constantly say I could not do my job without every single person it's the best job in the world it's the hardest job in the world but it's really rewarding and I'm just so grateful to work in a staff that's so supportive and shows up every day and wants to do what's best for

040kids [Applause] and with that it is my honor to bring up Lisa Moody thank you oh goodness thank you I swear when I get nervous the brain just stops working and walking gets challenging so thank you Dad all right good morning esteemed members of the State Board of Education Deputy Commissioner frizon Department of Education employees hello Educators and board meeting attendees I am grateful for the opportunity to address you today as a Milken Award winner I am excited to share with you the progress my school has made in creating a more inclusive School environment and community and my passion for teaching students with disabilities I wouldn't do it um like many schools in Nebraska my School Omaha Public Schools Jefferson Elementary faced a shortage of special education teachers knowing that there was a challenging road

041ahead with staff shortages the speech pathologist my principal and I collaborated on ways to serve students who are typically placed in self-contained classrooms within the general education setting combined with special education interventions we are working to create a culture where all students are welcome and equal members of The Learning Community this inclusive mindset has transformed the way we view each other and measure student growth and achievement students celebrate each other's accomplishments and support each other when they are struggling we are working to create an inclusive community where students learn together ensuring that all students are prepared for Success every day by shifting towards a more inclusive educational environment we have witnessed tremendous growth in our special education students with their academic social and linguistic schools or skills for example we have a third grade student

042who has previously relied on sign language or a communication device as her primary means of communication since integrating her into the general education setting we have seen significant Improvement in her verbal communication skills she is now able to use three to four word sentences to communicate her thoughts she has also made progress in her Reading Writing and participates in whole group and small group lessons alongside her classmates being surrounded by her peers in general education has allowed her to observe and learn from them which has helped further facilitated her growth in one of our second grade classrooms you can observe a student with Down Syndrome participating in small group rotations alongside his classmates whenever he learns the new skills his peers cheer him on and celebrate his hard work and determination this student is a

043valuable member of his classroom Community entering each day with a smile on his face and a drive to learn from his peers last but not least the most heartwarming gift we've received from our inclusive hybrid model is the bond between our sixth graders and the ACP students and our alternate curriculum program they were partnered with at the start of the school year we paired ACP students with sixth grade buddies who helped them from the bus through the breakfast line and into their classrooms each day the sixth graders greet their buddies each morning with excitement and joy often engaging with them in conversations as they make their way down the hall on any given day you will find the sixth grade buddies foregoing their own recess time to spend time with their ACP buddies building Towers

044out of magnets blowing bubbles or even playing dress-up together the bond these students have formed is truly magical is one of the most significant takeaways from this school year as some of you may know I was born with Cerebral Palsy growing up with a disability I Too Faced challenges but I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by strong and a strong and loving support system many of them here who are here with me today they never let my disability to find me or hold me back I would like to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude for them for their unwavering support throughout my life I get it from my dad from the smallest moments to the biggest Milestones you have always been there for me and I am grateful to have you all

045by my side I could not have come this far without your love and care your unwavering support has helped me to overcome challenges and strive towards my goals I am so fortunate to have such a caring and supportive family and works work Community I hope that I continue to make you all proud thank you for believing in me and for showing me that my disability does not define me or my potential from an early age I saw firsthand the importance of self-advocacy and the power of lending a voice to those in need now as an educator I am passionate about helping students with disabilities achieve their dreams I know firsthand how challenging it can be to navigate a world that was not always designed for us in mind that is why I'm committed to creating

046an inclusive learning environment where all students feel valued supported and empowered to reach their potential creating inclusive environments in schools to better serve students with disabilities is a topic very near and dear to my heart I believe that every student regardless of their abilities or disabilities deserves the opportunities to thrive in an inclusive environment that Fosters their development and growth teaching with students with disabilities requires a unique approach that is tailored to meet their individual needs not only is it about accommodating their disabilities but it's about empowering them to overcome their challenges develop their strengths and Achieve academic and personal success by providing them with access to an inclusive educational environment we can help them develop a sense of belonging confidence and Independence moreover inclusive educational environments benefits all students not just those with disabilities

047it creates a sense of community promotes diversity tolerance and acceptance it also helps to break down social barriers and stereotypes and encourages collaboration Co-op and cooperation among students with different backgrounds and abilities the inclusion of special education students within general education is a matter of equity fairness and social responsibility by providing accessible and inclusive communities within our schools we can create an educational environment where all students regardless of their abilities can Thrive and reach their full potential together let us let us strive towards a more inclusive and accepting educational system that celebrates diversity and promotes Student Success every day in conclusion I want to dedicate this award I want to dedicate this award to my students I'm laughing because I'm so much Dad I Blame You my dad was a former School administrator and he

048would cry at speeches and we always gave him so much Guff and now I get it Dad oh goodness here we go they are the reason I wake up every morning with a smile on my face and a sense of purpose did what are you doing I got this I told you it's genetic they are my driving they are the driving force behind my dedication to becoming a a better teacher every day this a word symbolizes my commitment to serving them with passion dedication and excellence I am grateful for me I seriously point you I am grateful for the opportunity to make a difference in their lives and I look forward to doing so in the years to come thank you sorry blubbering mess thank you thank you with that board members we will take

049a five-minute recess for some photo opportunities this is a close all over here we are now out of recess the next item on our agenda item three is the Deputy commissioner's report Deputy Commissioner Verizon thank you president gubbles forewarn that yes again this month because there's a lot going on the deputy commissioner's report is a lengthy report jam-packed March and the first couple weeks of April have been jam-packed for nde staff and yourselves and obviously the biggest news was your decision to select Dr Brian Maher as our next Commissioner of education and I am looking forward to supporting him as he transitions into the role as I have for the past few months I'll structure my update by identifying some of our Partnerships processes and pride points since the March meeting I'll also spend a

050little time foreshadowing what the rest of April will hold for the agencies Partnerships the expanded learning Innovation Invitational the nde played an important role in a conference hosted by Beyond school bells in early March pertaining to expanded learning opportunities staff attended and presented sessions on family engagement high quality programming and Community Partnerships nde has used almost 11 million dollars in Esser 3 State set aside funds to expand access to Summer and after school programming the nerksa conference nde staff and state board members joined rural School leaders in Kearney for the annual nerksa conference Dr Ford presented to the group and also brought back ideas and concerns which the group shared the three branch meeting each month the commissioner is invited to the three branch meeting convening members of the executive legislative and judicial branches this

051last month Brian Halstead attended in mystead and during this meeting participants brainstorm best ways to support systems and Justice involved youth the special education advisory committee your special education advisor advisory committee met in March to discuss pending legislation potential rule changes and other matters pertaining to students with disabilities the staff development affiliate the nde joined the Educational Service units staff development Affiliated in Kearney just this week to lead a two-day professional learning session on accountability School Improvement and the coherence project and how it aligns to work for the upcoming year the Nebraska mtss to host letters training the office of special education and Nebraska mtss have opened Statewide opportunities for training to help Educators learn and develop instructional methods aligned to the science of reading training will begin this fall and feature all virtual trainings

052to reduce travel time and make these trainings more accessible throughout the state information can be found on the Nebraska mtss website which is nemtss.unl.edu in addition to the numerous Partnerships which support the education ecosystem in Nebraska the nde participates in or leads a number of processes focused on Improvement of student outcomes and or School conditions one such is the educator shortage quarter excuse me quarterly check-in yesterday the nde hosted stakeholders at our 84th Street office in a planning session for the second educator shortage Summit to be hosted in October the assessment and accountability advisory or AAA the AAA met in March and will meet next week to continue to advise the commissioner and agency on accountability updates and tweaks specifically the AAA is providing input on necessary changes to the Essa plan section 4 on

053accountability nasby and ccsso legislative conference Lisa Patsy and Patty joined Dr four at the nasby legislative conference and Lane Carr and I attended ccsso's annual legislative Summit at the same time in Washington D.C both conferences focused on federal legislative and Regulatory updates and we were able to meet with staff working with our five Federal Representatives the state college board I spent time over this past month and a half at both Peru and Chadron State colleges for board meetings as I've noted before the commissioner serves on the State College Board of Trustees I have appreciated the opportunity to connect the work we do in PK 12 and adult education to the important role our state colleges play in our state and to their impact on our economy additionally we selected the new president of Chadron State

054College and that announcement may be made next week Committee of practitioners the committee of practitioners is comprised of public and non-public school leaders focused on federal programs the cop met in Grand Island in March and received updates on federal programming in addition to providing input on issues of federal education policy with regard to legislative work and Outreach the nde testified before the Appropriations Committee on March 15th to present our biennial budget request and share more about the work of the agency the legislature with begin will begin discussions of the state's Budget on the 70th day of session slated for May 2nd nde staff continue to provide expert advice and work behind the scenes to improve bills and support legislative staff in Amendment processes ccpe meeting I met with members of the coordinating commission for post-secondary

055education on March 10th at Metro Community College at their South Omaha campus seed mini summits the nde is hosting two many Summits on educator Effectiveness and the first was at UNL on April 5th and the next will be at Wayne State College on April 18th school safety task force the nde continues to convene the school's safety task force originally developed by Senator Lynn walls and commissioner bloomstead after providing input on legislative asks culminating in lb 516 the task force has now pivoted to awareness best practices and recommendations for schools the task force met on March 13th and will connect again in April and some of our pride points ctso State conferences the nde is so proud of all the students participated in Career and Technical student organization State conferences the last of which concluded today

056was skillsusa each year almost 21 000 students across the state participate in ctsos and thousands travel to State conferences held in Lincoln Grand Island Omaha and Kearney We wish all participants qualifying for National competitions the best of luck and thank all ctso sponsors for their support of our students nde partnership with I love you guys the nde in partnership with local and state law enforcement and First Responders hosted Statewide trainings with the I love you guys Foundation these three trainings emphasize the key components to avoiding emergency situations like threat of threats threat assessment teams using safe to help and working through procedures if the unimaginable should happen migrant Ed conference the nde office of esea federal programs brought together parents students and families from across the state to celebrate and learn about ways to support

057youth who are migrants almost 200 people participated in the conference in Columbus and nde staff brought in community and school Partners to build the day our 21st century Community Learning Centers celebrate 20 years of impact 2023 marks the 20th year of the Nebraska 20th 21st century program which provides federal funds to grantees that serve districts across the state to implement high quality after school and summer programming we are so proud of the almost fourteen thousand students who are participating in these programs across 38 communities this school year here's to the next 20 years winter sports we want to congratulate our public and non-public school Champions who competed in the Winter Sports championships good luck to all athletes competing in Spring Sports and now to April it's hard to believe two full weeks of April have

058already passed but with that I'll share what to expect between now and our May 4th through 5th meeting we have the Native American advisory committee coming up nde convenes this stakeholder group monthly to discuss ways to improve academic and non-academic outcomes for Native American Youth April's meeting will focus on aligning goals and work streams across the varied entities the coherence project steering committee work on improving and aligning processes continues through our coherence project focused on mtss improvements the steering committee is a cross-agency team focused on embedding the new mtss process into our work streams lb 852 work group last year LV 852 was signed into law requiring each district to have a behavioral health point of contact and the nde to create a repository a Behavioral Health Resources by region the nde convened a work

059group to support this important effort and the group will meet again on April 26th Nebraska native youth Gathering the nde's office of coordinated student Support Services will again host the Nebraska native youth Gathering a hybrid conference in Norfolk designed to engage 8th through 12th grade students who identify as Native American or American Indian the Gathering aims to enhance individual and Collective understanding of emotional mental and physical well-being this concludes my April Deputy commissioner's report thank you to our nde leadership team and staff to our various partners and stakeholders to our over 360 000 students and to our clients and adults served thank you thank you Deputy Commissioner Friesen I believe that we may have a request to remove a consent agenda item but I'm not certain about that yet so I don't know if we

060have received any additional requests what we'll do I think is we'll just move forward to the president's report and then we can return to consent agenda items if we need to do that at our special board meeting on March 31st we as a board took a leap into the future and for a new beginning for Nebraska Department of Education as we interviewed three exemplary finalists for the position of Nebraska Commissioner of education and we voted to offer a contract to Dr Brian Maher as our next Nebraska Commissioner of Education Dr Mahar will bring a number of really important qualities and characteristics to the position as evidenced by his interview responses and the application materials that he submitted first Dr Maher has extensive educational experience and expertise and educational administrative experience Dr Mahar raised through the

061typical ranks when you are an educator being a teacher a principal a superintendent and now serving as the CEO and executive director at a state level agency in South Dakota Dr Mahar has served in small school districts in Nebraska as well as large school districts and in districts in different regions and areas across the state of Nebraska Dr marhar has a situational and Common Sense leadership style that's coupled with a very analytical and information gathering problem solving and decision making approach his communication style is one of listening and learning through listening and he has a focus on building relationships building relationships with each one of us as individual board members as well as with us as the governing body he will strive to build relationships with nde staff with policy makers with educational stakeholders and

062with Nebraska education communities and finally Dr Mahar is focused on growth on Improvement that was really illustrated by his example when he talked about how he would evaluate nde staff and he commented that he once nde staff to be in a position to be the best that they can be to be as successful as possible Dr Mahar also has worked through his Improvement example of increasing graduation rates when he was the superintendent of the Sioux Falls South Dakota school system and finally when asked why he was interested in the position his response was opportunity but that opportunity was tied to an opportunity to make an impact to have Nebraska's education system be the best that it can possibly be and he he ended in his application materials by saying that he wanted to leave education

063and nde in Nebraska better than he finds it and that wasn't said with an attitude of I'm here to fix things it was an attitude of we have a great educational system in Nebraska now and there is always room for us to be even better I think as we are approaching this new beginning it really calls for us to reflect on decisions that we've made in the past that maybe we recognized we could have done better but also to appreciate all of the successes and the accomplishments of nde in the present as well as in the past we have much work to do yet in the next few months as we transition from our work with Deputy Friesen Deputy Commissioner Friesen and under her capable leadership we will accomplish much in the next few months

064I look forward to and I hope you do as well um our future our new beginning with hope and with confidence about the educational system in the state of Nebraska that concludes the president's report all right we will return back Deputy Commissioner Friesen do we have any items from the consent agenda that are requested to be removed all right um are there any board members who wish to remove additional items from the consent agenda those two items 5.2 a and 5.6 B I'm sorry 7B thank you will be addressed separately under additional business is there a motion to approve the consent agenda with those exceptions a move that we accepted with those two pulled okay so the motion is to approve the consent agenda right Lisa with the exception of those two 5.2 point a

065and 5.7 point B correct is there a second Jacqueline I second I also have a question am I correct with the consent agenda we cannot have any discussion okay thank you is there we have a motion in a second per board policy there is no discussion on the motion to adopt the consent agenda with a recording secretary please call the roll Neary yes Googles yes Morrison yes co-jones yes freaky yes Penner yes tegmeyer yes Jones yes eight yes the votes are eight years the affirmative has it and the consent agenda is adopted the next item of business are the reports of the standing committee as standing committees excuse me as the chair of the executive committee I will provide the executive committee report the executive committee reports on its Thursday April 13 2023 meeting for

066board member review the committee report is attached in spark the committee reviewed the 2023 proposed state legislation and discussed the final 13 education related bills that we took positions on the committee consented to move the 13 bills with the positions to the state board for approval the committee approved the employment agreement between the State Board of Education and Dr Brian Mahar as the next Commissioner of Education with some revisions the committee will meet to work on the plan and process for the commissioner's appraisal instrument Dr Steve Joel will assist us with the position description this is a continuation of some of the services provided through our original contract with McPherson and Jacobson the remainder of the 2023 committee calendar was reviewed and discussed this concludes the executive committee report are there any questions about the

067executive committee report all right is there a motion on item 6.1 a review the 2023 proposed state legislation and take action on board positions I moved to adopt the legislative positions as recommended by the executive committee thank you Jacqueline is there a second Thank you Lisa it is moved and seconded to adopt the legislative positions as recommended by the executive committee is there any discussion the motion is to adopt the legislative positions as recommended by the executive committee with the recording secretary please call the roll Neary can you come back around to me I'm tegmeyer yes fricky yes Jones yes Google's yes Morrison yes thinner yes Co John's yes Neri yes AES the votes are aeas the affirmative has it and the legislative positions are adopted is there a motion on item 6.1 point B

068to approve the employment agreement between the State Board of Education and Dr Brian Maher I moved to approve the employment agreement between the State Board of Education and Dr Brian Maher second we have a second from Lisa Fricke is there any discussion I will just um I'll be just brief there there were a few Red Line changes that occurred from yesterday's meeting just so that where everybody understands kind of what that was about there were some timeline things that we wanted to just clarify and make sure that when we start doing annual appraisal we give the board enough time to be able to get through the appraisal instrument and also be able to provide Dr Morrow with enough feedback prior to the new year as well as the new contract period and so if you

069see changes what what they're doing specifically is just realigning those timelines to give the board as much time as possible to perform the appraisal evaluation and also to gain enough time of the evaluation period before the review to be able to get everything done and so really it's very technical but it was all about alignment so that we could maximize our time to do the review and Dr Mars time to be able to provide his assessment over the past year so that's it thank you Jaclyn any additional discussion so um last well two weeks ago when we went into executive session we as the board discussed um the parameters of compensation for Dr Maher and we also discussed the length of contract one thing that we did not discuss that I see is in the

070contract is that Dr Maher can accept essentially he can accept compensation for any outside activities we did not discuss him having that opportunity to be our full-time employee at the expense of the taxpayer but then also get paid and consult somewhere else and I think that this is a discussion that needs to happen for full transparency I believe the contracts that contract says with the approval of the board if I am remembering the word actually the contract says he shall notify the president of the board in each instance and obtain written approval of same in advance now I am not a lawyer but I believe that then that written approval and notification only goes to the president of the board correct sorry that's a good correction I knew there was some mechanism that we put

071in there for approval and I don't believe that one person should unilaterally make that decision any other discussion um I'm just curious I um if that is standard practice and superintendence uh and not that this is a super superintendent that we're hiring but I know that um I'm just curious is that standard um this was something that has been in previous employment agreements for commissioners Jacqueline um Elizabeth if you want it to make an amendment to say that it has to have approval of the board I would support that if I I think another Nuance could be a threshold amount that let's say if it's under five thousand dollars it could be approved by the president anything over that amount needs to be approved by the board I think that would also be a compromise

072I could support if if if if you wanted to request that Amendment I would support the amendment as well I would support that we're not voting at this point we have to have an amendment before we voice support I think my words were I would support an amendment so I think that's what people were commenting on right you're right and I and I want to say that I appreciate that that support because because I do think that it's very important um for our department of education and our commissioner you know as he stated in his interview will be the face of the department it's very important that we um that we keep everything to a very particular standard because there is there is a potential for conflict of interest and we as a board need

073to keep the trust in our department as much as we can um it's and the reason that and I just want to give you guys just a little background the reason that I'm coming to this is because um there has been in the news the Nebraska economic development director resigned from his position due to the perception even of a conflict of interest and and I was just looking at that article in um John Bartle he's the dean of the College of public affairs and community service at UNO he said that um that our officials need to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest so so this is coming from a point of wanting to protect the department that we oversee as well as all of the employees that that would work under us including

074the commissioner so that's why I'm bringing this up yeah um I don't know if Brian or Joel are present but I know when I I can only go for what I've done at the city we do have a conflict of interest policy when I worked for the Department of Revenue the agency had a policy so there may be a conflict of interest policy already in place with the Department do you know if we have that what I would like is for us to recess for a few minutes so that we can consult with legal in terms of this amendment and whether there is a conflict of interest in in place agreement in place so we'll recess for about five minutes I didn't anticipate it would take that long my that's my mistake I'm sorry all

075right we are back in session from Recess is there an amendment to the motion the original motion was to approve the employment agreement between the State Board of Education and Brian Mahar Madam president yes I move to amend the proposed employment agreement in section 2C by striking the words in the event that Dr Maher wishes to accept remuneration for any activities during the term hereof he shall notify the president of the board State Board in each instance and obtain written approval of same in advance and inserting in the event that Dr Maher wishes to accept remuneration for speaking engagements writing lecturing or other professional activities during the term hereof he shall notify the State Board in each instance and obtain written approval of the same in advance is there a second to the amendment a

076second is there any discussion can I see that right so the amendment is to strike words and I won't read what has been stricken but I will read what is requested to be inserted in the event that Dr Mahar wishes to accept remuneration for speaking engagements writing lecturing or other professional activities during the term thereof he shall notify the State Board in each instance and obtain written approval of the same in advance will the recording secretary please call the roll Penner yes Morrison yes Neri yes Co Johns yes freaky yes goobles yes Jones yes tegmeyer yes eight yes the votes are eight years the amendment has been approved now we will return to our original motion with the amendment in language inserted in it okay I don't know that I need to read through all

077of that again but there is a motion second to approve the employment agreement between the State Board of Education and Dr Mahar with changes to section 2C with striking out a sentence and replacing it with so I will read it all in the event that Dr Maher wishes to accept remuneration for the speaking for speaking engagements writing lecturing or other professional activities during the term thereof he shall notify the State Board in each instance and obtain written approval of the same in advance any discussion will the recording secretary please call the roll Morrison yes fricky whoops yes Jones yes goobles yes kojons yes niri yes tegmeyer yes Penner yes AES there are eight years the emotion is a two um approve the employment agreement between the State Board of Education and Brian Maher with that

078amendment has it and is approved we will move on to agenda item 6.2 budget and finance committee report chair Patsy cojones will you please provide the report from budget and finance committee yes Madam chair the budget and finance committee reports that on it's Thursday April 13 2023 meeting members president were Patsy kojons Elizabeth techgemeyer Sherry Jones and Deborah Neary the committee reviewed the single audit report with the nde staff reviewing the one finding for sub-recipient monitoring nde has been working with the federal government to develop physical monitoring processes that align with the federal government's recommendations the committee supported bringing this item to the board nde staff then reviewed the new VR office lease in Fremont which has been in the works for several years the committee supported bringing this item to the board vote also

079for the board to vote also the third action item reviewed by the committee was authorizing the Deputy Commissioner to approve a continuation Grant to the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation to continuing the nurturing healthy behaviors program the committee had an in-depth conversation on this topic with many questions that nde staff were able to was able to answer the committee recommends bringing this item to the full board the next action item case thought I was done or not there are a lot of them okay the next action item reviewed was a contract with the public Consulting Group to do a wage comparability study for Via R PCG was selected as the vendor to contract with with due to their understanding of Nebraska VR and experience with other states be our offices as well the committee discussed

080the RFP process to be used to select this vendor and recommending bringing this item to the full board nde staff then discuss the proposed contract with Jenna software Inc to provide a cyber security review of the nde with nde staff covering the need for periodic review performed by an outside entity the committee supported bringing the item to the board the committee reviewed the proposed funding for comprehensive support for improvement schools which was covered in detail by nde staff including Federal requirements and plans to address schools that have been in CSI status for the last four years the committee supports bringing this item to the full board as well nde staff review the transact communication contract noted they were the only vendor to submit an application and have been the vendor used for translation services for

081a very long time in Nebraska to fulfill this Federal requirement the committee supported bringing this item to the full board The Last Action reviewed was to authorize the Deputy Commissioner to accept funds from the Nebraska Arts Council to administer the Arts now grant program to Nebraska Andy nde outlined the parameters of this Grant and the amounts going to the five regions across Nebraska the committee supported bringing this item to the board Additionally the committee reviewed the monthly board travel expenses travel expense report and in-state authorizations noting no concerns lastly nde staff reviewed work being done that will result in action on items being brought to the board next month including the procurement that is being undertaken for any contracts there are four action items that will be coming to the board next month the items

082were for a web based data collection system for the Special Education team technical assistance for special education support authorization for annual technology and software purchases and Grant Awards to esu's for Early Childhood additionally nde staff provided a review of the Innovative Grant funds and highlighted potential new Investments that will be brought to the board for approval this concludes the budget and finance committee report I'd like to recognize the committee that I work with Elizabeth techmeyer and Sherry Jones and Deborah Neary um also um Bryce Wilson is our advisor also I would like you to notice that one of the things that we as a board requested from the the staff that work on budget and finance is for us to know as much as possible ahead of time what might be coming to us in

083the next month and they've started to do that although Bryce has expressed very carefully that sometimes they will not be able to do that but you can see that there are some now appearing on our report that says heads up take a look at these so they heard what you said and they're they're doing they're working very hard to make that happen great great committee are there any questions for the committee chair Jacqueline do you know if the I know you mentioned a web software data collection for special education kind of visual education software data collection it's on am I not close enough to work sorry is your in the touch screen does the same thing push the new button there you go now it's there oh okay sorry um and so I'm curious about

084that is that something that's going to be funded with Esser funds is that part of this overhaul that we're doing with Esser and when do and if the answer is yes when do we expect to have more information about that I'd like is Amy rone in the room she's the expert on this and I don't want to give any information that's not correct yeah the um software and the web development would actually not be anything to do with essers it would be coming from the part B discretionary and part C discretionary funding that is provided by the federal government to each state and is this a replacement [Music] for something that we already collect or are we adding an additional process for collection are we getting rid of something and if you want to talk

085about this next meeting we can I'm just these are some of the questions I I have because as we one thing I always hear is we're always more and more data we're getting more and more things what are we doing with this why is it necessary and if we are getting it what are we taking off of teachers or off of the classroom or off of other people when we're adding something else so that's just kind of my yeah and the scope of the actual contract will be better explained next month but this is for internal into e-use not anything that would be pushed on two districts okay questions about the report did you guys also talk about the Janus software in your committee meeting yes we did um I believe that I can answer

086that question and that depending on what your question is but that is a product that we have used for many years um I I have a couple of questions about that so can we have a are we gonna go through it as an action item if so I can ask for it when we get to the action item where I could ask about the committee discussion I'm I'm open to either one I I would say let's do that with the um action item okay okay are there any questions on the reports on item 6.28 or 6.2 B those are the monthly travel expense report and the in-state travel authorization reports Madam president I would I'd like to clarify one thing on that and that is that we do have some changes to that pending but

087they're not done yet and so that's why we were looking at it this time and in the future we're hoping to not be looking at that every single month thank you Deborah Deborah well I just wanted to clarify I mean we've handed it off to another committee yeah do we know for a fact that the other committee has picked it up um the policy committee is that on their did they discuss it this month is it on their agenda that is not something we don't have a policy committee the executive committee is responsible in general for policies uh that had not been sent to us specifically Madam chair I was going to visit with you about that yesterday they directed me to do that and so I was going to visit with you about that

088it hasn't happened yet no okay but it was a request that was made at the board meeting last month and so what steps need to happen other than it being discussed here that it needs to go to that committee I think the request from I need to make the request what thank you any other questions about those travel related reports okay is there a motion on item 6.2.c that is to accept the 2022 single audit report Madam president I move to accept the 2022 single audit report is there a second we have a motion it's been moved and seconded to accept the 2022 single audit report is there any discussion yeah Deborah I know uh I've heard all of you say the same thing but I just want to say it out loud in front

089of the public like we have an amazing accounting office and uh they have the cleanest audience I've ever seen and it is so impressive that there are so few comments about the work that they're doing and not only uh is our audit uh incredible but also the reports that I get from school districts across the state are how easy they are to work with how accommodating how fast they respond and I just want to say kudos to our finance office uh they do an amazing job any other discussion the motion is to accept the 2022 single audit report with the recording secretary please call the roll tegmeyer yes Neri yes Morrison yeah Co John's yes Penner goobles yes Jones yes fricky yeah yeah eight yes the votes are eight years the affirmative has it and

090the motion to accept the single audit report is adopted is there a motion on item 6.2 Point D and that is to authorize the Deputy Commissioner to enter into a new lease agreement I have another one Madam president I moved to authorize the Deputy Commissioner to enter into a new lease agreement between the department of administrative Services Das State Building Division and the Department of Education Nebraska Vocational Rehabilitation VR for office space in Fremont for the period of July 1st 2023 through June 30th 2033 is there a second to the motion second okay second by Deborah it's moved and seconded to authorize the Deputy Commissioner to enter into a new lease agreement for office space in Fremont for the period July 1 2023 through July June 30 20 33. is there any discussion the motion

091is to authorize the Deputy Commissioner to enter into a new lease agreement for office space in Fremont from July 1 2023 through June 30 2033 with the recording secretary please call the roll s yes Neri yes co-johns yes Jones yes Ricky yes tegmeyer yes Henner yes Morrison yes eight yes the votes are eight years the affirmative has it and the motion to enter into a new lease agreement is adopted is there a motion on item 6.2 Point e yes I moved to authorize the Deputy Commissioner to approve a continuation Grant to the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation to continue the nurturing healthy behaviors rooted in relationships program is there a second I second then second from Patsy it's moved and seconded to authorize the Deputy Commissioner to approve a continuation Grant to continue the nurturing

092healthy behaviors rooted in relationships program is there any discussion okay will the recording secretary please call the roll Penner yes Jones fricky yes Mary yes Google's yes Morrison yes tegmeyer yes Co Johns yes yes eight yes there are eight years the affirmative has it and the motion to approve the continuation Grant is adopted is there a motion on item 6.2 Point f yes president Google's I moved to authorize the Deputy Commissioner to contract with public Consulting Group from April 17 2023 through August 30th 2023. is there a second to the motion okay second by Patsy is there any discussion okay the motion is to authorize the Deputy Commissioner to contract with public Consulting Group with the recording secretary please call the roll Jones yes goobles yes co-johns yes Morrison yes tegmeyer yes Neri Penner yes

093Ricky eight yes the votes are aeas the affirmative has it and the motion to contract with public Consulting Group is adopted is there emotion on item 6.2 Point G yes Madam president I moved to authorize the Deputy Commissioner to contract with Janus software Inc is there a second to the motion second by Lisa it's moved in second and to authorize the Deputy Commissioner to contract with Jana software Inc is their discussion Jacqueline yes I have a question about this particular item one of my my I guess my initial question is this is being used with Esser funds and this was part of that big 10 of our Ester dollars that we received to work on technology related things and so so when I read the description here it says that this is something that we

094need to do to do an external assessment of what are our potential vulnerabilities and so I I want to ask one when's the last time we assessed or did an assessment like this is this the first time and if not how do we pay for it the last time and if there is a frequency to this that it needs to be done every year two years five years how do we intend to pay for it the next time when we don't have federal dollars so those are my questions I could answer maybe one of them but then as Bryce here I think the memo um Patsy says this is it related and so I believe Kristen Yates is at the top as well no okay Kristen Oh Come forward please okay all right yeah it

095hasn't been done in quite a while and I think I remember hearing five years and that it needs to be done more often than that considering cyber security now as it is sorry Kristen that I didn't call you right away oh you're fine Okay so um to the best of my knowledge we have not conducted this exact assessment before uh we do maintain an internal group of controls but we have not had somebody in from the outside to sort of uh kick on our door and and test our security parameters for the network and applications so when I read the memo it says the use of third-party vendors is an industry standard practice and so can you talk a little bit more about the industry standard how often the industry does this when it triggers

096a need um just kind of what what is that standard that we're going by or hoping to utilize in the future so partially that's probably context dependent in our particular case we've been doing a lot of infrastructure development with our move to the cloud as well as redoing applications as we also improve access to data stuff so we have changed up a lot of our architecture and when you do that you sort of want to make sure you've got everything right I can't speak to past practice at the agency I would probably do this every three to five years depending on what we have going on the other motivation for this is that we are starting to enter into more collaborative agreements with other agencies around data and data sharing for example The Early Childhood

097integrated data system that's um we're doing in collaboration with DHS DHHS to share data about Pre-K students and the services they receive I think in this day and age I would say that it's pretty standard that you're going to get some questions from anybody who's contributing data to a system you maintain about whether you've had somebody in to assess whether your security security controls are adequate or not and in fact the CIO from DHHS did literally say that to me within the last three weeks or so as we are working on the data sharing agreement because a lot of this new infrastructure build is literally new infrastructure built so we haven't been amusing it for years we don't have any history and we're sort of pressure testing it before we actually send it out on

098the road so are you are you saying that industry standard is you have it tested after you go through a significant amount of change or are you saying industry standard is usually set by a certain amount of years I'm just reading the language that's in the document that was provided to us and so when we're asked to make a decision based on an industry standard I'm trying to understand what that standard to me says standardize which means it's the same thing no matter what but it sounds like you're saying it's actually fact dependent so I I'm hearing two different things okay so by industry standard I mean most people who who use the store any amount of data some of which is sensitive whether it's us or a credit card company or a small business

099or whomever are going to have somebody in to double check their security controls if you're a big enough entity with enough staff you're going to do a lot of that stuff more frequently internally yourself we can't support that and in any case sort of like in the example with this CAO from DHHS having a third party verification of that has its own value it's great for me to say you know what I think everything is fine with the way that we run our data operation but having somebody who is in the business of doing this come and test stuff means more as a guarantee to other people about the safety of their data I do understand that um my question is when do when are when does this process get triggered again when do we

100when in our normal course of business do we say okay we got the response of whether or not we're safe um when do we go back to get that updated um how frequently do we need this assessment I must say every three to five years it's sort of sort of an iterative process so they will come they will test they will issue us a report that shows any deficiencies or potential vulnerabilities we will go about fixing them and then at some point we'll have them back in again to check again because you change things as long as you if you're actively developing things uh with regard to infrastructure you're going to change things and we're looking for things like our every door you know every metaphorical security door shut um so I do think I

101mean I do think in my personal opinion we should have done this before and I would plan on doing it again um and then I guess my okay that's helpful to know my last question is if we do this and they come back and say You're vulnerable there's probably going to be some costs and things that occur that we have to fix and so do we have a plan internally of what we'll do or where that money will come from should we need things fixed or changed I am anticipating that most of the stuff we will be able to fix ourself um with regard to ongoing infrastructure projects if they're if we still have a contractor that's working on building out something that's something I would expect them to address it comes back and says

102you know contractor a this thing you built has it needs this this and this and we're still Contracting with them I think that's on them to fix um thank you okay I have a question Kristen because I don't remember the answer why did we choose illness um we did a competitive RFP process we got 14 applications from a variety of different kinds of firms with a variety of price tags um we sat down and reviewed those 14 proposals and they were the best fit for what we needed done for the least costs yep any more questions for Kristen thank you very much I just have a comment to the budget and finance committee um I know I'm no longer on that committee but I'm I keep beating this dead horse and I'm gonna keep doing

103it every single time because this is a this is a pain point for me it is a huge pain point that we out of 82 or 83 million dollars that we got 11 and 12 million dollars of that is going toward technology upgrades infrastructure changes proofing Etc that's a huge amount of money of the discretionary funds that we received as a department and we can't change what we did but I keep as I see each of these invoices coming through this is going to be something that comes up again in the future and maybe it's so much now because it was something we didn't continue to invest in and so we got really far behind but as we do our budgets each year as you guys are having conversations we need to see how these

104items are line items in the budget for the future so that we don't get to a place where we have another 10 million or 12 million dollar need and we don't have the money to pay for it because we're not going to just get another Christmas present from the federal government again it's not likely to happen for another hundred years um I'm being sarcastic but ah we can't just keep approving these if we don't have a plan of how we're going to address it if we know that this needs to come up every three years is it going are we finding places to put it in a budget every three years if we know that systems have to be updated how are we thinking long term so that we don't find ourselves in this like

105with this problem again and I think that's a budget and finance issue I think those are long-term conversations that should be happening anytime these types of contracts or invoices come up it's new expenses new expenditures and if that's going back to the legislature if that's changing things internally if that's getting Kristen a bigger budget annually if that's allocating more of our Federal grant dollars that we have that are discretionary saying these are your technology class when we go after that it's got to be a consistent and bigger conversation and we can't just say the Department's handling it because based on how much money we're spending right now I I don't trust that we've been handling it so I would just encourage you guys to look at that thank you for that advice from your past

106experience on that committee there are several of us that are new we will try to do our best to remember that as we go on so I have a question for you because um Patsy you are the committee chair for the budget and finance um my question sort of relates to this what continuity do we have within the committee because I think you raise up a very valuable question but sharing our new to the board and and I'm just wondering what continuity we have on the budget and finance committee from the past our discussion right now is related to the motion so I I would just suggest that we talk let's talk about that you know it's it's not part of the discussion of the motion so I think we just need to hold that

107Elizabeth for a bit please is there any other discussion related to the motion all right it has been moved and seconded to authorize the Deputy Commissioner to contract with Jana software Inc with the recording secretary please call the roll Neary yes co-johns yes Penner yes Jones yes fricky goobles yes Morrison yes tegmeyer yes eight yes there are the votes sorry yes the affirmative has it and the motion to contract with Janna software Inc is adopted is there a motion on item 6.2.h en okay I moved to authorize the Deputy Commissioner to Grant support for improvement funding for comprehensive support or for improvement of CSI schools is there a second by Lisa it's moved and seconded to authorize the Deputy Commissioner to Grant support for improvement funding for comprehensive support for improvement CSI schools is there

108any discussion with the recording secretary please call the roll tegmeyer yes Googles yes Penner yes Morrison yes yes coach ons yes fricky Neri yes Jones yes eight yes the votes are yays the affirmative has it and the motion to grant funding to see to SFI is adopted is there a motion on item 6.2 point I yes Madam chair I moved to authorize the Deputy Commissioner to renew the contract with transact Communications LLC for the period from June 1st 2023 through May 31st 2026. is there a second second by Deborah it's moved and seconded to authorize the Deputy Commissioner to renew the contract with transact Communications LLC for the period from June 1 2023 through May 31 2026. is there any discussion Jacqueline I have a question um on that particular document there there's a line

109that says a waiver has been granted to contract with transact Communications for a three-year period due to their sole source status there was also language in I believe the committee report that said that transact was the only person to respond to the RFP and so I'm trying to figure out did we determine that they were sole source did we do an RFP and then if a waiver I'm guessing and this is where I don't want to guess I want to know when we say a waiver occurred to do a three-year contract I know we have talked about times when we do contracts for longer than a year such as assessment and things like that so who's providing this waiver is that something that the board waves is this something that the budget department or budget

110and finance waves I just need a little more clarification on this Bryce would you come forward please yes sorry Brian good morning Brian Halstead Deputy Commissioner number one the waiver was granted by me as Deputy Commissioner because internally staff cannot contract or bring a contract forward for more than one year unless they can demonstrate a reason why in this case a request for information was put out seeking any companies who would do translation of federal require notices that have to go out to parents families and communities that explain various nuances of federal programs we operate here at the department transact was the only vendor who responded as such that indicated to us that's the only source out there transact has done work in Nebraska for us they translate a large number of the notice and

111Communications that are required that school districts have to use I believe if you look at the support material that's going to show all of the federal Offices inside nde who contribute funds so that parents can get written materials in a language they know so they can be informed of what their children do so that is the basic background for this in that regard hopefully I answered both of your questions Jacqueline thanks Brian um my concern is not with the contract my my concern is with our processes there were some conversation Elizabeth I'm looking at you because it goes to that that the question you were asking earlier but there was some conversation in our committee meetings in the budget budget and finance committee in the past recent past about when something gets brought to the

112board in in finding opportunities for to lessen when board approval is needed and one of the I'm gonna say gray areas for me but one of the pla one of the things I was trying to determine is when we do these three-year contracts versus one-year contracts and if we're doing a three-year contract is that something we don't need to bring back necessarily every year for board approval to kind of help the department out with less paperwork and things like that and so this stood out to me as maybe one of those special instances that's different and so when I saw that there's a waiver then I met then I thought okay is this waiver something that the budget and finance committee would have looked at and then that then is something procedurally that allows us

113to bypass another board process later or I heard you say you do the authorize the waiver is that authorization based on a legal interpretation that has to happen of whether or not a waiver can be granted or is that a department policy that you as Deputy Commissioner can approve a waiver of this type and I know that's probably technical but I want you to know where I'm going it has nothing to do with transact Communications as an entity it's more about us Shoring up our own processes so this is part of the internal process as your bylaws and operating policies and everything the commissioner has the authority to execute administrative memorandum that directs staff in that memorandum for this item it currently says contracts can only be for one year but they can be that

114can be waived and a longer contract done so in this item since it's in some ways I don't want to say this is routine business but this is really about translating no distance and everything to parents and languages they can read this is not about new policy or whatever this is just ongoing work that school districts Department staff whatever can access to you so parents can receive information about certain programs that school districts are offering so they can understand and make informed decisions that to me what the reason why number one there was only one responder to the proposal we put out there which indicated okay this is not a field in which there are numerous companies operating for which there's variation in the work that's going on this is kind of as a lawyer

115and a bureaucrat this is the part of the bureaucratic of making sure when parents get something they know what they're reading they can understand it so that's why it felt did we need to bring this back to you next year to renew the contract for transact no it did not seem that that was a policy decision of the board that needed you to have input on the other questions about policy decisions and all that that go back to some of the nuances of how we go about putting out bid proposals and all of that that so I'm not sure in the sense of these are some of the changes that have gone on since that conversation I think you're referencing that you were on last year of trying to reflect and be more transparent and

116also following established procedure so yeah I again um any again if something's complicated to me I usually I tend to think it's complicated it's not because I'm anything special but I'm just like God does someone else understand this um because there are times when we get documents as a board that says we're just approving this but this is the second year of a contract therefore you really can't do anything other than that but then we have this and you're saying in this particular instance this would not come back before us for three years because it got this waiver or this approval up front for three years so this one would be different than the other ones where we're approving each year but it's a three-year four-year term because of let's say a Federal grant requirement

117or something like that so all I'm asking is maybe sometime in the future we get a little bit more clarification on what the policies are as it relates to waivers when it comes to the board when it doesn't come to the board because I'm still not clear I'm confused and I think this just added to my confusion so um this one for today my questions I'm done with but it's still to me very Mucky but thanks Brian thank you Deputy Commissioner Halstead and bureaucrat thank you is there any final discussion related to this motion the motion is to authorize the Deputy Commissioner to renew the contract with transact Communications LLC for the period from June 1 2023 through May 31 2026 with the recording secretary please call the roll fricky Jones yes co-johns yes Penner

118yes Morrison yes yes Neri yes tegmeyer yes goobles yes eight yes the votes are EAS the affirmative has it and the motion to renew the contract with transact Communications LLC is adopted is there a motion on item 6.2 Point J yes Madam chair I moved to authorize the Deputy Commissioner to accept funds from the Nebraska Arts Council to administer the Arts now grant program to Nebraska school districts is there a second to the motion I second it second by Sherry it's moved in seconded to authorize the Deputy Commissioner to accept funds from the Nebraska Arts Council to administer the Arts now grant program to Nebraska school districts is there any discussion I just have one question it's a grant for I believe a hundred eighty thousand dollars 100 I think anyway that amount does that

119include um money to provide staff for all the work that they do to make this happen I think this is a great idea but I just wondered is there money that comes with this so that the staff can work on this because they'll have to put out the information get the applications review the applications I was just wondering about is there money beyond what goes to the students to help the staff with what they need to do to make it happen chair Co Johns well that's an interesting question that we didn't explore but um I'm sure yes please come forward we did not do any set aside for this funding um we've it was a little complicated between the um our internal processes of the Nebraska Arts Council and then the Nebraska cultural uh I'm

120saying endowment um so no no set aside we're going to try to do all the work internally ourselves and we've got some things in place to be able to do that is there any additional discussion the motion is to authorize the Deputy Commissioner to accept funds to administer the Arts now grant program with the recording secretary please call the roll Morrison yes Neri yes Penner yes Co Johns yes Googles yes tegmeyer freaky yes Jones yes eight yes the votes are eight years the affirmative has it and the motion to accept funds is adopted that ends the budget in finance Marathon our next agenda item is the committee report from planning and evaluation committee chair Deborah Neri thank you I'm going to make Patty Patsy's report look short okay so settle in everybody it's not difficult

121to make me look sure so first of all thank you to my fellow committee members Lisa Fricke Petty gooples and co-chair Sherry I'm sorry Vice chair Sherry Jones and thank you Sherry for running the meeting yesterday since I had to participate over Zoom we've had two meetings over the past month long meetings so there is a lot to cover but in March we met uh and we had at that meeting we had two people from the TAC advisory committee the technical advisory committee they called Tech these are appointed people by the governor of Nebraska in order to help us review our assessment tools and to even though this was not an official report from the tech committee it was two Educators giving us some input into uh questions that we need to continue to discuss

122and one of the things that last month we reported that we would need to we heard from staff that we would need to be sending out an RFP in June me for our next assessment process and so what we've learned now is that we no longer we don't have that urgency there are going to be need to be new rfps but we're going to be able to wait until Dr Maher is on board and that we have more input into what that process needs to look like the two Tech are the two people Educators that joined our committee in this discussion uh made some recommendations for us to consider they wondered first they we're recommending on behalf of themselves as individuals that they would like to see nscast growth is a year-end summative and map

123growth for the formative evaluation throughout the year they also wondered if we shouldn't put together a committee that included some of the members from tac in order to help us in writing our FB rfps and also consider maybe whether there shouldn't be two different rfps one for the summative evaluation and one for the formative um yesterday we met and had more discussions on that we also discussed the community action plan from The Learning Community which was approved by their board on March 16th and it will remain in effect until the end of the 20 20 25 26 school year we had uh we will have an action item regarding the approval of the non-public schools um the rule 14 Schools the committee discussed the approval process also for the rule 18 interim program schools there

124was a presentation on the authority and approval process for these programs their renewal is granted based upon compliance during the prior school year and the East staff will return next month to seek approval for the rule 18 interim program School schools we reviewed the rule 84 accreditation process for esu's there are 17 Asus whose accreditation is based on their submission of their annual compliance report and can and a continuous Improvement visit staff will return next month with more on that we discussed the rule 10 accreditation process for schools the approval process for new interim program schools um new schools and adding grades to approved schools and the approval process for educator preparation programs sorry if that didn't come out clearly you can ask questions uh Andy e staff will return with more on that next

125month the committee received an update on the evaluation oh of the nde's content area standards development process to remember we had a committee that looked into that a report has been said to the staff the staff are going to come back to us looking at the recommendations and then making recommendations to our committee and then to the full board the committee also discussed updates related to rfps for the Statewide assessment which I already just reported on that we'll be hearing more about that later this summer early fall the committee received an update on the rule 11 teacher waiver request for Creek Valley schools and Red Cloud Community Schools nde staff member provided an update on the waiver process for schools seeking Educators in early childhood settings nde staff will return next month to seek approval

126for those two District waivers the committee discussed updates regarded related to lb154 from the previous legislative session which some of you may recall this I believe this was Senator Wayne's bill which relates to student discipline expulsions and suspensions we discussed we had a really great uh conversation about the intent of the law and the potential benefits of how this data is reported whether it should be a standalone report or whether it should be part of the accountability system and there's pros and cons to each and I look forward to hearing from everybody I hope that everyone has conversations uh uh and we we've definitely want to get more input from Senator Wayne and and from others that other stakeholders that this will impact the community discussed updates on the amendment process for our Essa uh

127let's see and there will be more on that next month and then there was a discussion it's not in my minutes but um about our responsibility when an approved school is no longer compliant and no longer An approved School what is our responsibility to we always I mean of course the school is notified but that doesn't mean the parents know that their students are not in an approved school and others that might be considering going there are not aware and so this is a question that needs to be discussed by us at some point but just wanted to plant that seed so that people have a chance to think about that and ask Dr Friesen more questions [Laughter] uh I refer all questions to Dr frizon I know I'm kidding yeah go ahead I just

128have a quick question Deborah when you say because I see that that's part of the rule 14 approving Nebraska approved non-public school systems but when you say our responsibility when a school is no longer approved are you talking about because there's two there's accredited and approved right and so are you talking about when they is it possible for them to fall out of one status but still remain in another status are you talking about are you saying if they're they go from approved not approved at all or accredited not accredited at all are you talking about both situations when you say approved or you're just talking about one because I feel like that's a little bit different uh I'm I'll ask first uh Dr freison to help me with that but what we were specifically

129talking about is non-accredited schools who are approved only when they are not fulfilling the requirements for Approved status then they are no longer um yeah like if they have teachers that are not you know in in compliance with the required qualifications for the teaching staff Etc uh you know wouldn't parents want to know that the school they're sending their kids to that that there's teachers there that are not compliant with the expectations or the regulations for the state for the approval process we're not talking about accredited schools there was no definitive conversation and so preliminary introductory discussion around violations and I think that's almost as far as we got in that conversation in terms of as um Mrs Neary said um if a child is in a classroom where there's a non-certificated teacher would a

130parent want to know that or not so it wasn't a void action in thinking about that in the terms of the discussion it was some concerns that the school may be aware of is apparent aware of that and what will we do in the future with that thought can I ask just one more question for context when we when you said what's the board or the Department's responsibility to the parent do we currently have things in place about what the schools responsibility is for notifying the parent because I think that puts the onus on two different entities and so just wondering did your committee discuss whether it was the Department's responsibility or is it ours to put something in place to require the schools to notify parents of certain things did you get that nuanced

131in your conversation or you just talking very high level this was very high level and there will be deeper Dives and that is a question we will ask of the staff so thank you I'm assuming that you were completed with your report yes okay is there any additional discussion related to the report I have one more question did you I think the school suspension um issue is very very important issue and I I know we've talked about chronic absenteeism as you know being its own issue was there any consideration of whether or not there should be a special or ad hoc committee that is formed to specifically look at that issue in depth or would do you see that continuing in the work of your committee because that's something I could see really warranting special

132attention idea that we'll bring to our committee next month uh for further discussion uh it was not discussed I wanted to say something but now I just lost my train of thought uh never mind but thank you for bringing up that point to answer um but so the committee discussed the rule 10 accreditation process which obviously is for our accredited schools however I was approached by a school board member in District Seven which is where I live and represent um notifying me that that the particular District had not been audited for their accreditation it had been 22 years and so I'm curious what the department policy is on audits of school districts before awarding accreditation this board member was concerned because um well for various reasons I won't go into that Dr Sharp would you

133speak to the process because we don't necessarily know the school and we could look up that information and then respond to that information at another time specifically to the school but in terms of what the process is in terms of the schedule good morning there are 244 school districts public school districts in the state of Nebraska along with non-public school systems that opt to be rule 10 accredited so the way we monitor rule 10 accredited schools is by the annual Assurance statement due November 1st each year and there's other various reports Personnel reports curriculum reports and things that we monitor throughout the year that are tied to regulations in rule 10. another part of that is what we call on-site compliance visits but I think a lot of schools call them audits we call them

134on-site compliance visits since I joined the Department four years ago as an accreditation specialist before becoming director this past year we were averaging about 30 visits per year and then during the active parts of the pandemic that of course those 30 didn't happen as a baseline we did we were able to do some over Zoom which was nice it's my understanding at this point that we have 70 school systems public and non-public that haven't been visited right around that 20-year Mark 70 left so we're we're getting there and we hope with that Baseline of 30 38 I think this year we've completed 38 so we're a little above our Baseline that we should have all school systems visited in the next couple years and that sets us on a path of doing audits compliance visits

135every 10 to 15 years some of the criteria that we use to do compliance visits are again looking at that database of how long it's been since a previous visit just did one this week in which the school hadn't been visited since 1989 so we're chipping away at that and yeah that's what I would say about that is that we're on path to do that so that it's oh the criteria I lost my train of thought the criteria is sometimes if a school hasn't been visited for a long time another criteria we consider is if the superintendent is new we'll reach out to that new superintendent especially if they're a first time superintendent and they they value that because sometimes superintendents May inherit problems or unmet regulations and we can help set the set the

136course for some improvements and making sure that they're in compliance um yep those are the criteria another criteria would be if there's patterns of non-compliance patterns of problematic not getting things in on time where we feel we need to go and sit down and spend that time with that school district so are there are there things within the various reports the Personnel curriculum reports that would trigger something because that with without going into the details of this particular District they this board member felt like there were some triggers that should have brought Indy's staff been brought to their attention sooner great thank you um yes so the fall Personnel report and I don't know how much granular detail you want but the full Personnel report is when schools code their staff administrative staff have codes

137of like 2410 superintendents 2320 instructional staff are 1160 which we know is the bulk of a of a Personnel list for a school system that cross-references with with our teaching certification database and throws errors we call them 487 errors in which somebody has been coded for a position that they don't hold the proper certificate or endorsement for so so we report we investigate those and work diligently with the school to get everybody properly licensed um curriculum reports those are known as where we get information on instructional units and if you've read rule 10 or 14 instructional units get translated into credits and we know that credits are are tied to graduation um requirements so if there's deficiencies in that that signals to us that they're not offering the the proper course instructional program per what

138rule 10 or rule 14 says needs to be offered thank you so much you're welcome what are some other triggers that would cause I mean student learning would that be one or I would say about is in rule 10 specifically for accredited Schools public and non-public there's section 9 which is continuous Improvement and you've heard us talk about the coherence project so in regards specifically to Student Learning we can use a quest designations and classifications where we know where schools are needs support good great excellent and that continuous improvement work in section nine should be really strongly focused on student outcomes so in some sense those regulations like mission and vision and and looking at data those are inputs how how a local board chooses to spend money or purchase curriculum those are all inputs

139and really the main output is student achievement so what we would hope to see in those continuous Improvement visits is really diligent efforts on improving that you're welcome any additional discussion I think what we will try to do is get thank you Mickey very much is there any additional uh I guess what I was going to say is we have a few action items related to planning and evaluation committee I'd like for us to try and get through those before we take a break so we'll proceed with that I'm not saying please don't discuss if you need to discuss but just recognize if there's long discussion we may have a very short lunch break all right is there a motion on item 6.3 point a yes I moved to approve the 2023-2026 community achievement plan

140of the learning community of Douglas and Sarpy counties is there a second I second by Sherry the motion it's moved and seconded to approve the 2023 through 2026 Community achievement plan of the learning community of Douglas and Sarpy counties is there any discussion with the recording secretary please call the roll Neary yes Jones yes Morrison yes freaky tegmar yes Penner yes goobles yes Co Johns yes eight yes the votes are eight years the affirmative has it and the motion to accept the community achievement plan is adopted is there a motion on item 6.3 point B yes I moved to approve the non-public schools appearing on the accompanying list operate for the 2023-2024 school year under rule 14 regulations and procedures for the legal operation of approved non-public schools is there a second to the motion

141second by Lisa it's moved and seconded to approve the non-public schools appearing on the accompanying list to operate for the 2023-2024 school year under rule 14. is there any discussion Jacqueline does your committee Debra or do does anyone know do we approve the non-public accredited schools list annually and they're not here right now so do we know when that's coming that's that's part of the rule 10 approval of schools because rule 10 applies to both public and non-public schools that are accredited and I believe that is up for if I remember the report next month any other discussion the motion is to approve the non-public schools appearing on the accompanying list to operate for the 2023-2024 school year under rule 14. with the recording secretary please call the roll Penner yes niri yes Morrison yes

142tegmeyer goobles yes Jones yes Co Johns yes fricky eight yes the votes are eight years the affirmative has it and the motion to approve the accompanying list of non-public schools is adopted is there any discussion on item 6.3 Point C or 6.3 Point D related to the approval and accreditation processes we've had some some discussion I think about that already in general is there any additional discussion all right seeing no discussion we will recess and return to start public comment at 1 15. the first person it's a wonder ful and that's the person who asked well why do we do it like that well why is it this way invention that's the person who comes up with them the solutions how about this idea yeah the discerner but if we do this why don't you

143think it this way okay okay guys this is a good idea enablement those are the people those are the workers who are always volunteers so that's the one it is 1 15. so we will now have our public comment [Laughter] ready this period may be available to any push person who wishes to address the state board on any subject within its Authority including items appearing on the agenda except for contested cases up to two hours will be allowed for public comment period a majority of members present voting may also take action to allow or terminate public comment at any time during the meeting please note the public comment should be on topics related to the work of the state board's constitutional and statutory Authority those wishing to speak must be signed in at the table

144outside the meeting room persons speaking to the board during public comment should State their name at the beginning of their allotted time anyone refusing to be identified will be prohibited from speaking each person may address the board for up to five minutes a majority of members present and voting may take action to reduce or extend the amount of individual time allotted to speakers we have 11 individuals who've signed up for public comment so the five-minute period will be in effect if any persons appearing before the board exceed the time limit 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 determine what is out of order the president May refuse permission to continue to address the board our

145vice president Kirk Penner will announce the names of the first 10 speakers who will please move to the front and sit in the designated chairs all right Catherine Schneider Alyssa Martin Lauren Koozie Cami Riley Liz Davids Kristen Fowler Linda vermouten Steve Davies Patrick Peterson Amanda Ripley all right number one Catherine Schneider good afternoon I am Catherine Schneider I'm from central Nebraska and I just want to thank you for this time of public chance to have some public comment and also today being my first state board meeting to just realize the tremendous job that you have the multitude of hours that goes into this and I am grateful for each and every one of you um I am the mother of three and the grandmother of 15 children and what it concerns me and it it

146has takes many forms but I guess I'll focus on one today is I'm concerned about the early sexualization of our children through such means as just say drag queen Story Hour and I think Mr Penner for his his comments on this earlier so this is just kind of my two cents worth young children really are neither hormonally or psychologically inclined to explore their sexuality you know they don't wonder if they're non-binary or they're not made right unless they are primed to think that way and I wonder why we're making them question themselves they're they're being normal that um we we cause them extra anxiety and uncertainty because we are presenting Concepts that they are not even emotionally able to grasp yet um there is an article here by Paula Reinhardt LC l or l-c-s-w a

147therapist in Raleigh North Carolina and a segment of that just said the most disturbing goal of drag queen culture is the the determination to deconstruct Childhood robbing Children of the Innocence that protects the maturing process drag culture invades this protected Space by pushing sexual content on children who develop mentally would be baking cupcakes or playing soccer they're just not geared to think this way one of the first drag performers to populate popular as popularize drag queen Story Hour was a college professor named Harris kornstein also known as Little Miss hot mess who read his books the hips on the drag queen go swish swish swish to Children's groups pornstein along with queer theorist Harper Keenan wrote the two-go treaties on drag paragogy in which they explained that the goal of drag culture is to stimulate

148a queer imagination in kids by bringing queer ways of knowing and being into the education of young children says drag is a use useful tool in reformulating a children's relationship with sex sexuality and eroticism I feel like this just places such a tremendous burden on kids when they they don't need to be thinking about these things that we need to be protecting our children instead of saddling them with something that is too heavy for their young minds to comprehend there's a quote by Corey ten Boom she was born in the early 1900s she went through World War II and she had a very wise father and she recounts an incident of when she was just a young girl and she was on the train with her father and she said and so seated next to

149my father in the train compartment I suddenly asked father what is sex sin he turned to look at me as he always did when answering a question but to my surprise he said nothing and as he stood up he lifted his traveling case and set it on the floor will you carry it off the train Corey he asked I stood up and tugged at it it was crammed with watches and spare parts that he'd purchased that morning it's too heavy I said yes he said and it would be a pretty poor father who would ask his little girl to carry such a load it's the same way Corey with knowledge some knowledge is too heavy for children when you are older and stronger you can bear it but for now you must trust me to

150carry it for you thank you for listening to me thank you Catherine Alyssa Martin hello I'm Elissa Martin I'm from Lexington and I have kind of a just a list of things I want to address today um one thing that I just came to mind with the previous speaker I think the concern for me was some of the stuff that's being kids are being exposed to in school is the power of suggestion for little kids is so powerful and there's a lot of things that if they're not suggested kids are not going to naturally be inclined towards things if it's not pushed on them and I feel like there's a lot of things that are being pushed on kids so I was just thinking I have one of my sons will turn eight the end

151of this month and he's been thinking about what he wants for his birthday and I already have his birthday gifts purchased and so we've sort of been suggesting things that he might want for his birthday that happen to be the things that he's already getting and he's going to be excited when he gets those because he has the idea that he wants those even though he didn't necessarily come up with the ideas of books and puzzles on his own when he gets those he'll be happy because the suggestion has been made and been planted in his head and I think you can take that and apply that to a lot of things negatively and positively with with Children what I really wanted to to talk to you today first of all I want to publicly

152thank my representative Elizabeth techmeyer for the efforts that she's made in really bringing transparency to the Board of Education position she's been doing a great job out in district 7 which is a huge District of letting her constituents know what's going on at the board and I had no idea before I got involved and you guys know I've been coming to these for a while so now I have a clue but before that I didn't even know there was a board of education so Elizabeth thank you for the efforts that you're doing with that and all of us out in Central and western Nebraska appreciate that what I wanted to talk about today really was the teacher shortage and um I used to be a teacher I was a high school English teacher and I

153loved teaching and I was one of those kids that knew I wanted to be a teacher from the time I was very very young and I'm I'm assuming that a lot of you probably felt that way who were Educators because I think when we have a heart for education and a heart for people you just you just know that that's what you're called to do um and I was thinking this morning when the teacher of the year was talking about the high school kids that she'd worked with and how excited they were about the prospect of being Educators I think we need to harness that and we need to be um making teaching appealing again and I think what appeals to people that have the heart of a teacher what appeals to people that have

154the heart of a teacher about teaching is that opportunity to impact people is the opportunity to impart knowledge is the opportunity to see those light bulb moments go off when kids make a connection and they get it what doesn't appeal to teachers is having to deal with all of the drama that goes along with educating and I know when we work with people there's going to be drama sometimes and there's going to be hard things because people are messy that's just the reality of all of us as humans is that we're messy we make things complicated but I think that if we can get back to having education be about the basics about teaching kids to read teaching kids to write well be excellent communicators teaching kids basic math skills so that they can go

155on and be successful in the workplace and what they're doing in their lives I think you're going to have some of the teacher shortage addressed by things like that because the people who are called to be teachers are called to that position because of their heart and the reason that a lot of them are leaving is because they're having to deal with all this other stuff that is just too much for their hearts and I can speak from that from experience I have lots of Educators in my family and lots of friends who are Educators because that's what I was and so I know that that is a predominant thought with many current Educators as well the other thing I was going to share is that a way to get high school kids involved I

156was talking with a teacher who had shared with me that in their school they have a program where their seniors can actually if they have a free period they can actually serve as a para in the school like in the elementary school during that free period time and it gets them exposed to being in the classroom gets them exposed to working with kids and for some of them it does create that little spark of like oh maybe this would be something that I would enjoy so I think ideas like that are definitely worth looking at of ways to engage young people and just give them an idea of what education could offer them as a career so thank you all for what you're doing thank you Alyssa Lauren koozie Cami Riley hi my name is

157Cami Riley I'm from Norfolk Nebraska and I'm going to read something to you today that you've probably heard before but God placed it on my heart that it needed to be heard today my prayer is that it speaks to each one of you today and if your eyes are not open to the spiritual warfare going on in the world that today God opens your eyes and that you don't fall victim to the lies of the evil in 1965 Paul Paul Harvey wrote If I Were the Devil If I Were the Devil if I were the Prince of Darkness I'd want to engulf the whole world in darkness and I'd have a third of its real estate and four-fifths of its population but I wouldn't be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the

158tree thee so I'd said about however necessary to take over the United States I'd subvert the churches first I'd begin with a campaign of Whispers with the wisdom of the serpent I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve do as you please to the young I would whisper that the Bible is a myth I would convince them that man created God instead the other way around I would confide that what's bad is good and what's good is square and the old I would teach to pray after me Our Father which art in Washington and then I'd get organized I'd educate authors and how to make lured literature exciting so that anything else would appear dull and uninteresting I'd threaten TV with dirtier movies and vice versa I'd pedal narcotics to whom I could

159I'd sell alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction I tranquilized the rest with pills if I were the devil I'd soon have families at war with themselves churches at war with themselves and Nations that were with themselves until each and its turn was consumed and with Promises of higher ratings I'd have mesmerizing media Fanning the Flames If I Were the Devil I would encourage schools to re refine young intellects but neglect to discipline emotions just let those run wild until before you knew it you'd have to have drug sniffing dogs and metal detectors at every Schoolhouse store within a decade I'd have prisons overflowing I'd have judges promoting pornography soon I could evict God from the courthouse then from the schoolhouse and then from the houses of Congress and in his own churches I would

160substitute psychology for religion and defy science I would lure priests and pastors into misusing boys and girls and church money If I Were the Devil I'd make the symbols of Easter and egg in the symbol of Christmas a bottle If I Were the Devil I'd take from those who have and give to those who want until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious and what do you bet I could get whole states to promote gambling as the way to get rich I would caution against extremes and hard work and patriotism and moral conduct I would convince the young that marriage is old-fashioned The Swinging is more fun that what you see on TV is the way to be and thus I could undress you in public I could lure you into bed with diseases

161for which there is no cure in other words if I were the devil I'd just keep doing right right on doing what he's doing the serpent Whispers do as you please does he whisper to you he whispersed to me daily he says things like don't get up yet you can sleep in a while longer you don't have anything important to do today sometimes he says go ahead and have that piece of chocolate cake could be a long time to get another chance it really is your favorite these are such small things we don't even realize it's not our own thoughts it's just daily life right making choices do this or don't do that or is it could be the devil Whispering do as you please I wonder even though we would never pray Our Father

162which art in Washington is that how we Act do we believe that the government and the laws of man are above God's laws do we believe we are great at our jobs do you believe that you were doing a great job as an overseer of the Nebraska public education system do you secretly think you are the only one that could do your job you are so important without you the State Board of Education would be in shambles are you proud of your accomplishments and do you let the public know how hard you've worked and how many long hours you've put in on this amazing and difficult job the world has trained us to be proud of who we are and what we do but did you know that pride is of the devil the pride

163is a sin I find myself quite often having to ask my father for forgiveness because I let the devil whisper in my ear good job Cami they're so lucky that you read this hearing to hear from you today you're going to change everything let everyone know how you showed up and did the right thing today I go home thinking I'm pretty special but then in the quiet time we're reflecting later I realize how disappointed God is in me I am a child of God thank you Liz Davids good afternoon it's been a while since I've been here so I have a potpourri of things to talk about according to the National assessment of educational progress between the years of 2015 and 2022 in the state of Nebraska fourth grade proficiency dropped eight points in Reading

164eighth graders are down 10 points in Reading proficiency fourth grade math is down two points and eighth grade math proficiency is down seven points why are we losing ground it's not the teacher's fault you know they're teaching their hearts out but you are the ones who set curriculum and you are the ones who decide the curriculum priorities it's been noticed that Career and Technical education is the newest latest and greatest thing to be brought about to the K-12 education system but if you're not proficient in math and reading that curriculum is doomed to fail as any any other would as well it's very concerning that our proficiency scores and teacher retention were not addressed in the education commissioner interviews I guess maybe Steve Joel didn't allow that to be mentioned I'm not sure how that's

165going to get better unless we talk about it uh I agree with Ms Jones that it's terrible to feel bullied and unsafe so many of our children and teachers have stories about violence that is allowed to continue in their classrooms they tell us that it doesn't do any good to report those assaults to administrators because those administrators won't back them up if teachers send violent and abusive students out of the classroom the administrators will send them right back I can give you names and I can give you situations this leads to escalating behaviors from those students who know that they can get away with those things and I'm afraid this will lead to Nebraska being in the national news for a horrible tragedy if we don't give the Disturbed children who need appropriate consequences for

166negative behavior the appropriate discipline that will teach them to conform to positive behavior expectations and I have a message from Nebraska parents to this board we the parents don't want our kids teachers working on the mental health of our children we want teachers focusing on the academic education of our children making us aware of any mental health concerns that they might have for our children and letting us take care of how those concerns are handled teachers acting as medical experts might be why there is a growing distrust for the medical community teachers are not trained in mental health expertise as long as educators are expected to fulfill the duties of a mental health provider they will be extra stressed and burdened and as long as Educators think that they can be also Mental Health Providers

167we're not going to trust them just like they don't trust anyone without their pedagogy to be teachers giving teachers the expectation and the access to treat our students their students and our children's mental health needs without the expertise or the approval from their parents adds to the conflicts between teachers and parents it's bad for Education it's bad for students safety it's bad for the reputations of our teachers and it's bad for Teacher retention in Nebraska Deborah Neary I'd like to comment on your many colored laptop cover that I've saw in the video this morning and just express some dismay at the irony that you may not have noticed from top left to top right your laptop proclaims the fact that America needs teachers I wholeheartedly agree with that one then your stickers go on to

168say something about being gay so you're promoting that belief system and then a woman who runs sticker which represents the Democrat Party so you've already alienated conservative people who might want to teach but delivering belief system and wouldn't feel supported by you or by extension this board and then the line of stickers the next line includes a pride flag message and another woman who run stickers so you're doubling up on the political and particular belief system statements then there's a protect trans youth sticker Which flies in the face of our young people who are detransitioning after traumatic horrific surgeries which have mingled and destroyed their bodies you have an Educators to end gun violence sticker which alienates prospective teachers who would like to be protected by armed security guards at our schools just like we

169have at Banks and government buildings and heck even at some of our stores and malls do you not see how you are alienating wide swaths of potential teachers by promoting your extremist views on your work laptop do you not see how unprofessional that is what would happen if all the board members were required to State their political and personal beliefs through stickers on their laptops how would you all feel about that I'm guessing not too great that is why in professional settings people are expected to put aside their personal and political passions and stick to the work and the work of this board is to educate children in academics I don't see any other stickers is it it is a shame that this board before the 2022 elections was so politically extreme and divisive that

170they didn't listen to 90 of nebraskan's comments when we rejected the proposed Health standards tainted by missionary's extremism I'm looking forward to the current board future endeavors as you can do so much good to provide a brighter future for our children all our children from all ethnicities all backgrounds all Lifestyles and all belief systems thank you thank you Kristen Fowler hi I'm Kristen Feller I'm from here in Lincoln um I just had a few comments about uh the teacher of the year Miss Jones the 2023 Nebraska teacher of the year began her presentation today mentioning her obstacles and she presumed that we would know what that meant all that I know is what I've seen on social media so I'm going to recap that last year Miss Jones commented on the drag queen Story Hour

171training session she had attended a conference for educators disgusting she praised these men dressed as gaudy caricatures of women and she said she would be implementing some of their principles in her High School classes when she was named teacher of the year and parents wanted to know what she who she was we scoured social media looking for what she praises and values uncovering this post praising men who dress like ridiculously culturally appropriated women and red and read books to Little Children was pretty shocking and upsetting so people expressed concern about this on social media and at the LPS school board meeting those are legitimate venues through which to express concern these are our kids they are the most important people in our lives that we care for we want to know who is teaching them

172and that they are safe and trustworthy Miss Jones only recently began claiming that she was being bullied so back to social media I went and what I found was this Kirk Penner said since it is drag queen day at the unicameral we are battling for our kids and this crap needs to stop seems like a generally enough statement not aimed at any one person in particular and certainly not aimed at Miss Jones but Miss Jones took it upon herself to respond to Mr penner's general statement with a very pointed insult and I quote I'd trust a drag queen over you with my kids every day and twice on Sunday laughter love kindness that's what I've seen when drag queens read to kids in libraries and what I hear from you is fear hate and cruelty

173so Mr Penner made a general statement communicating disagreement with drag queens men dressed as sexually provocative women interacting with children and Miss Jones made a personal attack on Mr Penner saying that Mr Penner is full of fear hate and cruelty and is less trustworthy than the men who dress up in women's clothing and perform sexually explicit acts in nightclubs literally nothing else has happened since that interaction and then miss John's claimed victim status she insulted Kirk Penner directly and she claimed victim status you heard today that she has claimed to have obstacles in her tenure as teacher of the year but I have never heard her give details of such terrible obstacles or provide proof of said obstacles like screenshots of emails social media Etc if she actually is being bullied the evidence would be

174easy to share and easy for you all to act on but since she hasn't shown any evidence either here or on social media I will take her word her word is that she loves the effect that drag she loves the effect that drag queens can have on children she personally attacked a state board of education member for saying otherwise that doesn't seem very tolerant or kind it certainly seems to be the bullying harassing and spreading lies about people who do not share the same opinion as you which is what she claimed Mr Penner has done to her and Mark in her March 26 Facebook post if there is more behind the scenes we certainly deserve to know it I don't know why she would keep it private and if there isn't then she deserves to

175be reprimanded by this board of for the completely unprofessional manner in which she has represented you as the selection organ as a selection organization and the rest of Nebraska teachers since she represents all of them as well but since she was the only certified teacher who has who was nominated for the teacher of the year award maybe this is what we should expect from her hopefully you'll have more quality teachers to choose from who represent a larger majority of Nebraskans values this year um Patsy cook Johns I'd like to ask you what obstacle obstacles do you know that Miss Jones has faced do you remark this morning that you are sorry she has had to face so many obstacles to what were you referring what obstacles has she had to face or are you referring

176to the social media bullying tactics that she employed against Mr Penner here are those the so-called obstacles you think she has had to face is if so that's a very telling statement that you believe that Miss Jones is the victim when she herself is the perpetrator of bullying hopefully space camp will help her forget the trauma of bullying and of the bullying during her teacher of the year tenure trauma that she caused at her own hands literally um I just also like to say uh she brought up a point about using um high school students to help with Elementary age students and have always thought that in our after school and before school programs that might be a good place to use them because we normally can't find enough adults to supervise these children and

177that just might be a good way of getting the high schoolers involved with the young ones thank you thank you Linda vermutan afternoon I'm happy to stand before you today I have some questions to ask world leader in science world leader in mathematics world leader to the space is that not who we identify ourselves as Americans and we are proud to be that but I have to say when I look at our education system today I have to shake my head in shame although I know that I live in the Omaha area and we have the most money in the state our schools are not doing very well 56 percent you're kidding me that's a failure in most places We are failing our children if we think this is education and yet at the same

178time when we are failing to provide the basics of what they need what they used to get in the eight room Schoolhouse I was talking to a friend of mine the other day who graduated from one state school in Omaha area he grew up here and his teacher told all eight grades in one room she was obviously a gifted talented teacher because when they went to high school two of her students were The toppest the highest scoring students one was the Victorian and one was the second student we have come such a long way we have all this technology we heard today of millions of dollars going to be invested in technology it doesn't equate to educating our children and yet as we've heard from many other people that have testified a lot of concern

179about what is being pushed on our students when we look at when you look up Nebraska and you look State policy information it states this State sex education policies and requirements at a glance Nebraska schools are not required to teach sex education Yes you heard that right that's what you find when you look it up so then why is it that we are pushing this on these innocent little children why is it that on a daily basis the most unsafe place for our children is to go to school with daily they are raped emotionally and intellectually and in an arena that they cannot hold the weight we heard that quote from Corey ten boom that knowledge is too heavy and yet people are pushing to a five-year-old a kindergartner that they should have sex education

180there's consequences to the sexualization of our children APA is stated that they are common mental health issues that result with people that are sexualized when you go and pull out a book that you can go into any school library in our state and find multiple books that are pornographic in nature I was at that hearing at the legislator and I heard book after book after book read to the legislators why because when we tell them how bad it is they don't believe us if I were to stand on the street corner and hand out those same books one of these nice officers would come up and say you under arrest for the distribution of pornography why is it that do we think it's fine in our education system to give this to our children what

181are some of those side effects self-esteem is damaged irreversibly damaged you will keep people like myself employed for a lifetime with what we are doing we have a tsunami of pornography addiction that's about to hit our nation that we have never seen the likes of which because we are promoting this kind of literature and I didn't see any literature value in any of those pieces and any of those books I've looked at they are flat out pornographic you can never erase from a child's mind those words those images that are conjured up by the pictures in the books and also those reading by authoritarian figure the teacher who we as parents teach them to look to and respect these children will act out on those the rape numbers are going to go up pedophilia is

182going to go up incest is going to go up suicidality and depression are already at an all-time tsunami high in our nation in our children when we push this on them what are some of those side effects depression eating disorders they don't know who they are and now we put them in a room where we force them to talk about genitalia publicly where they would never do that in any other setting shame on us we are accountable and every one of us thank you every one of you will be held accountable for your actions thank you thank you Linda Steve Davies good afternoon and thank you I'm Steve Davies from Stromsburg and I want to thank all of the people before me for their eloquent words that said many things I wish I could have

183um the main role of schools is rigorous academic excellence we have gone too much into the periphery given today's world we're going to need the greatest and most advanced stem capability that we can ever produce and a generation before me many people only got to the eighth grade and yet they became good businessmen even Engineers rocket scientists now we have high school graduates that can't count change back CRT Dei and SEL we don't fix racism by calling everybody a racist and especially by mandating racist Solutions we interact best individually as individuals when we coalesce into groups when we're forced to go into groups and get an identity that's when the negative feelings and the mob mentality start which we treat people as individuals for what they are and who they are and what they do

184equity our founding in our society is based on equal opportunity Equity is Socialist Communist it is equal end result in an education you see other state schools that don't grade there is a school in Virginia that didn't let two students know that they had National Merit Awards they missed out on scholarship in application opportunity because they didn't want the others to feel bad drag Story Hour should be the furthest away from any educational Institution I've heard that they're fully dressed but it still exudes a sexual energy it is inappropriate for elementary age people because their personality their psyche isn't capable of understanding that and we don't need teenagers feeling any more Sexual Energy parental involvement those are our kids there should be nothing kept secret from the parents about the education of their children thank

185you for your time thank you Patrick Peterson good afternoon patch Pearson esteemed members of the State Board of Education and advocates for the future of our children today I'd like to express my unwavering support for the vice chair Kirk Benner for Sherry Jones and for Elizabeth tegmeyer these three members of the board have shown exceptional courage and dedication in defending the right of our children to receive a quality education without being subjected to the controversial ideologies and inappropriate materials that are out there Additionally the allegations frankly the falsehoods of bullying against Mr Penner are not only baseless but also a distraction from the numerous real and underlying issues that plague our educational system I firmly believe that comprehensive sexual education and critical race Theory along with drag queen Story Hour have no place in our

186schools these divisive and harmful Concepts only serve to confuse and indoctrinate our young minds rather than empowering and educating them we must focus on providing a well-rounded education that Fosters critical thinking and a respect for diverse perspectives without promoting our ideologies that perpetuate Division and animosity another member of the board Deb Neary has been acting as a lobbyist for the teachers union the lgbtqa plus we're not sure what the plus stands for um and you can just look at our computer filled with advertisements wants to promote harmful ideologies and sexualization through the likes of drag queen Story Hour this behavior is a disservice to all the students and families that she is entrusted to represent by championing divisive and controversial agendas Miss Neary is compromising the Integrity of our education system and undermining the core

187values we strive to instill in children I'd like to call on Deb Neary to reevaluate her priorities and Cesar active promotion of these divisive ideologies if she cannot separate her personal advocacy from her role as a board member she must step down in the best interest of the children of this state and the future of Education here furthermore we cannot ignore the disturbing presence of explicit and pornographic materials in our school libraries it's just incredible that that even is a statement that people are making these materials expose our children to age inappropriate content and normalize harmful behaviors undermining the very Foundation of their moral and ethical development we call upon the State Board of Education to take immediate action in removing such materials from our schools and enforcing strict guidelines to ensure that our children

188are protected from harmful harmful influences lastly we're just State Board of Education to recognize the importance of addressing the real issues at hand rather than succumbing to baseless accusations that distract from improving education from all angles let's be honest education needs the Improvement if one were to observe the proceedings in the unicameral over the last few days it would be abundantly clear that the vast majority of our state has grown weary of the leftist ideology and indoctrination being forced upon children from LB 574 let them grow and lb 753 school choice the people of Nebraska have spoken and they are demanding a return to a balanced unbiased and values-based education system that prepares the youth for the real world without pushing this narrow-minded agenda this time the time has come for our educational institutions to

189refocus on the fundamentals getting back to the basics and stop using our children as Pawns in a political game our state's future depends on the ability of our Educators and leaders to rise above partisanship and prioritize the true needs of our students Deb Neary and the others who hold positions of influence in our education system must heed this call for Change and act accordingly I just have one more point I'd like to make it's concerning that the sex ed standards that Miss Neary still Sports want to teach consent to kindergartners why what are they consenting to time thank you Amanda Ripley and then we have one more gentleman Wes Jensen would be number 11. good afternoon it is concerning that you have decided to push through the selection and hiring of Dr Maher without consideration

190for the Public's right to weigh in on record the lack of transparency in public education has created so much mistrust between the public and public education in Nebraska we are the taxpayers we pay for all of this we trust you to operate openly and with fidelity this process has been anything but Dr Maher is coming here with the split board vote from last week that is unprecedented instead of pausing like Elizabeth techmeyer suggested you have continued to run this all behind the scenes and away from public scrutiny how do you expect parents and taxpayers to trust you do you even care there isn't a partisan this isn't a partisan complaint senators in the legislature are very divided on many issues these days but the one thing they all seem to come together on is that

191lack of transparency is a problem you have offered Dr Maher a three-year contract if he is willing he's willing to accept this job with a split board vote then shouldn't he have had enough confidence in his leadership abilities to prove himself in the first year and earn another year after that taxpayers don't care about what's usually done in government bureaucracies not anymore Nebraska is calling for Education reform and we are getting it increasing cost unclear accountability and proficiency the absolute neglect in addressing early literacy literacy failures to address the teacher shortage that has been expected for at least a decade and favoring social agendas over basic proficiency are just a few of the many reasons we are getting school choice where would we be today if you had made sure that our children were proficient

192in the basics before it was too late I would predict their legislature would be working on foreign government things like paying bills and building roads the freedom you give our public education bureaucratic leadership to pursue other private consulting jobs is absolutely inappropriate they make more than the governor and should have only one commitment and that is to the education of our children how can you guarantee that other Financial Pursuits won't conflict with the what needs to be done in Nebraska education thank you thank you Wes Jensen thank you board members I'm glad I'm the last one I'm glad I'm going to be one who says dead Neary needs more stickers on her laptop and so do you because at the end of the day a person's humanity is not political someone is is not their

193decision it's not your decision respect the individuality and the humanity of all people and I think the majority of this board for doing that and I thank this board sure we can disagree on who should be our commissioner but this board voted unanimously to accept our next contract for our next commissioner so thank you for that that shows that he is a great candidate for the state of Nebraska so thank you for that I also want to address board member Kenner to attack an individual teacher the Nebraska state teacher of the year that is why we have a teacher shortage we have a teacher shortage because of the politicalization by board member Kenner and by the members whose uh Nebraskans who spoke before me that's why we have a teacher shortage that's why we're not

194retaining teachers if you want more teachers treat them as professionals let them do their job that's what's frustrating is when teachers aren't treated as professionals and other individuals think that they are the teachers if they want to be teachers there's ways for them to do so you created the policies and let's talk about true education if we wanted true education why are rule 14 Schools allowed to have teachers that aren't endorsed in their subject matter let's talk about that 10 in elementary 20 in Middle School 38 percent in high school so if you're in a traditional catholic school you know there's not that many teachers in some of them especially in rural Nebraska that means a whole grade can be taught by teachers not endorsed in their subject area do we care about that no

195because we want the privatization of Education there are board members who want that public education is the only way to ensure accountability because we actually have to report on our test course yeah some of them are low but you know what there's a lot of them who are doing some dang good work let's celebrate that let's recognize it let's build on that let's take what they are doing and let's bring it to the other places but instead we want to close uh uh access to education we want to privatize it and we want to allow schools to do whatever they want teach whatever philosophy they want because that's allowed in private schools it's not allowed in public schools parents have access to the education in public schools they don't in private schools in fact they

196don't get to decide anything it's the private schools who get that choice you don't want a student in their schools they don't have to take them you want to check out the curriculum you don't get a choice in that they get the choice the only choice people are trying to they confuse it what they're trying to create is private school choice it's not about Family Choice it's not about student Choice it's about private school choice if we want private school choice that's all on you but the true choice is public education where there's accountability where there is treating individuals for their Humanity and I wasn't even planning to come here so this is rambling and I'm just speaking from the heart but I want you to know an individual's humanity is not political what was

197said before me that's political and so I thank Deb Neary for being a champion of all students I want to thank this board again for approving the contract for our next commissioner unanimously I hope everyone knows that unanimously and I hope that you will continue the work of making sure our education is strong and you know how it's strong they forgot a critical skill it's called critical thinking being able to think beyond what someone tells you that's public education thank you thank you that concludes our public comment period with that we will return to agenda items 6.4 rules and regulations committee we'll wait for just a moment for people to exit I think you madam president so I actually have two committee meetings to to give you a report on um so the rules and

198regulations committee we did meet um with an extra meeting on March 28th and the members present this was via Zoom were Elizabeth tegmeyer Patsy kojohns and Kirk Pinner committee members heard presentations from Indie East staff on rules 20 24 and 21 revisions Indies staff presented policy issues and proposed a solution for each one of these rules um and and what I kind of going off my script here uh what what I really appreciated is is the staff takes into account our board priorities and then proposes solutions for the board to consider and we discuss these proposed Solutions and we did affirm each solution as as a group we requested that this the nde staff moved forward in developing Red Line drafts of the rules and the summary is presented for the board today to review

199and so we'll be having a presentation on those summaries in just a little bit we also met yesterday April 13th committee members present were chair Elizabeth tegmeyer Vice chair Jacqueline Morrison Kirk Penner and Patsy kojants the committee reviewed the recommendations for rules 20 24 and 21 from the March meeting Indies staff are present today and will provide a summary of our proposed revisions for the board after my report Indies staff also prevented presented revisions to title 93 and that's the nde Personnel rules the majority of the changes made to title 93 mere those made to the bargaining agreement which was approved by the board at the February 2023 meeting committee members will review the proposed revisions prior to the commissioner approval to this hearing draft for title 93. committee members also received a presentation on

200the rule-making process and administrative procedures Act the committee is providing feedback on our internal rule making process nde staff will provide a rule revision calendar for the committee at the May meeting and this will give us a calendar of when to expect each rule to come up for Revision in the future can many members discuss the legislative priority timeline as it relates to the rules revision process and this concludes my report submitted by Elizabeth tegmeyer chair are there any questions for Tara tegmeyer related to the report right if not then I think we're ready for a discussion of the rural revisions so Madam president so so what we have decided to do is we have revisions on rules 20 21 and 24 and is Brad yes okay perfect so what we have done is we

201as a committee decided to ask Mr Dirksen to come up and present the revisions and he has information and a summary so I will let him do that foreign Brad Dirksen administrator of the office of accountability accreditation and program approval here at the Department of Education um I wanted to really draw a lot of your attention to the document that's in spark uh that uh denotes the policy issues and then also the affirmed solutions that the rules regulations committee has discussed over the past couple months very lengthy discussions I think what's really to uh to be brought out is that the department staff stakeholders have really heard the call to make actionable revisions that we can propose and have a real effect on students and also teachers for this fall so I think it draws

202the necessity that we want to make these revisions and we want to make them actionable here for the fall so the the timeline is very short at this point in time uh we were looking at the red line draft for a hearing this may and then action from the board in June which then would give us time to go through the AG's office the governor's office and take action on some of these pieces that would allow flexibility or revisions the rules they would allow teachers to be in the seats this fall uh that otherwise would not be able to be in the classroom so really allowing the educator shortage issues some of these issues to be addressed in an immediate fashion some of the proposed revisions will also have longer uh long-term effects with uh

203some other pieces um I would uh just invite you to look through those lists that is a long list between rules 20 21 and 24. feel free to ask any questions if you have any in regards to any specific pieces however all of these rules have been either discussed through directly NCT or the Nebraska Council on teacher education which is an advisory body to the board and or they have been discussed through subgroups formed from ncte members that we've had lengthy discussions over again a number of years and really try to address the board's priorities to reduce the teacher shortage and ensure quality teachers are in classrooms but removing the barriers that don't need to be there so we can open those those doors to make sure qualified highly trained teachers or in front of

204our students on a daily basis again starting this fall open the Florida questions or Lisa first of all I want to thank the committee and you Brad and your staffers that have worked on this um I know that the Praxis eliminating that is before the governor and that the president and a few people went to talk to him and explain why that needed to be eliminated rule 23 and looking through your Solutions a lot of fantastic Solutions but one of the concerns that I have and would like to be considered is the um content test I think that's really important that teachers know the content of which they are going to be teaching so one of the solutions is allow Educators who do not pass the content test if hired by a school district to

205teach for two years on a permit in their endorsed area to demonstrate content knowledge I'm okay with that will there be a mentor that will be alongside this probationary teacher so to speak so that they are guided in the right direction of the content along those two years or will it be up to just administrative uh reviews or has that been talked about at all there was lengthy conversation at the Nebraska Council for Teacher education around the content tests in the the council voted in support of that that change the support measures that you're speaking of are really at the district level the local level that ends up hiring that individual in what supports are needed to make sure that that individual is successful so whether it's content knowledge or they have struggles with pedagogy

206or classroom management every teacher that you hire is going to be a little bit different has different strengths and different weaknesses so the local officials I think are best positioned to provide those supports to those individual teachers on an individual case-by-case basis rather than a state mandate okay that makes sense thank you so much any other questions discussion I just I want to thank Lisa for reading through those um that was probably the one that Patsy and I were the least convinced was was a great um solution however as Mr Dirksen stated you know we we said okay you know the onus then becomes on the school district to ensure that the the person that they if they choose to hire they don't have to hire a person um if they choose to hire that

207person that they would then provide those supports and um and so then if you re if you refer up to policy issue two the solution out of state teachers would not have to take that content test if they've taught for two or more years and so we're I believe the committee correct me if I'm wrong we were trying to create some sort of consistency of an out-of-state teacher doesn't have to take a Content test than an in-state Patsy do you have more feedback on that I know it's been a couple weeks since our committee meeting where we really dug into this topic these two things oh yeah I think I'm just facing the wrong way I've got it on all the time apparently anyway um I think um these the two things that you're talking

208about seem more like emergency steps and I think if they don't work we'll know very quickly if they don't work and so um I I was just as you were tenuous about it and concerned for our kids but that just means that we're going to have to be all the stronger here if it's not working we're going to have to we're gonna have to step up and and make changes but right now we're in an emergency situation and so I think that's why I stepped back and said okay I'll look at it I'll let I'll try it I'll but I I want everyone to know that I plan on speaking loudly and clearly if this doesn't work if we start to see education even you know like if going down even more or whatever I

209think that it's our it's on our shoulders to not do that I'm president you saw I'm glad that you pointed out policy issue 2 solution um out-of-state teachers who have um wouldn't have to take the content test if they have two or more years of teaching experience in that content area um in working with nasby a lot of states don't have some of the standards or accountability Frameworks so to speak that we do in Nebraska so that's another cautionary tale as well and I'm not sure what the uh the absolute solution would be but I think we need to remember that not all states are on the same playing level as Nebraska so um I don't know that was another one that uh that teaching experience for some would be enough in not taking the

210content because they're superior but other states have different standards and accountabilities than Nebraska so a little cautious about that one as well Brad I I have a couple of questions um just for clarification what would the certificate be that's issued to the type of teacher that you're talking about yeah the if the lack of content tests and they're an in-state candidate they graduate from Nebraska educator preparation program it would either be a patchwork of conditional permits or potentially an alternative program permit we haven't fine-tuned the operationalization of of what the rule would look like at this point but we do have some Pathways and some options to choose from for an out-of-state candidate it's an additional certificate or a standard certificate depending upon the situation thank you for that because when the the term emergency

211came up from Patsy I just wanted to make sure that we're all clear about that it's not an emergency certificate that would be issued okay the second point is and I get I think there's a question in here but I I so appreciate the effort to have this be actionable to be able to get teachers in the classroom by fall however these changes still apply to the typical rules process with hearing attorney general review Governor approval there's so there's no guarantee I guess I just want to make sure it's clear there's no guarantee and we don't have total control over exactly when all of those approval approvals will occur so there's a desire to have it be in effect so that we can have people in place for fall but there's no guarantee Patsy I

212guess I wanted to find emergency okay when we have high school kids teaching a music class all year long that's an emergency so um we're gonna have to find some way to deal with it here and now until we move on to a better place so I I just want us to be really cognizant of the calls that we've had and the classrooms that don't have teachers right now for this year let alone for next year and uh when you want to think about teacher shortage the one thing that strikes me every time is that just how are we treating our teachers and that's making many teachers turn away from this occupation because I see a lot of disrespect and a lot of pressure and a lot more assignments to do more jobs I mean

213when you're teaching your own class in somebody else's class and spending your prep period not preparing for your classes but taking care of somebody else's classes I there's a lot of reasons that we don't have teachers and we're going to have to address them as well as these things yeah thank you for that and and I wasn't um I wasn't I didn't think you were doing anything like that that wasn't a rebuttal to what you said it was a explanation thank you for that and I I requested it because the certification is tied to all of this and there is an emergency certificate that exists but I just wanted us to make sure that we weren't you know because a term can create different interpretations from people so thank you for that will we have

214an emergency certificate wasn't that wasn't that one of the things that was going to go or did I imagine that there's no certificate or permit that's named specifically emergency certificate uh we do have uh conditional permits that often can be used as we're Gathering additional items for individuals there's multiple alternative permit Pathways there there's a lot of different Pathways that we utilize in different situations because every situation is very unique for our applicants because we used to have a variety of certifications and now it's going to be lumped together is it two or three under two or three headings um there's there's still a variety but we are trying to um reduce the number of certificate names but we're not eliminated any of the flexibility that's there yeah their subdivisions right thank you sir all

215right Brad would you prefer to continue um the the update was in regards to all three of the rules any other discussion thank you Brad the next agenda item is discussion of their proposed changes to title 93 the nde Personnel rules is there any discussion on those proposed changes yes Lisa as I read through that and the only contracts I've ever dealt with are anything related to this was as a teacher but it just seemed like standard procedure Common Sense things throughout that whole document so I'm I'm in support of it because it made sense to me all right we will move on to agenda item seven this is additional business is there a motion related to 5.2.8 I moved to appoint members to the Nebraska private post-secondary career schools advisory Council is there a

216second to that motion I suck at that motion it's been moved and seconded Deborah can I have that language of that motion oh okay thank you it's been moved and seconded to appoint members to the Nebraska private post-secondary career schools advisory Council is there any discussion I'm not the one that pulled this from the agenda but I think that um some of the questions uh that related to it or is it I it appears that this information hasn't been updated on our website since 2020 and so uh is there a current list of the members I'll just read all these questions and I don't know who can answer them uh uh has the council not met in several years how often are they supposed to meet why haven't they met who are the current Nebraska

217private post-secondary career schools what does the council do are there requirements for the makeup of the council is it typical for us to have two nde staff on a board I can take those one at a time but I just wanted to give you the general direction who can answer those questions I can't I can't answer the questions but Deborah um I'm going to say that I'm kind of fuzzy about this whole thing and the the questions you're asking are questions that I had too and who appointed this these people and how did it all happen and I have more questions okay like how many applicants is it typical to only have them as far west as Lincoln and how are these positions advertised so is there a staff who can help us grow th

218hi Brad Erickson administrator office of accountability accreditation and program approval and prior to my current position I was actually the second director for the private post-secondary career school section of the department in veterans education as well um lots of questions and if I don't address specific questions by all means please feel free to ask additional questions or remind me of what your question might be but the private post-secondary Career School Council information in regards to the meeting minutes and the agendas and the current membership is current on our website um there that is a current list there are some members that have expired last year there's a couple members that are still current on that list except for they have left their positions which no longer make them eligible to be council members so it

219is replacing the majority of that ppcs advisory Council the private post-secondary care school advisory council is in state statutes under the Nebraska's private post-secondary Career School act that establishes the advisory Council the last meeting was in 2016 so a little over six years ago and I don't think that is a sign of an emergency that they haven't met I think that's actually a good thing because the system is working the way it's designed we haven't had complaints from either schools or many individual students at private post-secondary career schools that have prompted us to revise regulations and bring to the board any significant changes to any regulations or processes so I think that that might actually be a little bit of a good signal we also had the pandemic in the middle of things the the

220schools operated the best that can within the regulations there weren't an outcry to change those regulations even based upon those experiences however I do think it is time with the new Council that's being appointed to bring those individuals together to maybe have lessons learned from the pandemic and from the last few years to see if there are appropriate revisions that need to be made private post-secondary career schools in general um just as kind of an informational piece are schools that offer an associate's degree at the maximum level uh or less so it could be Associates certificates some sort of career Based training not Public Schools so it takes out our community college systems from that that group um and we authorize many of those schools through the private post-secondary Career School act there's also we

221work in tandem with Department of Health and Human Services Department of Motor Vehicles as well with schools that they also have authority to oversee as well so it is a little bit of a complex system of how we authorize a school or we authorize their agents which their agents are really like recruiters at those individual schools but there's an entire process that we go through on an annual basis to either approve those schools or their their agents on a term period as well and also the uh the ACT allows us and the regulations allow us to approve schools that are out of state that come to recruit Nebraska students because it is a really Consumer Protection Law to protect our Nebraska students that are going through their Career Training through a private post-secondary career school

222I'm sure I missed a question or two but please feel free thank you uh my question is related to this being an advisory Council and I'm looking at this list as just people that were replacing other people I'm not sure about that but the names that I saw were from me mainly larger schools so are there other members representing the very rural places in Nebraska the The Advisory Council in in all the applications you have um would be the the entire Council the six members which the the size is dictated within State Statute uh what we did is we made calls out to or not made calls but send in emails and notifications to all the private post-secondary career schools in the state and made them aware that there was vacancies on the private post-secondary

223care school council and we were set within limitations of who we can appoint um based upon some some Frameworks within the statutes and based upon the applications that we received we then appointed people that fit into those different categories there were I believe eight applications total that made the met the deadline dates six members needed to be appointed um so we we didn't preference or or discriminate against whether it's rural or Urban that we just wanted to make sure that they've had it fit into the categories that were on that list thank you that makes sense fitting them into the category needed thank you okay I just had one more one more follow-up question so how how were the positions for this advisory Council advertised to this to the members of the state yeah the

224five of the members have to be um either administrators or owners or or people from private post-secondary career schools and then one member is from the Better Business Bureau which is outlined within state statute so we do contact directly the Better Business Bureau to get their application and then we notify everyone through email communication to all of this private post secondary career schools because we maintain their contact list notifying them of the vacancy and then providing them a deadline date of when they need to apply if they're interested in serving on the advisory Council thank you I have three questions um so the current list on the website says 2020 and you're saying several members have expired not that they've expired but their membership has expired since then uh so it isn't a current list

225so can we see it like how do we know who's not on it anymore and can we get a credit list um my second question is does this have to be approved this month my third question is who oversees the regulations that govern these schools the list is current in the sense that that is the list that was last approved by the the board there are many members I believe four members that terms expired in 2022 there's two members that expired in 2024. the two members that expired in 2024 no longer work in private post-secondary career schools so they are no longer eligible to be on that Council the other members have expired in 2022 thus us replacing and and reappointing six individuals to that board which is the entire Council I should say Council

226not board um the who oversees the the schools um in a sense there are State statutes that are outlining the private post-secondary Career School act so the department staff make sure that we enforce the state statutes and the rules that are promulgated by the board which is Rule 41 42 43 and 44 respectively okay so how did you select members we put email communication out to all this private post-secondary career schools to gather applications we collected those applications and then from those applications we fit them into the appropriate uh designation because we have to have one better business bureau there's certain categories within statute we have to fill those so we fill them based upon the categories that they they needed to be filled in certainly Patsy so everything we'd want to know about it

227that would fill in the blanks for us would be in rule 40 41 42 and 43. 41 42 43 and 44. thank you certainly thank you Brad we have a motion and second to approve members of the Nebraska private post-secondary career schools and advisory Council well the recording secretary please call the roll s yes Pinner yes coach ons yes Neri fricky mine won't come on either yes tagmire Morrison Jones yes seven yes one absent the votes are seven yes one absent the motion to approve the members appointment of the members to the Nebraska private post-secondary career schools advisory Council has passed the affirmative hazard is there a motion related to 5.7 B which is to approve the attached special Grant fund list for 2023-24 school district budgeting yes I moved to approve the special Grant

228fund list for 2023 2024 School District budgeting is there a second to the motion it's been moved and seconded to approve the attached special Grant fund list for 2020 324 School District budgeting is there any discussion so I get these are Grant funds that we're taking in and I guess I don't understand why we're approving it because aren't we approving these one at a time when we take the money in and because we're approving the expense so I don't understand why the list that's one question I'm not I don't recall that this was part of our finance committee discussion and so I'm one wondering why it wasn't so that's another if it wasn't and if I somehow like missed that then please let me know and how this is impacting like our funding like does

229this affect the tiosa formula in any way um I guess I just kind of want to understand this list a little better and why we need to approve it thank you price so this list is not the special Grant funds are not anything to do with nde funding the special Grant funds have to do in Nebraska we control school districts spending two ways we have the levy limit and we have the spending Authority limit these special Grant funds are grants or donations that school districts are requesting to exceed their budget Authority limit for essentially the state has said we're going to control how much taxpayer money you're going to spend in Nebraska but if a school district gets a grant from say Walmart or their local a local store or people wherever it is it

230could be federal government as well they get a grant fund comes in it's not Nebraska taxpayer money Nebraska doesn't want to keep that school from spending that Grant or being able to use that donation that comes in for their district and so the statute is written that says the state board can approve any of those additional grants donations those types of things that come in so that schools can spend over their spending Authority limit so what this is is this is a list that we put together every year that goes through and lists all the common grants that school districts get that are that many school districts get not just like one school here or there and so what happens is starting in May through about November you're going to get a list from school

231districts requesting approval form the State Board to exceed their budget Authority for grants donations that they got that were outside of that spending lid and they need your approval if we didn't create this big list of all the common ones every District would have to ask for every one of the grants that are on this and all of like all districts get a lot of the federal grants so our office would get overrun you would have a lot more to approve these are just the common ones and so we approved this list and any any Grant that's on that list in a district wants to exceed their spending Authority for that Grant then they're okay to do that there'll be others that come that are not on this list for the next six months starting

232next month what questions or discussion thank you Bryce it's been moved and seconded to approve the attached special Grant fund list for 2023-24 school district budgeting recording secretary please call the roll freaky yes Jones yes Co Johns yes Penner yes Morrison Neri yes tegmeyer yes goobles yes seven yes one absent the votes seven yes one absent the vote is in the affirmative so the um there is approval to approve the attached special Grant fund list for 2023-24 school district budgeting so we are now to agenda item I did contact you about additional business via email sorry um we just we were on additional business is there any additional business I have two items that I would like to discuss okay um first of all going back to my question when I was discussing at the

233wrong point in our meeting um can there be Majors taken in the future for continuity with our committee members I'm Jacqueline brought up some good questions about the budget that by not having people on the committee previously um we weren't aware of some of those things um I guess I'll respond first Patsy if that's okay that we do have in our bylaws we did we identify how committees are appointed certainly this summer there is the intention for the executive committee to have a two-day Retreat to review all of our bylaws as well as our policies so I guess I would just ask if there are some suggestions about things for us to look at particularly what you're mentioning you know please share that and we'll make a list of things that board members would like

234for us to consider well when this question was first asked I was like yeah I haven't been on this committee since seven years ago right so it's like a whole new committee to me that but we do have Bryce and they have a staff member on every committee that's usually been with them for a long long time and he has I mean six or seven years ago he was the person on the committee so he's got a lot of experience so we do we do have continuity in that sense and that's all I wanted to say I don't know if that's enough for you but I you know like I have a sense of trust about him and know he knows what he's doing and that sort of thing and so the rest of us

235I'll remember and you'll learn and have you ever been on the finance committee yeah so we'll we'll come we'll come together and work it all out I'm sure and you had a second I do have a second item yes and this is just um just me trying to protect the public interest by increasing transparency um I know that that not all of the members of the public are maybe always adapted accessing the agenda and then the the different items underneath the agenda to read through um but there there are different various attachments and this morning we just we did approve the contract for our new commissioner and I know that some of the public had read through that contract and they are aware that starting July 1st is his starting date and he will be

236being paid an annual salary of 300 000 but within our contracts of ten thousand to fifty thousand I don't know that that the public always accesses this and um Dr Maher will be also contracted from the date says April 7th through June 30th and these are consultant services for his transition to Commissioner of education and this is estimated to be less than thirty thousand dollars so I did feel like it was important in the public interest to understand that that that Dr Maher will be being paid starting April 7th an additional amount of money just to keep that for the public to know what's going on I did speak with president Google's about this because this was a concern of mine as well the amount for one thing and I was because I asked about

237the daily per diem which is based on his yearly salary there'll be 10 working days from what I understand so when I saw that figure I did take a Galt because it's about 10 months worth of a beginning teacher salary and so it's like oh my goodness that's a lot of money to pay someone for 10 days of work so that was a concern to mine I I believe he's going to be looking into some pertinent issues and in doing some pertinent things during that time but again I just was overwhelmed with the amount of money that we're paying for these 10 days so personally that concerned me so I did as Elizabeth I wanted to let our constituency realize that and just a point of clarification it is for up to 30 000. I

238mean speaking with Dr Maher he anticipates that it won't it won't be thirty thousand and in addition to his per diem because he needs to travel here to spend those transition days there are some of some expenses those expenses are being paid at the same in the same way that we are paid for expenses for our service on the board so that adds to that total amount thank you president Google's for the time to just have those discussions for the public thank you Lisa and paid for our services just means like mileage you know we don't get paid a salary this is all service volunteer work so or a point of clarification yes thank you for that point of clarification my husband tells me that I'm working a full-time job and then I say it's

239service yeah right so thank you for that any other questions comments related to that and I will say that just in speaking to Dr Maher he has already worked two days um he has provided an update to vice president Penner and to me about the work that he has already started initiating about conversations that he's having so I think in terms of transitioning he's taking that very seriously and really spending time to determine where he needs to be spending his time all right we are to hopefully you had an opportunity to look through because the the information the second point of information Elizabeth was referring to is found in those other information items that are provided to us as board members that's items 9.1 9.2 and we're finally then to the good of the order

240this section of the agenda is intended for board members to offer informal observations of the work of the state board members maybe announcement or brief future attendance at attendance of 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 Internet introduce new agenda items is there anything for the good of the order all right thank you to those of you who attended in person and who tuned in to the broadcast the next meeting of the State Board of Education is at board members excuse me board meetings are scheduled for May 4th and May 5th 2023 in Lincoln Nebraska the April 14 2023 state

241board meeting is adjourned