April 2014 State Board Report

On April 7th, the State Board convened with 2 new board members, Glen Flint of District 2 and John Witzel of District 4.

Brian Halstead provided an update on legislation, reminding the Board that they are the policymaking body for education, but it is the Legislature that is obligated to provide for education of Nebraska's students. Halstead informed the Board that LB 438 has been passed by the Legislature, but not yet signed by the Governor. LB 967, which became the comprehensive education clean-up bill, includes pieces from many other pieces of bills. Board President Rachel Wise added that the Legislative Committee will be focusing on 3 things moving forward:

1. Technical changes to existing legislation.

2. Appropriations and funding.

3. Themes for legislative recommendations in the future, such as early childhood readiness assessment, recommendations from other State Board committees, and mental health needs in schools.

The Standards Committee Chair Lillie Larsen introduced a presentation by Donylnn Rice and Tricia Parker-Siemers on the draft of the updated Language Arts standards, which the board is set to approve for public comment. So far, the standards review has included much input from teachers and representatives from higher education. The Board approved the draft for public input on Tuesday.

Valorie Foy provided the Board with an update on NeSA testing, which has been ongoing this spring.

At Tuesday's meeting, the Board also heard testimony from a few members of the public, including two who spoke on the desire for a policy addressing rules bathrooms and locker rooms related to gender identity.