[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6076381,"mediaKeyId","2969833-f534dbb3a3ed18a49992a001f339fd8f","parentId",2969833,"title","State Board hears weak NAEP results, adopts Nebraska literacy plan; mental-health training funding stalls","audioSeconds",556,"startMs",2934000,"endMs",3490000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2969833-f534dbb3a3ed18a49992a001f339fd8f&start=2934&end=3490","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2969833-f534dbb3a3ed18a49992a001f339fd8f/thumbnail_2934000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6076381/Nebraska/State-Board-hears-weak-NAEP-results-adopts-Nebraska-literacy-plan-mental-health-training-funding-stalls","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6076381-77fa14112e1a67f0b9077df42332fe0c/orig.mp4?Expires=1770442666&Signature=FtS6QM23pCyx7VU6Au~RSix0pNd5KGQ8to7ljel7Rd2y6nKGSy63hZbm14hHVQ6vpt8JITL7r2PIztgiZ294VWn48icnMGN-t4Eo0O7hpunwQMczJdOcR5bT9DdgIj4NrFCioNT0buWYZEqt3sBb4bUjx6Jkj3lLAB3sx3pFOyZwggxmpmKM4fhR1b4jK5Vb5O9i0Aix79~pxgUE9Qyu-GJIM8KY7HClTyPqX3r4WYAtK~1qiJmyMP2XNNaHwdYDwuq6Gx-eqoHkgnWLhjhw2K4fjkWM9Xqw-BUgj7ozPIuxf69pWZHngaSBe58vy4c6JarKXYa0aGZBqojI6r5OSQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Nebraska Department of Education","date","2025-02-01T00:00:00Z","article","The Nebraska State Board of Education on Feb. 7 reviewed national benchmark results showing declines in fourth- and eighth-grade reading and debated several literacy and mental-health funding items before approving the Nebraska Literacy Project Plan.

Commissioner of Education Matt Maher told the board the NAEP results were “unacceptable” and said the data should be a “call to action” for policymakers and educators. Polly Bowley, Nebraska’s NAEP state coordinator, presented results showing Nebraska’s fourth-grade reading and math scale scores dipped from 2022 to 2024 and that Nebraska was slightly below the national average in reading for fourth and eighth grades.

Board approval of the Nebraska Literacy Project Plan followed public testimony urging the state to build structured-literacy and dyslexia supports modeled on long-running efforts in Mississippi. The board voted 7-1 to approve the literacy plan. Separately, a motion to authorize the commissioner to approve funding for school districts and educational service units to deliver a specified mental-health training program ended in a 4-4 tie and failed. The board also amended a previous motion to accept the comprehensive literacy state development grant funds (motion amended and carried) and approved a separate contract for computer science training (motion carried).

Bowley said NAEP is the only national benchmark that samples schools to produce state-level measures. She reported Nebraska’s 2024 average NAEP scale scores for fourth-grade math at 238 (nation 237) and described small declines in reading since 2022. Commissioner Maher said literacy had been a board priority before the NAEP release and that the results increase the urgency to implement the state plan.

Public commenters pressed the board to prioritize dyslexia identification and structured-literacy training. Teresa Franks, a reading interventionist and certified academic language therapist from Omaha, urged the board to look to Mississippi’s multi-year push to develop dyslexia-trained teachers and to make training accessible and incentivized. Joe Goddard, vice president of the Nebraska Dyslexia Association and a member of the state Family Literacy Advisory Committee, said dyslexia affects roughly one in five students and that Nebraska’s 2017 dyslexia law and subsequent requirements have not been consistently implemented in districts.

Board discussion ranged from technical questions about NAEP sampling to broader policy questions about teacher preparation, screening for dyslexia and the role of the state in enforcing existing statutory requirements. Several board members pressed for more information about which states have improved NAEP outcomes and what specific practices could be adapted for Nebraska.

Votes at a glance:
- Amend previously adopted motion to accept comprehensive literacy state development grant funds (motion to strike authorization language and accept grant funds as amended): adopted (roll call: 8 yes).
- Authorize commissioner to approve funding recommendations for districts/ESUs to support mental-health staff training (as presented): motion failed on tie vote 4 yes, 4 no.
- Authorize commissioner to contract for Computer Science and Technology Education Fund training and support expansion program: adopted (8 yes).
- Approve Nebraska Literacy Project Plan: adopted (7 yes, 1 no).

The board’s actions leave the literacy plan and grant acceptance in place and provide funding and contracting authority for other education programs, while the failed motion means the board will not use the statute-allocated funds for the particular mental-health training program as drafted. Commissioner Maher said earlier that the department had been meeting with legislators and that the department stands ready to support districts on literacy and other priorities.

Board members and staff said they will continue analyzing NAEP subgroups and examining exemplars from states that have posted gains. Polly Bowley offered to provide comparative state and subgroup results to board members on request.

The board scheduled continued committee work on implementation details for literacy and other items discussed during the meeting.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","February 2025 State Board of Education Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","The Nebraska State Board of Education on Feb. 7 reviewed national benchmark results showing declines in fourth- and eighth-grade reading and debated several literacy and mental-health funding items before approving the Nebraska Literacy Project Plan.","taxTitle","Board of Education, Elected Officials, Organizations, Executive, Nebraska","taxId",28189,"location","Nebraska","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6076371,"York High students showcase expanded CTE offerings and new agricultural campus at State Board meeting",871,741000,1612000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2969833-f534dbb3a3ed18a49992a001f339fd8f&start=741&end=1612","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2969833-f534dbb3a3ed18a49992a001f339fd8f/thumbnail_741000.jpg","/articles/6076371/Nebraska/York-High-students-showcase-expanded-CTE-offerings-and-new-agricultural-campus-at-State-Board-meeting","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6076371-d34b7bb6897cf0da40b038c9528aa725/orig.mp4?Expires=1770442666&Signature=BsS-DXvO0Z7lERB9vsnfDkuXXweIrJf9Qpj~PFNeFOkq3J1AiZeBGS1fKUxHJjBV7iFBcm20Y8ffx~6T3W0O5685S7HDNCvytNQu1vAip1Y6hhM6Qo-Qkf4VeIviJLrjBpTTGVPrLNdNsE5Z5uIQzZvvA49zYY16RX6YKZSb83StJ8rnb3kT74y4Gtnu2eteCG~Vp-6MM7mi0axvNqPKlI5t9vAn7HeF4TuxNJmOwB3uPGSgdynvt-~0TTbA4s~DZ1SJ8QsL-o6aO9CfVulrxwkcmwpFvcj2JSt9kG63e5EKqlkcbYhCrvYrtN2hsTKNXFz9IFBhhaODa2tyhc6aZw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Students and advisors from York High School presented an overview of their Career and Technical Education offerings and recent facility developments to the Nebraska State Board of Education on Feb. 7 as part of Career and Technical Education Recognition Month.

Reese Hirschfeld, president of York FFA, and other student officers described a program that enrolls middle- and high-school students in a wide range of agricultural classes and supervised agricultural experiences. Students said York’s program offers dual-credit courses through Southeast Community College and York College and that the welding program now includes 20 welding booths supporting processes such as GTAW, SMAW and GMAW. Students reported enrollment by course for the 2024–25 year (examples given in presentation): 170 in animal science, 96 in welding, 95 in introductory agriculture and hundreds more in related industrial-tech courses.

The students highlighted a greenhouse operation that produces thousands of plants annually and an animal science lab that hosts more than 100 species and has become a site for school tours and statewide visits. They also told the board that the York Public Schools Foundation purchased the three-building, four-acre Corteva Research Center, which the students said will become a dedicated agricultural education campus.

Board members praised the program. Board member Kirk Penner asked whether local employers, including a company named Kluge, helped drive the expansion of the welding program; presenters said the growth reflected countywide demand from local welding industries. Board members also commended the program’s inclusion of students with special needs and its community service projects.

No formal action was taken; the presentation served as recognition and an informational briefing during CTE month.","Members of York High School’s FFA described expanded agricultural and welding programs, greenhouse operations and an animal science lab, and noted the YPS Foundation purchased a Corteva research site to become a dedicated ag-education campus.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6076376,"NDE finance officer outlines $2 billion flow-through, operations make up about 7%",587,2223000,2810000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2969833-f534dbb3a3ed18a49992a001f339fd8f&start=2223&end=2810","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2969833-f534dbb3a3ed18a49992a001f339fd8f/thumbnail_2223000.jpg","/articles/6076376/Nebraska/NDE-finance-officer-outlines-2-billion-flow-through-operations-make-up-about-7","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6076376-d8b001cebabf4e1628eb014b04fbeec5/orig.mp4?Expires=1770442666&Signature=RmoURZfZK2fN6zjrZjF5FoNuMiD8iASfwCXnnWq0HpmcDVkxQe01ALQG45l38ybSSE8TgUm1X-7qMt8~HaOKVI~Z~xLFn4MIbbMjAx7FVgWKj4LVM5ZrH-L3xqhjWRHiag50kdCzqj3KT9xHKhU5SEgN4ATQvYW5p-zAAD1OgH3Lq9kIfsLfPc-1mDt0IGDVNvoU18gWkobazgFGNFMMFLEKk-7it7UdRQiJQUMC3GkpSQ~BPqo-qovR2-qPgavOX4acJMmTf4C7LCAda~FQd-FPxUkMd-PIoefHXYa9eQQVM5Ot2cqwi0PcGmPxgauqFOFgTEoTTb-KSHEjG4iK8g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At the Feb. 7 State Board of Education meeting, Bryce Wilson, finance officer for the Nebraska Department of Education, presented a high-level overview of the agency’s budget, telling board members that more than $2 billion flows through the department and that most of that — roughly 93% — is pass-through education aid to schools.

Wilson said the department’s operating budget makes up the remaining roughly 7% and pays for staff salaries, rent, contracts and other agency costs. He explained that, when the aid portion is removed, federal funds account for about 62% of the department’s operating budget, state general funds about 27%, and cash funds about 11 percent. Wilson also described the agency’s major operating categories: regular education, vocational rehabilitation (about $37 million), disability determination (about $16 million), and smaller programs for services for the blind and services for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Wilson walked board members through the State’s budget process, noting Nebraska is a biennial budgeting state and describing timelines for governor’s recommendations and Appropriations Committee testimony. He said the department cannot move money between legislative “buckets”; appropriation language governs how funds may be spent.

Board members asked clarifying questions about the proportion of federal funds that are flow-through to schools versus funds used for department administration, and Wilson explained that some federal grants include both pass-through aid and a smaller administrative allocation to support state management of the grant.

The presentation was informational; no formal action was taken on the budget presentation during the meeting.","Bryce Wilson, finance officer for the Nebraska Department of Education, told the State Board on Feb. 7 that more than $2 billion flows through the agency each year, with most funds passed through to districts and about 7% used for departmental operations; federal grants fund a majority of operations.","actionData","errors"]

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State Board hears weak NAEP results, adopts Nebraska literacy plan; mental-health training funding stalls

York High students showcase expanded CTE offerings and new agricultural campus at State Board meeting

NDE finance officer outlines $2 billion flow-through, operations make up about 7%