LINCOLN — A Nebraska lawmaker is hailing the advancement of an Education Committee legislative package that she says is solution-oriented and provides support from all sides.

The assortment of nine bills, with the possibility for a tenth, is tied with a bow under Legislative Bill 1284, introduced by State Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont. The bills relate to training teachers in reading instruction and computer science and technology; dyslexia research; special education; and more.

“We, as the Education Committee, just put together a package of bills that will really provide good solutions for kiddos, for families, for people who may be going into the teaching profession,” Walz told the Nebraska Examiner.

The State Board of Education is in favor of nearly every bill in the package and neutral on one (LB 985). Board President Elizabeth Tegtmeier said Friday she appreciates that lawmakers recognize the need to support and fund education.

“It’s great to partner with our lawmakers to improve education,” Tegtmeier said.

Here is a breakdown of the Walz package:

Computer science and technology

Walz’s LB 1284 would put $1.5 million into a Computer Science and Technology Education Fund for training and support. Public and private entities may also donate to the fund.

The Legislature could annually add $500,000 to the fund upon receipt of matching donations.

This year’s proposal builds off a 2022 law by State Sen. Terrell McKinney of Omaha that requires students to graduate with education in computer science and technology. Walz said her bill would address the needs of schools that lack teachers or need staff training. 

“This is a step in the right direction,” Walz said.

Reading instruction and dyslexia

LB 1254, introduced by State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, would set aside $10 million annually to create reading improvement mentorship programs and employ regional coaches. These would help provide sustained training to teachers in kindergarten through third grade to teach reading.

“If you can’t read, you’re not going to survive in today’s world,” Linehan said. 

She described a cycle in which young students who haven’t been taught reading get in trouble because they don’t want to be embarrassed, and some may avoid school. Linehan said the Nebraska Department of Education brought the bill to her.

A second bill on reading improvement is LB 1253, which would establish the Dyslexia Research Grant Program. 

It is a one-time $1 million investment that would support Nebraska companies researching artificial-intelligence-based writing assistance for individuals with dyslexia. Linehan prepared the legislation with a group of University of Nebraska-Lincoln students.

‘Special Educators of Tomorrow’

Two bills aim to bring more special education teachers to Nebraska after lawmakers sparred last fall with officials from Omaha Public Schools over such shortages.

LB 1238, the Special Educators of Tomorrow Act, from Walz, would provide scholarships and loans to individuals who work with disabilities as direct support professionals to become special education teachers.

Individuals would need at least two years of experience as a direct support professional. 

Scholarship recipients would also need to enroll or plan to enroll at an eligible institution to pursue a teaching career in special education. Loan recipients would agree to complete a special education program and a related major and commit to teach in Nebraska.

A recipient could receive an annual scholarship of up to $2,500 for up to two years and an annual loan up to $4,000 for up to three consecutive years.

Each year of full-time teaching after two years would shave $4,000 off such loans.

The bill includes an initial $1.5 million investment for a Special Educators of Tomorrow Fund and a $250,000 appropriation for each fiscal year after that, ending after the 2029-30 school year.

Special education forgivable loans

LB 964, from State Sen. George Dungan of Lincoln, would allow the Nebraska Department of Education to award up to 25 forgivable loans per eligible institution per academic year. This means the Nebraska State College System and the University of Nebraska system.

Each year, 20% of loans would be forgiven as the graduate, with a special education endorsement, teaches in Nebraska. 

The graduate must begin teaching at a Nebraska K-12 school within one year of graduation.

“It just seemed like something we could do to get more people into the field,” Dungan said.

The Dungan and Walz proposals require loan recipients to repay loans if they do not satisfy their related bill requirements.

Dungan’s bill would also extend eligibility for Nebraska Career Scholarships to include teaching in special education.

Mental health and recruitment grants

LB 986, from Linehan, would rework the Teach in Nebraska Today Act as a grant program, doubling its impact from $5 million to $10 million. Teachers would qualify if they are within their first five years of teaching and have an annual income of less than $55,000.

Also included in the package is LB 1014, from Walz, which would enable school districts to employ school psychologists who work for a service agency.

Two other bills are considered “cleanup” for recent legislation:

• LB 1005 (Walz) would establish a funding mechanism to provide grants and loans for student teachers during their student teaching semesters.
• LB 985 (Linehan) would require that teachers endorsed to become certified in special education, mathematics, science, technology or dual credit also agree to complete a school year of full-time employment in their endorsement area.

Period poverty proposal a ‘maybe’

A tenth bill, LB 1050 from State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln, would require schools to provide access to menstrual products, including pads and tampons, in school bathrooms. The committee voted 4-1, one vote short of advancing the bill in the package. State Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha has not taken a position on LB 1050 and could still add his vote.

The committee did successfully adopt an amendment to Conrad’s bill, narrowing its impact last week to a one-year pilot program capped at $250,000. As amended, school districts classified as “needs improvement” or those in which 40% of students are poverty stricken would have funding priority.

Local school boards could adopt policies related to the bill.

“I think it’s really thrilling that we have a good opportunity to move the bill forward in some fashion this year,” Conrad said last week. “I think that speaks volumes to the power of student organizing and young voices being involved in the process.”

The State Board of Education is in support of Conrad’s bill, as is Linehan, who said a woman she knows has shoplifted just once — for tampons, because “she couldn’t get them any other way.”

“Sometimes people just need a little push to do the right thing,” Linehan said of school districts.