In my last newsletter I shared details about LB303, which increases state aid to public schools in order to drive down local property taxes. LB303 will have its bill hearing on Monday, February 10th, before the Education Committee. In addition to this bill, I have also introduced two other bills related to education.
Last session I introduced an interim study, LR419, that examined a number of issues impacting school breakfast and lunch programs in Nebraska. Last fall we held a hearing on LR419. The Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) conducted an analysis of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). The CEP allows schools with high levels of poverty to qualify all their students for the federal free breakfast and lunch program without having to collect applications from each household. The CEP is also one measure that we have available to determine poverty levels for school districts. The poverty allowance is a calculation within our current school funding formula, which is known as TEEOSA (Tax Equity and Educational Opportunity Scholarship Act). The CEP is used to help calculate the poverty allowance, which shows up on the needs sides of the TEEOSA formula. For reference, TEEOSA’s basic formula is: Needs – Resources = State Equalization Aid. NDE’s analysis determined that a multiplier for CEP used within TEEOSA was no longer needed as the CEP accurately accounted for the number of students in poverty within our school districts. As a result, I introduced LB142, which would eliminate the CEP multiplier as it is no longer needed.
Nebraska schools, both public and private, face a workforce shortage. Last fall NDE surveyed all public and private schools in Nebraska and found that more than 660 teaching positions in Nebraska were unfilled by qualified personnel. More than 200 of these positions were left vacant, while the balance were temporarily filled by hiring substitute teachers or combining classrooms. We know that the majority of student teachers end up working initially for the district they student teach at. As a result, I introduced LB572, which allows schools that pay student teachers to not have those expenditures count against their spending and taxing caps. These caps were put in place by the Legislature in recent years. The choice to pay student teachers would also be left to the discretion of the local school board under LB572. The amount of taxpayer money spent on student teachers would likely be very small, and the impact on the budget and/or the caps is likely minimal. I believe that this is a common sense approach we can utilize to assist in addressing our ongoing workforce issues in education.
Two other bills I introduced this session are related to one another. LB166 and LB334 both relate to protecting individuals working in public safety, the military, and the justice system. LB166 closes a loophole in our existing state law that allows members of law enforcement, the National Guard, or judges who apply to have their addresses withheld on the county assessor or register of deeds websites. The existing law did not include county treasurers. Presently, if a person clicks on the “Treasurer online” link for a parcel with no other identifying name listed, their name and address pop up. LB166 would fix this. Similarly, LB334 closes a loophole for judges who file to be retained on the election ballot. While their addresses are withheld on the county assessor’s website, their addresses pop up on the Secretary of State’s website when they file to be retained on the election ballots. We recently heard firsthand about the need for both of these bills at the recent public hearing on LB166. Testifiers shared details of attempts to locate and harm individuals serving in law enforcement, the justice system, and the military. The intent of both of these bills is to take preventative measures to help protect the safety of those who serve to protect us.
As always, if I can be of assistance to you in any way, please do not hesitate to contact my office. My staff members – Matt and Katie – are available to assist you with your needs, and they pass along messages, so if you’d like a callback, please let them know!
Email: jhughes@leg.ne.gov
Phone: 402-471-2756
Facebook: Senator Jana Hughes
