Public School Districts Only

With school beginning this month, case managers at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services – Children and Family Services (DHHS) and St. Francis Ministries will be sending out the New School Year version of the DHHS Superintendent Letter.  Recipients, in the order listed in the letter, include:

• School District attending when made a State Ward (1st District listed)
• School District currently attending this school year (2nd District listed, if different); and
• Last School District attended (Last District listed, if different).

Every year, during the first two weeks of August, New School Year Superintendent Letters are sent to ensure school districts have up-to-date information about the status of all their students who are State wards.  However, if there has been a change in the school district attending, as well as other changes (e.g., change in out-of-home placement, case manager, parental contact, parental rights, etc.), a Change in Circumstances version of the DHHS Superintendent Letter may be sent instead of the New School Year Letter.  Please note, a Best Interest Determination statement is included only in the Change in Circumstances Letter, and only when a student may be changing school districts due to a change in foster care placement.

The DHHS Superintendent Letter collection is found at the Data Collections tab in the NDE Portal.  An activation code is required and can be obtained from the District Administrator.

Contact Information: NDE Helpdesk (ADVISERHelp@nebraskacloud.org)

In lieu of our traditional in-person Data Conference held annually in Kearney, we have transitioned this event into a series of shorter, informational webinars catering to the needs of Nebraska school districts/systems at thoughtfully determined points throughout the year.

Additionally, the new monthly webinar series will be taking the place of the ADVISER District Meetings which had occurred at 10am on the 2nd Wednesday of each month. Part of each webinar will be dedicated to ADVISER status updates, so any district users who attended the old meeting are encouraged to sign up for the webinars instead.

Next week will be our 2nd monthly webinar. Topics scheduled include:
9:30 am – 10:00 am   ADVISER Monthly Update & Feedback (Max Reiner)
10:00 am – 10:30 am   20-21 ADVISER Follow Up (Naomi Kohles)
10:30 am – 10:40 am   Break
10:40 am – 11:15 am   New Data Stewards / Closing Notes (Ginny Carter)

The event is free, but registration is required. To register and for more information please visit: https://data.events.education.ne.gov/ (These webinars are completely free to attend, however we do require you register for each date. As webinar dates pass, the ‘Upcoming Webinar’ box will be updated to reflect information and a registration link to the next scheduled webinar. Archive recordings of past webinars will be available under the accordion menus approximately 48 hours following the live broadcast.)

Contact Information: NDE Helpdesk (ADVISERHelp@nebraskacloud.org)

UPDATED:  Public Districts, Special Purpose Schools and ESUs

Using the District Contact Information form, located under the Data Collections tab in the NDE Portal, select Curriculum Contact to provide contact information for up to three curriculum contacts. (An activation code is required and can be obtained from the District Administrator.) Information that has been submitted previously should be checked for accuracy.  The curriculum contacts are the primary contact for information related to standards, instruction, and instructional materials (curriculum, interventions, etc.).

Curriculum Contacts are those individuals that have an understanding of curricula/instructional materials being used by the school district, coordinate curricula/instructional materials selection processes for the school district, and ultimately have responsibility for the implementation of curricula/instructional materials being used.

Contact Information: Cory Epler (402-405-1973 or cory.epler@nebraska.gov)

For Public and Special Purpose Schools Only

Using the Instructional Materials Data Collection, located under the Data Collections tab in the NDE Portal, select the instructional materials used by your district.  (An activation code is required and can be obtained from the District Administrator.) Information that has been submitted previously should be checked for accuracy.

This data collection should be completed by district staff that have knowledge of the instructional materials used for PK, K-12 English Language Arts, K-12 mathematics, and K-8 science.  Respondents will be asked to report instructional materials for the following grade bands: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12 (ELA and mathematics only) and the year in which the instructional materials were adopted. In addition, districts will be asked to indicate the primary assessment used to determine if a student has a reading deficiency (per the Nebraska Reading Improvement Act).

Contact Information: Cory Epler (402-405-1973 or cory.epler@nebraska.gov)

Contact Information: Sheyanne Meadows (sheyanne.meadows@nebraska.gov)

The purpose of this bulletin item is to provide guidance on how to request a conditional permit for teachers who have been hired to start in AUGUST 2021 and may not have all of their necessary documentation prior to the first day of school with students.

CONDITIONAL PERMITS – The certification staff have received applications for May and August graduates and realize that some colleges will not be issuing transcripts until the late August or early September. Occasionally, there are other documents that may not make it to certification until after the start of the first semester. For teachers who have been hired to start in August, we may be able to issue a conditional permit if requested from the school district.

A conditional permit can be issued when we have the following items:

1. An application and fee
2. A request for a conditional permit from the school district. NOTE: A request can be completed through a Google Form for those with fall teaching positions at https://forms.gle/dmDh62VPnkJqJv269.
3. Fingerprints (if needed) – A set of fingerprint cards would need to be logged in our office in order for a conditional to be issued but not cleared by the Nebraska State Patrol.
4. A document from the college stating that a program has been completed. Preferred: An Institutional Verification form from the college and a “close to final” or transcript showing the human relations and special education courses. Minimum: A letter in lieu of a transcript stating that the candidate has completed a program of study along with the required human relations and special education courses.

Deficiencies that can be placed on the permit include one or a combination of the following: a final transcript, an Institutional Verification form, Praxis I…Read More › – Fall 2021 Conditional Permit Requests

Contact Information: Clayton Waddle (clayton.waddle@nebraska.gov or 402-471-0738)

The Nebraska Department of Education has created a website to assist Nebraska’s schools with teacher recruitment. More content may be added to the website, so if school leaders have any ideas for additions that would be useful for teacher recruitment in Nebraska, please contact Dr. Kim Snyder at kim.snyder@nebraska.gov with your suggestions. Thank you.

Link to the recruitment website: https://www.education.ne.gov/teach/

Public School Districts and Nonpublic Systems

The submission deadline for student P-EBT data files to be uploaded to the portal is changing to the 1st of each month beginning May, 2021 through August 2021.

For more information on the P-EBT Collection, please see the item posted on the NDE Bulletin website at https://www.education.ne.gov/bulletin/ – P-EBT File Upload/Pandemic SNAP Benefits for Families.

Contact Information: Tech Assistance: NDE Helpdesk (ADVISERHelp@nebraskacloud.org) - For P-EBT Questions: nde.nsweb@nebraska.gov