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District Support Plans

Welcome to the Rule 11 System of Support

The Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) Office of Early Childhood developed the Rule 11 System of Support to provide consistent, data-informed support for district PreK programs across the state. The system helps our Education Specialists tailor assistance to each district’s unique needs while promoting continuous improvement.

The Rule 11 System of Support is designed to:

  • Improve the supports provided to Rule 11 PreK programs.
  • Align supports with each district’s K–12 continuous improvement goals.
  • Identify areas where additional support may be beneficial.
  • Align early childhood supports with the school-age system of support.
  • Ensure equitable support and assistance for districts across Nebraska.

Districts are assigned to one of three support plans based on the District Support Plan Rubric. Each plan includes a different level of support from an Education Specialist, with services tailored to meet the district’s needs and support continuous improvement.

The sections below outline the supports included in each plan and a FAQ.

Standard Support Plan

Online Publications & Resources

NDE Sponsored Professional Development

Community Partnerships

Classroom Observations

10% of districts will be notified of classroom observations to occur in the spring:

  • 20% of classrooms (5 at most)
  • Districts have choice between ERS or CLASS

Focused Support Plan

Online Publications & Resources

NDE Sponsored Professional Development

Technical Assistance

  • At least 3 technical assistance visits from Education Specialist:
    • 1st visit in the fall to review Rule 11 compliance
    • 2nd visit to review observation feedback and develop an action plan
    • 3rd visit in the spring for review of action plan
  • Invitation to join Nebraska’s Early Childhood Community of Practice for an opportunity to engage with and gain knowledge from fellow early educators throughout the state around the use of data.

Community Partnerships

Classroom Observations

  • Fall observation — districts have choice between ERS or CLASS
  • 30% of classrooms (10 at most)

Advanced Support Plan

Online Publications & Resources

NDE Sponsored Professional Development

Technical Assistance

  • At least 1 quarterly technical assistance visit from Education Specialist:
    • 1st quarter visit: Review Rule 11 compliance
    • 2nd quarter visit: Fall observation feedback and develop an action plan
    • 3rd quarter visit: Supports/PD based on action plan updates
    • 4th quarter visit: Spring observation feedback/end of year action plan review
  • Targeted professional development recommendations
    • Utilize action plan to determine professional development needs
  • Invitation to join Nebraska’s Early Childhood Community of Practice for an opportunity to engage with and gain knowledge from fellow early educators throughout the state around the use of data.

Community Partnerships

Classroom Observations

  • Fall ERS observation: 30% of classrooms (10 at most)
  • Spring ERS observation (or CLASS observation if fall ERS overall score was ≥ 5

District Support Plan FAQ

  1. Will districts be able to view the rubric that will be used to assign support levels?
    The NDE has a detailed rubric used to determine the support levels. You can view the rubric below on this page.
  2. Is this a voluntary program and is there a cost? Will all preschool programs need to participate?
    The support plans are determined on an annual basis utilizing data that is already collected by the Office of Early Childhood (OEC) and therefore there is no cost to school districts. These support plans are designed for all school districts and ESU’s that operate a Rule 11 program.
  3. Will the support plan help to include more of our own district principals and Superintendents?
    The support plans are an opportunity for all those involved in the early childhood program to collaborate with the goal of continuous quality improvement. The involvement of administration at various levels will help make sure the plan is sustainable long-term.
  4. What will the time commitment be for districts? Will there be extra data to keep track of?
    The support plans are determined on an annual basis utilizing data that is already collected by the OEC and therefore there is no additional data to track. The time commitment will be individualized for each district. Districts may have an ITERS, ECERS-3 or CLASS observation along with check-ins with an education specialist. The amount of time dedicated to these supports will be determined by each district, depending on their need and capacity.
  5. Will each district have a coach or support person?
    Each district has an Early Childhood Education Specialist assigned to them, just as they have had in previous years. The map of assigned areas for the Education Specialists can be found at the bottom of this page. For more in-depth coaching, districts can participate in Nebraska’s Step Up to Quality.
  6. Step Up to Quality is not required currently, correct?
    Step Up to Quality remains a voluntary program, however, one of the benefits of participating is access to free coaching. For more information on Step Up to Quality, please visit: stepuptoquality.ne.gov
  7. How will the NDE determine which observation tool is used?
    The observation tool used for your district will depend on which support plan your district is participating in. For the Standard and Focused support plans, districts may choose ERS or CLASS. For the Advanced support plan, districts will receive an ERS observation.
  8. When will we be notified if we are having an ECERS or CLASS observation?
    Each district will be contacted by their Education Specialist in August to verify which level of support will be provided for their early childhood program for the 2026-2027 school year. Programs that will be observed in the fall will receive email notification in August, while programs that will be observed in the spring will receive email notification in January.For more information regarding observations, please refer to the Program Outcomes section of the Results Matter Nebraska website.
  9. Can districts self-assess using the rubric first?
    The rubric will be made available to districts and can be utilized in future school years as a guide for self-assessment.
  10. Will Rule 11 reporting change?
    No. The OEC intends to utilize the current reporting processes.
  11. Will it be public knowledge as to what level of support each district is receiving?
    The support plans determined for each district are intended to be a framework for individualized continuous quality improvement. It is not an evaluation or an assessment of the program. Therefore, there is no intention of the NDE making this information public knowledge. The NDE will share support plan levels with ESU staff to aid in collaboration and to provide additional layers of support to districts.

District Support Plan Rubric

Education Specialists use data submitted from the previous school year to assign points based on compliance with Rule 11 and other program indicators. The total number of points determines the level of support available to a district. Support plans are designed to align with each district’s needs and goals.

2026-27 Support Plan Levels

  • Standard Support Plan: 4 or fewer points
  • Focused Support Plan: 5-8 points
  • Advanced Support Plan: 9+ points, and programs in their first year of operation

Scoring Categories

Points are assigned based on the criteria in the categories below. Each category describes the conditions that contribute to a district’s total score.

NSSRS Data

Teacher certification:

  • 0 points — all teachers meet
  • 1 point — 50% or less certificated teachers lacking proper endorsement
  • 2 points — 51% or more of certificated teachers lacking proper endorsement

Teacher waiver:

  • 3 points — for each teacher who has a waiver

NAESP PreK-3 Leadership Academy:

  • -1 point — EC Coordinator and/or Administrator completion within the past 5 years

ℹ️ Data from NSSRS and information submitted to the State Board of Education for teacher waivers. Offsetting points for administrative participation in Nebraska’s NAESP PreK-3 Leadership Academy.

ADVISER

Outstanding ADVISER errors

  • 2 points — district has an early childhood ADVISER error

Preschool educational environment (indicator B6)

  • 0 points — meets targets for each age group
  • 1 point — per age group target not met

ℹ️ Data from ADVISER.

Rule 11

Compliance:

  • 0 points — meets all regulations
  • 1 point — per noncompliance infraction listed in the letter

ℹ️ Data from the Prekindergarten Report in the NDE portal.

Deadlines

  • 0 points — met all deadlines
  • 1 point — 1-2 missed deadlines
  • 2 points — 3+ missed deadlines

ℹ️ Deadlines include: ADVISER, PreK Report, Grants Management System, Initial Application, End of Year Report/Reimbursement Submission, CDC.

Observations

Timeframe of last observation within the district:

  • 0 points — 4 years or less since last observation
  • 2 points — 5-6 years since last observation
  • 5 points — 7 or more years since last observation

Percentage of classrooms observed:

  • -1 point — 100% of classrooms observed within last 4 years
  • 0 points — 50% or more classrooms observed within last 6 years
  • 1 point — 30-50% of classrooms within last 6 years
  • 2 points — less than 30% of classrooms within last 6 years

Average of last school year observation scores:

  • -1 point — program score above 5.0 (average of all observations)
  • 0 points — district was not observed or did not meet the score of 5.0

ERS learning activities or CLASS instructional subscales:

  • -1 point — subscale above 5.0 (average of all observations)
  • 0 points — district was not observed or did not meet the score of 5.0

Teacher showed improvement in average observation scores from fall to spring:

  • -1 point — per teacher

ℹ️ Results Matter observation data from the last six years excluding Sixpence observation data.

GOLD Assessment Status Report

Fall status report:

  • 3 points — less than 80% finalized

Spring status report:

  • 3 points — less than 80% finalized

ℹ️ Report showing checkpoint completion rates for fall and spring checkpoint excluding Part C.

Step Up to Quality

Rated at a Step 4 or 5:

  • -1 point

ℹ️ Offsetting points for participation.

Have questions?

Find and connect with your Early Childhood Education Specialist.

Updated July 31, 2026 10:09am