NDE’s Five Investment Priorities After extensive feedback from stakeholders and reviewing preliminary data from the 2020-21 school year, the NDE developed the following five priority areas for statewide investments. Access to Comprehensive Mental Health Services Reimagined Family and Community Engagement High-Quality Professional Learning and Bolstering the Teacher Pipeline Focus on...

Free meals are available to all children age one to eighteen at specific sites across Nebraska. Meals are available to children through the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), a U.S. Department of Agriculture program. The attached 2025 Summer Food Program Sites list shows the sponsors, dates, and times that meals...

Office of Special Education - Our Purpose To lead the improvement of outcomes for preparing all children and students with disabilities and their families for learning, earning, and living through effective use of data, collaboration, communication, and a framework of differentiated support. Welcome to the 2026-27 School Year! 2026 OSE...

Statutory Authority and Applicability What is Nebraska FAFSA Graduation Requirement or Universal FAFSA? Nebraska law requires all public high school students to complete and submit a FAFSA (or actively opt-out) as a graduation requirement starting with the graduating class of 2025.  This type of requirement is also referred to as...

Free meals will be available to all children attending programs this summer at sites across Nebraska. Meals will be available through the Summer Food Service Program for Children, a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) program. The attached 2020 Summer Food Program Sites list shows the sponsors, dates, and times that...

The Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) serves as the pass-through entity and fiscal/cognizant agency for several grants. The Grants Compliance section is charged with performing periodic fiscal reviews for all entities within the State of Nebraska that receive grant awards passed through the NDE. The section’s goals are to ensure...

Free meals are available to all children age one to eighteen at specific sites across Nebraska. Meals are available to children through the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), a U.S. Department of Agriculture program. The following 2021 Summer Food Program Sites list shows the sponsors, dates, and times that meals...

Free meals are available to all children age one to eighteen at specific sites across Nebraska. Meals are available to children through the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), a U.S. Department of Agriculture program. The 2022 Summer Food Program Sites list shows the sponsors, dates, and times that meals will...

Meal pattern requirements outline the required food components and nutrient standards for School Nutrition Programs. Offer versus Serve is an element of meal pattern requirements that requires certain food items and/or components to be offered and served. The goal of Offer vs Serve is to reduce food waste and allow...

Strategic Plan Update The Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner Ryan Foor gave the board an update on the strategic plan. Dr. Foor filled board members in on how the NDE is moving forward with the plan and how they are creating internal operational plans to improve service. 21st Century Community Learning...

Conditional Approval to open a new Rule 14 school The application for Conditional Approval to open a new Rule 14 school is due to the NDE by May 1. To legally open and operate, the school must meet the approval requirements in Rule 14. After NDE receives the application, a...

OCR Compliance Manual Civil Rights Compliance Manual  Interviews Civil Rights Review Interview List - to be completed and ready for NDE Staff the day of the review Sample Interview Questions - Feel free to share these with your staff Administrator Interview Questions Counselor Interview Questions Educators Interview Questions ELL Coordinator...

Introduction to the Administrative Review The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA) amended the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act requiring a unified accountability system designed to ensure that participating school food authorities (SFAs) comply with National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) requirements. The...

The Nebraska State Board of Education has declined to issue a declaratory order that would mandate masks in schools as requested by the Nebraska State Education Association (NSEA). In November, the NSEA petitioned the State Board for an order that would require all students and staff to wear masks in...

The Private Postsecondary Career Schools (PPCS) The Private Postsecondary Career Schools (PPCS) Section at the Nebraska Department of Education serves as Nebraska's regulatory authority for private career schools, promoting educational quality, accountability, and consumer protection. Through the authorization of private postsecondary career schools and educational programs, oversight of student recruitment...