Visiting Teacher Program

Teachers Must:

• Meet the qualifications for teaching in primary or secondary schools in their country of nationality or last legal residence.
• Be working as a teacher in the home country or country of legal residence at the time of application, or, if not working as a teacher, otherwise meet the eligibility qualifications and (a) have recently (within 12 months of application) completed an advanced degree and (b) have two years of full-time teaching experience within the past eight years;
• Have a degree-equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree in either education or the academic subject field in which they intend to teach.
• Have a minimum of two years (24 months) of teaching or related professional experience;
• Satisfy the standards of the U.S. state in which they will teach;
• Be of good reputation and character;
• Be seeking to enter the United States for the purpose of full-time teaching as a teacher of record at a primary (including pre-kindergarten) or secondary accredited educational institution in the United States (pre-kindergarten teachers must teach full-time, and at the pre-kindergarten level, may teach only language immersion at an accredited host school;
• Possess sufficient proficiency in the English language.

Hosts/Employers must:

• Involve exchange teachers in school and community cultural activities; and
• Monitor the performance of exchange teachers in the classroom and in carrying out official responsibilities.

Sponsoring Agency

A sponsoring agency who wishes to place suitably qualified foreign teacher candidates at public schools in Nebraska may request to enter a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the sponsoring agency and the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE).

The purpose of the MOU is to establish a framework between NDE and the sponsoring agency for the issuance of a “Letter of No Objection” to enable the sponsoring agency to comply with U.S. State Department requirements governing the issuance of J-1 visas to foreign teachers who wish to be sponsored by the sponsoring agency for placement at public schools in Nebraska.

The MOU will be in effect from the date signed by both parties for a period of two years, unless otherwise terminated per the terms stated in the MOU.

Procedure for Requesting a MOU

A qualified sponsoring agency who seeks to place one or more a J-1 visiting teachers in Nebraska should contact NDE’s Academic Officer, at sydney.kobza@nebraska.gov to indicate its interest. The MOU will be provided and once it has the sponsoring agency’s signature, may be returned to the Academic Officer who will then obtain the required signature for the NDE. Please allow two weeks for NDE signatures. Once both parties have signed the MOU, the sponsoring agency will be provided with a copy of the signed MOU and may then request the necessary Letter of No Objection.

The MOU will not be edited. It is the intention of the Nebraska Department of Education to commit to collaborating and planning together with open lines of communication in respect of the placement of suitably qualified foreign teacher candidates at public schools in Nebraska.