PARENT POWER!

Nebraska

U.S.
Rank

#50
Overall PPI Score:
55.9%
PPI Grade Key:
← Back to Nebraska state overview
A
B
C
D
F

Score:

50%

Grade:

F

Rank:

#48

There is no charter law in this state.

Fast Facts:
Charter Law Analysis:
Learn More:

School Choice Nebraska

Fast Facts:
Choice Laws & Analysis:
Learn More:

2019 ALEC Report Card on American Education

Score:

67%

Grade:

D

Rank:

#41

Does not have a system in place for performance pay; lacking in quality elementary teacher preparation programs.

TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT:                 66%
General Teacher Preparation 65%
Elementary Teacher Preparation 55%
Secondary Teacher Preparation 75%
Special Education Teacher Preparation 58%
Alternate Routes 75%  

STAFFING AND SUPPORT: 69%
Hiring 80%
Retaining Effective Teachers 57%

TEACHER EVALUATION: 63%

TEACHER COMPENSATION: 68%

Learn More:

National Council for Teacher Quality State Teacher Policy Database

Score:

50%

Grade:

F

Rank:

#48

There is no charter law in this state.

Fast Facts:
Charter Law Analysis:
Learn More:

School Choice Nebraska

Fast Facts:
Choice Laws & Analysis:
Learn More:

2019 ALEC Report Card on American Education

Score:

67%

Grade:

D

Rank:

#41

Does not have a system in place for performance pay; lacking in quality elementary teacher preparation programs.

TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT:                 66%
General Teacher Preparation 65%
Elementary Teacher Preparation 55%
Secondary Teacher Preparation 75%
Special Education Teacher Preparation 58%
Alternate Routes 75%  

STAFFING AND SUPPORT: 69%
Hiring 80%
Retaining Effective Teachers 57%

TEACHER EVALUATION: 63%

TEACHER COMPENSATION: 68%

Learn More:

National Council for Teacher Quality State Teacher Policy Database

Digital Learning:

Score:

75%

Grade:

C

Rank:

#28

Even before the pandemic, Nebraska encouraged districts to implement E-Learning Days as an instructional model that allows the continuity of learning during school closures. The DOE states on their website, “more importantly, it provides teachers and students the opportunity to engage with digital resources, to collaborate virtually, and to develop digital skills that are used and valued beyond K-12.”

Nebraska supports their educators in becoming skilled and qualified to use educational technology in their instruction. Nebraska’s Digital Learning Center is a robust repository of courses that teachers can take online for professional development. Additionally, the Nebraska Digital Learning Association is a professional development network for educators in K-12, higher education, and state and local governments to collaborate on the use of emerging technology and innovations. 

Nebraska’s Lincoln Public Schools district is a member of the Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools, giving over 40,000 students digital learning opportunities. The League of Innovative Schools is a network of school leaders in 114 districts in 34 states that aim to enhance and scale digital learning opportunities for students across the nation. 

Bandwidth: 100% of students in Nebraska can access the Internet at speeds of 100 kbps per student, and many students are connected at higher speeds.

Personalized Learning:

The state established a competitive innovative grant program called the Innovation Grant Fund. The funds give money to school districts to help foster personalized learning through digital ecosystem development, career academies, after-school innovative programs, and more. 

Learn More:

E-Learning Days

Nebraska’s Digital Learning Center

Nebraska Digital Learning Association

League of Innovative Schools

Innovation Grant Fund

Nebraska did not quickly respond to the COVID-19 crisis, but it did improve as time went on, with officials providing encouragement and resources to districts to continue instruction, and working to get rules and regulations out of the way to give them flexibility to do so. The state did not ensure all students had devices and wifi connectivity to continue virtual learning, but the Nebraska Public Service Commission issued an order allocating $1 million via the Nebraska Universal Service Fund to reimburse internet service providers for providing service to low-income families.

The state’s communication was very strong throughout the pandemic. Commissioner Blomstedt’s weekly updates were posted on the COVID education resource webpage, along with webinars to help teachers, families, and students get the most updated information about the state’s response to the pandemic. The state provided resources and information on the state education department website, and created a great new website called Launch Nebraska for schools to use as they work over the summer to plan for the 20-21 school year.

Commissioner Blomstedt made sure education leaders were not concerned with rules and regulations. When he announced his recommendation that schools remain closed, he said: “Education rules and regulations should be your last concern. You cannot make bad decisions right now if you are focused on the safety, well-being, and basic needs of your children and communities.”

Governor Ricketts supported schools’ reopening plans including in-person instruction. Districts submitted plans and did not receive any pushback from state leaders in terms of starting school on time in the fall.

Fast Facts

4th Grade Math Proficiency:

43%

8th Grade Math Proficiency:

31%

12th Grade Math Proficiency:

24% (nat'l average)

4th Grade Reading Proficiency:

34%

8th Grade Reading Proficiency:

29%

12th Grade Reading Proficiency:

37% (nat'l average)

Graduation Rate:

88%

Average SAT Score:

1222/1600

Average ACT Score:

19.4/36

Public School Enrollment:

327,564

Percent Enrolled in Charter Schools:

0%

Average Student Funding:

$12,939.00
Digital Learning:

Score:

75%

Grade:

C

Rank:

#28

Even before the pandemic, Nebraska encouraged districts to implement E-Learning Days as an instructional model that allows the continuity of learning during school closures. The DOE states on their website, “more importantly, it provides teachers and students the opportunity to engage with digital resources, to collaborate virtually, and to develop digital skills that are used and valued beyond K-12.”

Nebraska supports their educators in becoming skilled and qualified to use educational technology in their instruction. Nebraska’s Digital Learning Center is a robust repository of courses that teachers can take online for professional development. Additionally, the Nebraska Digital Learning Association is a professional development network for educators in K-12, higher education, and state and local governments to collaborate on the use of emerging technology and innovations. 

Nebraska’s Lincoln Public Schools district is a member of the Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools, giving over 40,000 students digital learning opportunities. The League of Innovative Schools is a network of school leaders in 114 districts in 34 states that aim to enhance and scale digital learning opportunities for students across the nation. 

Bandwidth: 100% of students in Nebraska can access the Internet at speeds of 100 kbps per student, and many students are connected at higher speeds.

Personalized Learning:

The state established a competitive innovative grant program called the Innovation Grant Fund. The funds give money to school districts to help foster personalized learning through digital ecosystem development, career academies, after-school innovative programs, and more. 

Learn More:

E-Learning Days

Nebraska’s Digital Learning Center

Nebraska Digital Learning Association

League of Innovative Schools

Innovation Grant Fund

Nebraska did not quickly respond to the COVID-19 crisis, but it did improve as time went on, with officials providing encouragement and resources to districts to continue instruction, and working to get rules and regulations out of the way to give them flexibility to do so. The state did not ensure all students had devices and wifi connectivity to continue virtual learning, but the Nebraska Public Service Commission issued an order allocating $1 million via the Nebraska Universal Service Fund to reimburse internet service providers for providing service to low-income families.

The state’s communication was very strong throughout the pandemic. Commissioner Blomstedt’s weekly updates were posted on the COVID education resource webpage, along with webinars to help teachers, families, and students get the most updated information about the state’s response to the pandemic. The state provided resources and information on the state education department website, and created a great new website called Launch Nebraska for schools to use as they work over the summer to plan for the 20-21 school year.

Commissioner Blomstedt made sure education leaders were not concerned with rules and regulations. When he announced his recommendation that schools remain closed, he said: “Education rules and regulations should be your last concern. You cannot make bad decisions right now if you are focused on the safety, well-being, and basic needs of your children and communities.”

Governor Ricketts supported schools’ reopening plans including in-person instruction. Districts submitted plans and did not receive any pushback from state leaders in terms of starting school on time in the fall.

4th Grade Math Proficiency:

43%

8th Grade Math Proficiency:

31%

12th Grade Math Proficiency:

24% (nat’l average)

4th Grade Reading Proficiency:

34%

8th Grade Reading Proficiency:

29%

12th Grade Reading Proficiency:

37% (nat’l average)

Graduation Rate:

88%

Average SAT Score:

1222/1600

Average ACT Score:

19.4/36

Public School Enrollment:

327,564

Percent Enrolled in Charter Schools:

0%

Average Student Funding:

$12,939.00
Your governor:

Jim Pillen (R)

First term began in 2023 (two-term limit)

Governor-Elect Jim Pillen is taking over for Governor Pete Ricketts who was term-limited.  Regrettably not much in educational opportunities has occurred in the state of Nebraska in quite some time and hope springs eternal that perhaps a new Governor can pick up the banner of parent power and make it the highest priority.  With a ranking of #50 in the Index there is only one way to go for the Cornhusker state and that is up.

State Legislature:

Nebraska’s legislature is unique in that it is unicameral — one body — consisting of 49 senators. It is officially non-partisan, but there are more Republicans by nearly a 2-to-1 margin. In 2019, a scholarship tax credit program for low-income students was close to being enacted, but ultimately failed. They also came close to passing a charter school bill in 2017, but that failed also. The state is one of only a handful of states without any meaning for options for parents. Nebraska  parent power is long overdue.

The state has a Blaine Amendment that has been frequently litigated. It was changed twice, and “now prohibits only appropriations ‘to’ rather than ‘in aid of’ sectarian schools.’ Applying the updated Blaine Amendment, the Nebraska Supreme Court has held that the state can supply textbooks to private school students at public expense and can contract with religious schools without violating the Nebraska Constitution,” (Institute for Justice) making it likely other choice programs would similarly stand.

Learn More:

Institute for Justice: Nebraska School Choice and State Constitution

School and district reports are easily found on Nebraska’s DOE homepage by clicking Data Policy Research, and Education Profile. Report cards are extremely easy to navigate, and have a great feature that rates the school on a scale of excellent to needs improvement. Data is comprehensive academic and non academic measures. Unfortunately educational options are not as easy to access, limiting transparency.

School board elections are held during the general election cycle, which gives parents more power in their decision making because of higher voter turnout.

Your governor:

Jim Pillen (R)

First term began in 2023 (two-term limit)

Governor-Elect Jim Pillen is taking over for Governor Pete Ricketts who was term-limited.  Regrettably not much in educational opportunities has occurred in the state of Nebraska in quite some time and hope springs eternal that perhaps a new Governor can pick up the banner of parent power and make it the highest priority.  With a ranking of #50 in the Index there is only one way to go for the Cornhusker state and that is up.

State Legislature:

Nebraska’s legislature is unique in that it is unicameral — one body — consisting of 49 senators. It is officially non-partisan, but there are more Republicans by nearly a 2-to-1 margin. In 2019, a scholarship tax credit program for low-income students was close to being enacted, but ultimately failed. They also came close to passing a charter school bill in 2017, but that failed also. The state is one of only a handful of states without any meaning for options for parents. Nebraska  parent power is long overdue.

The state has a Blaine Amendment that has been frequently litigated. It was changed twice, and “now prohibits only appropriations ‘to’ rather than ‘in aid of’ sectarian schools.’ Applying the updated Blaine Amendment, the Nebraska Supreme Court has held that the state can supply textbooks to private school students at public expense and can contract with religious schools without violating the Nebraska Constitution,” (Institute for Justice) making it likely other choice programs would similarly stand.

Learn More:

Institute for Justice: Nebraska School Choice and State Constitution

School and district reports are easily found on Nebraska’s DOE homepage by clicking Data Policy Research, and Education Profile. Report cards are extremely easy to navigate, and have a great feature that rates the school on a scale of excellent to needs improvement. Data is comprehensive academic and non academic measures. Unfortunately educational options are not as easy to access, limiting transparency.

School board elections are held during the general election cycle, which gives parents more power in their decision making because of higher voter turnout.

Select Your State

Charter Schools

Charter schools are public schools, open by choice, free from most rules and regulations that hamper traditional public schools and held accountable for results.

Since 1991, when charter schools were first established in Minnesota, the principle has remained the same — increased operational autonomy in exchange for increased accountability for outcomes. This freedom to innovate allows academically excellent charter schools to flourish.

As of 2020, there were more than 7,300 charter schools across the country with more than 3.3 million students, with demand higher everywhere they are located. Forty-six states, including Washington, D.C. have charter school laws. West Virginia enacted the most recent law in 2019. All charter laws are not created equal, however, and in fact, many are so flawed that they allow for only minimal opportunity for parents. PPI draws from CER’s newest Charter School Law Rankings and Scorecard, produced in the summer of 2020. For the US as a whole, the glass is more empty than full when it comes to meaningful charter choices.

Since 1996, CER has researched, analyzed, and ranked charter school laws, taking the content of each law into consideration as well as how it impacts charter schools on the ground. This Parent Power Index looks at four main areas of each state’s law:

If it allows for multiple authorizers, and if applicants have the ability to appeal a denial; whether it allows for growth, particularly with no caps on number of schools or enrollment; if schools and teachers have freedom to innovate; and if there is equitable funding of schools, including for facilities and transportation.

Charter schools are the most analyzed public school reform in decades. Since 1996, CER has studied their impact, their environment, and their practice and made recommendations for how to improve each law. The Parent Power Index charter score is based on whether the law allows for freedom and flexibility that can ensure parents, teachers and the general public are able to build vibrant, successful charter schools without undue interference from flawed state regulators, with equitable funding and parents in the driver’s seat. More about how this works can be found in CER publications, most notably Charting a New Course and The Future of School.

In addition, past rankings document how states have grown or confined charter schools and what best practices should be followed. Finally CER has provided a model charter school law for policymakers that is the standard bearer for advocates who believe that parents, not systems, should drive education.

Choice Programs

Educational choice is best defined as the availability of a multitude of public programs that provide parents with the ability to include private and religious entities – schools, tutoring, and other organizations – in their choices. Those programs are enacted at the state level, allowing in a wide variety of ways that the funds allocated for education in a state either follow the student to the institution the parent chooses or, as in the case of tax credits, public funds are redistributed to support the choices parents make, rather than automatically going to government based school districts.

These options are often referred to as scholarship programs, vouchers, tax credits, education accounts and more.

The existence of a higher degree of educational choice in a community or state, particularly for lower income students, has been found to be a significant factor in improving education and ensuring all students have access to the best school that meets their individual needs. Where once private options were only available to the more advantaged, most choice programs today ensure that those without resources have the power to shape their student’s education and invest in their future.

PPI 2020 assesses the extent to which every state gives families better and more abundant educational options through various mechanisms. Choice programs are analyzed and evaluated on their potential to reach all children across a state and for the degree to which they can actually support the full choice of parents, as opposed to only providing a modest amount of financial support. Programs where a significant population of parents can obtain scholarships or vouchers to send their children to the school of their choice score higher than those that have limitations based on geography, income, and student eligibility constraints.

To determine scores, PPI relies on well-established organizations which study, advance and support such programs. The scores were developed with this lens, and on information and ratings from EdChoice’s School Choice in America Dashboard, American Legislative Exchange Council’s Report Card on American Education: 23rd Edition, and American Federation for Children’s School Choice Interactive Map.

Teacher Quality

Teacher Quality is an equally important facet of ensuring greater educational opportunity. There is a direct correlation between quality teachers and student achievement, and teachers have the power to foster highly effective learning environments and leave a lasting impact on the future of their students. State teacher policies are critical in ensuring that students have the opportunity to receive the best education possible. Without schools full of well-prepared teachers who are held accountable either directly to the parent or to taxpayers for student achievement, opportunity can be meaningless. Most states vary widely in the criteria used to train, hire, retain, evaluate, reward and advance teachers, and local rules also influence that criteria greatly, as do teachers unions. PPI looked again to the expert analysis of the National Council of Teacher Quality, and from several aspects of their work PPI extrapolated final teacher quality scores. (NCTQ does not grade each state.)

Relying solely on the rich data collected from the National Council on Teacher Quality, states are measured by across a wide range of policy categories: Training and Recruitment, Staffing and Support, Evaluation, and Compensation. The score is by no means comprehensive about teacher quality across every community and state, but it is based on the extent to which states rigorously expect, manage and measure different aspects of teacher training, hiring, evaluation and compensation. States score higher when they have strong, data-driven, performance-based accountability systems that ensure teachers are rewarded, retained, and advanced based on their effectiveness. Likewise, states that establish rigorous teacher preparation programs and offer alternative licensing programs earn higher scores.

For more information about the Teacher Quality landscape, please see the National Council on Teacher Quality’s detailed analysis in their State Teacher Policy Database.

Innovation

States are measured on their increasing commitment to and practice of innovative approaches to education that include digital learning models and pathways, full or in part, encouraging personalized learning through focus on competency and mastery – even on a pilot level – or by allowing flexibility in schools and school districts that want to do it. Personalized learning models value mastery of material over traditional subject matter time tests, and competency over end of course grades. While these practices are best decided locally, closest to the student, states can motivate, incentivize, fund, discourage or encourage.

To determine scores, the PPI drew heavily from ExcelinEd’s 2019 State Progress Toward Next Generation Learning, Aurora Institute’s 2020 Future-Focused State Policy Actions to Transform K-12 Education, and KnowledgeWorks’ 2019 State Policy Framework for Personalized Learning.

COVID-19 Response

When COVID-19 reached our shores in early 2020, states were forced to close their schools for in-person instruction. Whether and how to continue teaching and set expectations for continued learning outside of the classroom was a big debate. Many states and schools quickly pivoted to delivering education remotely, either through technology enabled tools or with low-tech paper packets and phone calls, or a combination of both. The response from schools and school districts varied widely, with some being willing to adapt and some actually discouraging both teaching and learning. CER tracked those responses (and continues to do so, given the fluidity of the situation). States that were encouraging, set expectations, and demanded that schools figure out whatever they could to keep moving students forward, tended to have more schools and districts that responded well and worked to deliver education regardless of challenges. Many states that had digital or virtual learning programs in place were able to make a more seamless shift. Innovative leaders at local and state levels rose to the occasion. But many states and localities dragged their feet and, in some cases, outright discouraged schooling to keep going, including forbidding teachers in some areas to be required to do any face to face teaching via technology.

States were evaluated based on reviewing their official notices and declarations, and by reviewing a broad array of surveys and data many groups have been maintaining. This score also factors in states’ prior commitments to expanding broadband and internet access and how they worked to provide devices to keep students learning and engaged.

What was, and is, a challenging and unprecedented time for schools, teachers, and parents was also an opportunity to look at states’ and schools’ abilities to adapt, be flexible, and innovate.

For more on Education Innovation, check out the CER ACTION Series:

  • Virtual Events & Videos
  • Key Data
  • Resources
  • Publications

Leadership

Improving education opportunity and innovation requires leaders who boldly and courageously push forward to create or expand successful programs that allow a wide variety of educational choice and individualized programs to thrive. Governors and state legislators are the most important entities in each state to pave the way, or deter, expanded parent power. Some leaders pay lip service to issues, while others wake up with a fire in their belly to ensure that they are doing what they can every day to push through conventional wisdom and demand 21st century schooling opportunities for all students.

Whether or not your governor is the bold, fire-in-the-belly kind, or a passive applauder of others’ efforts, is evaluated to help you push or prod or applaud. PPI looks at their positions AND actions on charter schools, choice programs, innovation, and commitment to increasing educational opportunities for all students at every level and summarizes it for you here. You have the power to elect leaders who prioritize parents and students!

Constitutional Issues

The ability for states to enact educational change can be significantly limited depending on certain provisions in state constitutions.

The most common clause that limits educational opportunity in most states are “Blaine Amendments” – named after 19th century Congressman James Blaine nearly 150 years ago. Historically, these provisions in 37 state constitutions were either interpreted to restrict educational choice programs that include private schools or have been a deterrent for many programs being considered, let alone enacted.

This issue received a great deal of press leading up to and following the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 30, 2020 decision in the case of Espinoza vs Montana Department of Revenue, a case that dealt with Montana’s Blaine Amendment. That landmark decision found that the U.S. Constitution “forbids states from excluding religious schools as options for families participating in educational choice programs, including through Blaine Amendments.”

As a result, most states have a new path to enact programs that provide options for families, including religious schools. Their individual versions of Blaine Amendments can either be nullified with attorney generals’ opinions, with legislation or with both. Additional restrictions on expanded opportunity are often dedicated by what is called a Compelled Support Clause where dated constitutional language restricts public funding to government entities.

We look at each state’s particular constitutional issues, utilizing a number of sources, CER attorney analysis and the Institute for Justice’s research as our guide. Additional information about Espinoza and Blaine Amendments can be found here.

In addition, if states have other constitutional barriers to more opportunity, they are evaluated in this area.

Transparency

Transparency is a key element of providing great opportunities for students. Every parent needs and deserves full transparency of school-level data to allow them to make informed decisions and drive changes in how their students are educated. School report cards empower parents in their decision making by giving them access to meaningful and quality education data about a particular school or district. Report cards often provide information on student performance, student growth, attendance, graduation rates, demographics, teacher quality, school environment, assessments, and more. States that have greater transparency and accountability provide the public with data that is current, readily available, and easy to understand.

States are measured based on the transparency and accessibility of data for the average person looking to learn about their child’s school. States have more gas in the tank when school report cards are easily accessible from their state DOE homepage; report cards are comprehensive, user-friendly, and easy to understand; and information about educational options are readily available. Additionally, states score higher when they hold School Board Elections during the General Election cycle, as opposed to off-times of the year when turnout is low, because this tends to afford parents more power in their decision-making.