The proposed bill amends various sections of the Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska to enhance educational opportunities for students with disabilities. Key provisions include the establishment of capacity standards that limit the denial of applications from students with disabilities to no more than sixteen percent based on capacity. School districts are required to inform parents of alternative options if their application is rejected due to capacity issues and must report on rejected applications related to students with individualized education programs. Additionally, the bill expands the uses of the Education Future Fund to support education and services for option students with individualized education programs, aiming to increase their acceptance and improve their educational experiences.

The bill also revises the reimbursement process for special education services provided to school districts, cooperatives, and educational service units. It stipulates that the department will reimburse each school district eighty percent of the total allowable excess costs for special education in the following fiscal year, with a structured payment schedule of at least seven payments per school year. Furthermore, it introduces provisions to subtract amounts received under the Extraordinary Increase in Special Education Expenditures Act from reimbursement calculations and transfer them to the Education Future Fund. The department is tasked with reporting on total allowable excess costs and reimbursements annually by November 15. The bill includes new insertions to clarify these processes while deleting previous references to subsection (7), which is now renumbered as (8).

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 79-238, 79-239, 79-246, 79-1021, 79-1142