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LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED SIXTH LEGISLATURE
FIRST SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 241
Introduced by Bolz, 29.
Read first time January 14, 2019
Committee: Education
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to education; to amend sections 79-761 and
2 79-1035, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2018; to state
3 findings; to change mentor teacher program guidelines; to authorize
4 the awarding of grants for teacher mentoring programs as prescribed;
5 to change the use of income from solar and wind agreements on school
6 lands; to harmonize provisions; and to repeal the original sections.
7 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. Section 79-761, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
2 2018, is amended to read:
3 79-761 (1) The Legislature finds that:
4 (a) Strong mentor teachers and teacher mentoring policies are vital
5 for beginning teachers;
6 (b) In states without strong teacher mentoring policies, feelings of
7 isolation experienced by beginning teachers may contribute to high
8 turnover rates;
9 (c) Beginning teachers may be overwhelmed by the demands of the
10 classroom without proper support and guidance from experienced, highly
11 qualified mentor teachers;
12 (d) Strong formal teacher mentoring policies not only help states
13 and school districts retain and develop teachers, they also help
14 students; and
15 (e) Students who had teachers that received three years of formal
16 teacher mentoring saw significant achievement gains.
17 (2) The State Board of Education shall develop guidelines for mentor
18 teacher mentoring programs in school districts local systems in order to
19 provide ongoing support for beginning teachers individuals entering the
20 teaching profession. The guidelines for school district teacher mentoring
21 programs under this section shall include the following:
22 (a) A requirement that a mentor teacher Mentor teachers shall not
23 participate in a the formal evaluation or remediation process involving a
24 beginning teacher he or she is mentoring, advise an evaluating
25 administrator regarding the performance of a beginning teacher he or she
26 is mentoring, or participate in termination, nonrenewal, or cancellation
27 proceedings of a beginning teacher he or she is mentoring, of beginning
28 teachers which shall be the responsibility of school administrators; .
29 (b) The development of effective teacher mentoring programs with
30 evidenced-based teacher mentoring standards that help frame the purpose
31 for teacher mentoring;
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1 (c) Training for mentor teachers regarding effective strategies and
2 support for beginning teachers;
3 (d) An allocation of dedicated time during the school day for
4 beginning teachers and their mentor teachers to meet on a monthly basis;
5 (e) The development of Local systems shall identify criteria for
6 selecting excellent, experienced, and qualified teachers to be
7 participants in a school district the local system mentor teacher
8 mentoring program; and
9 (f) The development of an assessment to determine whether the school
10 district teacher mentoring program has improved the retention of
11 beginning teachers which are consistent with the guidelines developed by
12 the State Board of Education.
13 (3) Beginning with the 2020-21 school year, a school district may
14 apply to the State Department of Education for a teacher mentoring
15 program grant for a period of up to three years to implement a teacher
16 mentoring program. Seventy-five percent of the teacher mentoring program
17 grant funds received by the school district shall be used to pay stipends
18 to mentor teachers. Teacher mentoring program grants pursuant to this
19 section shall be funded by the income from solar and wind agreements on
20 school lands.
21 (4) The State Board of Education may adopt and promulgate rules and
22 regulations to carry out this section.
23 Sec. 2. Section 79-1035, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
24 2018, is amended to read:
25 79-1035 (1)(a) The State Treasurer shall, each year on or before the
26 third Monday in January, make a complete exhibit of all money belonging
27 to the permanent school fund and the temporary school fund as returned to
28 him or her from the several counties, together with the amount derived
29 from other sources, and deliver such exhibit duly certified to the
30 Commissioner of Education.
31 (b) Beginning in 2016 and each year thereafter, the exhibit required
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1 in subdivision (1)(a) of this section shall include a separate
2 accounting, not to exceed an amount of ten million dollars, of the income
3 from solar and wind agreements on school lands. Prior to July 1, 2020,
4 the The amount of income from solar and wind agreements on school lands
5 shall be used to fund the grants described in section 79-308. Beginning
6 July 1, 2020, the amount of income from solar and wind agreements on
7 school lands shall be used to fund teacher mentoring program grants
8 pursuant to section 79-761. The Board of Educational Lands and Funds
9 shall provide the State Treasurer with the information necessary to make
10 the exhibit required by this subsection. Separate accounting shall not be
11 made for income from solar or wind agreements on school lands that
12 exceeds the sum of ten million dollars.
13 (2) On or before February 25 following receipt of the exhibit from
14 the State Treasurer pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, the
15 Commissioner of Education shall make the apportionment of the temporary
16 school fund to each school district as follows: From the whole amount,
17 less the amount of income from solar and wind agreements on school lands,
18 there shall be paid to those districts in which there are school or
19 saline lands, which lands are used for a public purpose, an amount in
20 lieu of tax money that would be raised if such lands were taxable, to be
21 fixed in the manner prescribed in section 79-1036; and the remainder
22 shall be apportioned to the districts according to the pro rata
23 enumeration of children who are five through eighteen years of age in
24 each district last returned from the school district. The calculation of
25 apportionment for each school fiscal year shall include any corrections
26 to the prior school fiscal year's apportionment.
27 (3) The Commissioner of Education shall certify the amount of the
28 apportionment of the temporary school fund as provided in subsection (2)
29 of this section to the Director of Administrative Services. The Director
30 of Administrative Services shall draw a warrant on the State Treasurer in
31 favor of the various districts for the respective amounts so certified by
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1 the Commissioner of Education.
2 (4) For purposes of this section, agreement means any lease,
3 easement, covenant, or other such contractual arrangement.
4 Sec. 3. Original sections 79-761 and 79-1035, Revised Statutes
5 Cumulative Supplement, 2018, are repealed.
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Statutes affected:
Introduced: 79-761, 79-1035