LB1131 LB1131
2020 2020
LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED SIXTH LEGISLATURE
SECOND SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 1131
Introduced by Groene, 42.
Read first time January 22, 2020
Committee: Education
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to education; to amend sections 38-316,
2 38-10,109, 38-1813, 38-2613, 38-2616, 38-3106, 71-8404, 76-2203.01,
3 77-2704.12, 77-27,119, 79-422, 79-433, 79-449, 79-8,133, 79-10,119,
4 79-1103, 79-1605, 79-2118, 85-505, 85-507, and 85-1609, Reissue
5 Revised Statutes of Nebraska, sections 1-116, 38-3901, 58-809,
6 79-611, 79-8,137.01, 79-1007.11, 79-1035, 79-1065.02, 79-1075,
7 79-1241.03, 79-1504, 79-2104.02, 79-2603, 79-2604, 79-2605, and
8 79-2606, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2018, and sections
9 77-1601.02, 79-807, 79-1003, and 79-1074, Revised Statutes
10 Supplement, 2019; to change tax levy notice provisions; to eliminate
11 obsolete provisions and terminology; to update terminology; to
12 redefine terms and eliminate obsolete provisions in the Tax Equity
13 and Educational Opportunities Support Act; to change provisions
14 relating to distribution of school funds from school lands as
15 prescribed; to remove a hearing requirement; to reflect boundary
16 changes and the timing of payments of core services and technology
17 infrastructure funds as prescribed; to change the membership of the
18 Education Commission of the States; to change diversity plan
19 requirements; to change reporting deadlines; to change requirements
20 under the Nebraska Reading Improvement Act as prescribed; to
21 eliminate a grant program; to harmonize provisions; to repeal the
22 original sections; and to outright repeal sections 79-308 and
23 79-309.01, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2018.
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1 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. Section 1-116, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
2 2018, is amended to read:
3 1-116 Prior to January 1, 1998, a person shall be eligible to take
4 the examination described in section 1-114 if he or she meets the
5 requirements of subdivision (1)(a) of section 1-114.
6 Any person making initial application on or after January 1, 1998,
7 to take the examination described in section 1-114 shall be eligible to
8 take the examination if he or she has completed at least one hundred
9 fifty semester hours or two hundred twenty-five quarter hours of
10 postsecondary academic credit and has earned a baccalaureate or higher
11 degree from a college or university accredited by an a regional
12 accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of
13 Education or a similar agency as determined to be acceptable by the
14 board. The person shall demonstrate that accounting, auditing, business,
15 and other subjects at the appropriate academic level as required by the
16 board are included within the required hours of postsecondary academic
17 credit. A person who expects to complete the postsecondary academic
18 credit and earn the degree as required by this section within sixty days
19 following when the examination is held shall be eligible to take such
20 examination, but such person shall not receive any credit for such
21 examination unless evidence satisfactory to the board showing that such
22 person has completed the postsecondary academic credit and earned the
23 degree as required by this section is received by the board within ninety
24 days following when the examination is held. The board shall not
25 prescribe the specific curricula of colleges or universities. If the
26 applicant is an individual, the application shall include the applicant's
27 social security number.
28 Sec. 2. Section 38-316, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
29 amended to read:
30 38-316 (1) To be licensed to practice as an alcohol and drug
31 counselor, an applicant shall meet the requirements for licensure as a
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1 provisional alcohol and drug counselor under section 38-314, shall
2 receive a passing score on an examination approved by the board, and
3 shall have six thousand hours of supervised clinical work experience
4 providing alcohol and drug counseling services to alcohol and other drug
5 clients for remuneration. The experience shall be polydrug counseling
6 experience.
7 (2) The experience shall include carrying a client caseload as the
8 primary alcohol and drug counselor performing the core functions of
9 assessment, treatment planning, counseling, case management, referral,
10 reports and record keeping, and consultation with other professionals for
11 those clients. The experience shall also include responsibility for
12 performance of the five remaining core functions although these core
13 functions need not be performed by the applicant with each client in
14 their caseload.
15 (3) Experience that shall not count towards licensure shall include,
16 but not be limited to:
17 (a) Providing services to individuals who do not have a diagnosis of
18 alcohol and drug abuse or dependence such as prevention, intervention,
19 and codependency services or other mental health disorder counseling
20 services, except that this shall not exclude counseling services provided
21 to a client's significant others when provided in the context of
22 treatment for the diagnosed alcohol or drug client; and
23 (b) Providing services when the experience does not include primary
24 case responsibility for alcohol or drug treatment or does not include
25 responsibility for the performance of all of the core functions.
26 (4) The maximum number of hours of experience that may be accrued
27 are forty hours per week or two thousand hours per year.
28 (5)(a) A postsecondary educational degree may be substituted for
29 part of the supervised clinical work experience. The degree shall be from
30 an a regionally accredited postsecondary educational institution or the
31 educational program shall be accredited by a nationally recognized
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1 accreditation agency.
2 (b) An associate's degree in addictions or chemical dependency may
3 be substituted for one thousand hours of supervised clinical work
4 experience.
5 (c) A bachelor's degree with a major in counseling, addictions,
6 social work, sociology, or psychology may be substituted for two thousand
7 hours of supervised clinical work experience.
8 (d) A master's degree or higher in counseling, addictions, social
9 work, sociology, or psychology may be substituted for four thousand hours
10 of supervised clinical work experience.
11 (e) A substitution shall not be made for more than one degree.
12 Sec. 3. Section 38-10,109, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
13 amended to read:
14 38-10,109 (1) The procedure for renewing a school license shall be
15 in accordance with section 38-143, except that in addition to all other
16 requirements, the school of cosmetology or school of esthetics shall
17 provide evidence of minimal property damage, bodily injury, and liability
18 insurance coverage and shall receive a satisfactory rating on an
19 accreditation inspection conducted by the department within the six
20 months immediately prior to the date of license renewal.
21 (2) Any school of cosmetology or school of esthetics which has
22 current accreditation from an a national accrediting organization
23 approved by the board shall be considered to satisfy the accreditation
24 requirements outlined in this section, except that successful completion
25 of an operation inspection shall be required. Each school of cosmetology
26 or school of esthetics, whether or not it is nationally accredited, shall
27 satisfy all curriculum and sanitation requirements outlined in the
28 Cosmetology, Electrology, Esthetics, Nail Technology, and Body Art
29 Practice Act to maintain its license.
30 (3) Any school not able to meet the requirements for license renewal
31 shall have its license placed on inactive status until all deficiencies
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1 have been corrected, and the school shall not operate in any manner
2 during the time its license is inactive. If the deficiencies are not
3 corrected within six months of the date of license renewal, the license
4 may be revoked unless the department approves an extension of the time
5 limit. The license of a school that has been revoked or expired for any
6 reason shall not be reinstated. An original application for licensure
7 shall be submitted and approved before such school may reopen.
8 Sec. 4. Section 38-1813, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
9 amended to read:
10 38-1813 A person shall be qualified to be a licensed medical
11 nutrition therapist if such person furnishes evidence that he or she:
12 (1) Has met the requirements for and is a registered dietitian by
13 the American Dietetic Association or an equivalent entity recognized by
14 the board;
15 (2)(a) Has satisfactorily passed an examination approved by the
16 board;
17 (b) Has received a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college
18 or university with a major course of study in human nutrition, food and
19 nutrition, dietetics, or an equivalent major course of study approved by
20 the board; and
21 (c) Has satisfactorily completed a program of supervised clinical
22 experience approved by the department. Such clinical experience shall
23 consist of not less than nine hundred hours of a planned continuous
24 experience in human nutrition, food and nutrition, or dietetics under the
25 supervision of an individual meeting the qualifications of this section;
26 or
27 (3)(a) Has satisfactorily passed an examination approved by the
28 board; and
29 (b)(i) Has received a master's or doctorate degree from an
30 accredited college or university in human nutrition, nutrition education,
31 food and nutrition, or public health nutrition or in an equivalent major
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1 course of study approved by the board; or
2 (ii) Has received a master's or doctorate degree from an accredited
3 college or university which includes a major course of study in clinical
4 nutrition. Such course of study shall consist of not less than a combined
5 two hundred hours of biochemistry and physiology and not less than
6 seventy-five hours in human nutrition.
7 For purposes of this section, accredited college or university means
8 an institution currently listed with the United States Secretary of
9 Education as accredited. Applicants who have obtained their education
10 outside of the United States and its territories shall have their
11 academic degrees validated as equivalent to a baccalaureate or master's
12 degree conferred by a United States regionally accredited college or
13 university.
14 The practice of medical nutrition therapy shall be performed under
15 the consultation of a physician licensed pursuant to section 38-2026 or
16 sections 38-2029 to 38-2033.
17 Sec. 5. Section 38-2613, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
18 amended to read:
19 38-2613 (1) An optometrist licensed in this state may use topical
20 ocular pharmaceutical agents for diagnostic purposes authorized under
21 subdivision (1)(b) of section 38-2605, if such person is certified by the
22 department, with the recommendation of the board, as qualified to use
23 topical ocular pharmaceutical agents for diagnostic purposes.
24 (2) Such certification shall require (a) satisfactory completion of
25 a pharmacology course at an institution accredited by an a regional or
26 professional accrediting organization which is recognized by the United
27 States Department of Education and approved by the board and passage of
28 an examination approved by the board or (b) evidence provided by the
29 optometrist of certification in another state for use of diagnostic
30 pharmaceutical agents which is deemed by the board as satisfactory
31 validation of such qualifications.
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1 Sec. 6. Section 38-2616, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
2 amended to read:
3 38-2616 No school of optometry shall be approved by the board as an
4 accredited school unless the school is accredited by an a regional or
5 professional accrediting organization which is recognized by the United
6 States Department of Education.
7 Sec. 7. Section 38-3106, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
8 amended to read:
9 38-3106 Institution of higher education means a university,
10 professional school, or other institution of higher learning that:
11 (1) In the United States, is regionally accredited by an a regional
12 or professional accrediting organization recognized by the United States
13 Department of Education;
14 (2) In Canada, holds a membership in the Association of Universities
15 and Colleges of Canada; or
16 (3) In other countries, is accredited by the respective official
17 organization having such authority.
18 Sec. 8. Section 38-3901, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
19 2018, is amended to read:
20 38-3901 The State of Nebraska adopts the Psychology
21 Interjurisdictional Compact substantially as follows:
22 ARTICLE I
23 PURPOSE
24 States license psychologists in order to protect the public through
25 verification of education, training, and experience and ensure
26 accountability for professional practice.
27 The Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact is intended to regulate
28 the day-to-day practice of telepsychology, the provision of psychological
29 services using telecommunication technologies, by psychologists across
30 state boundaries in the performance of their psychological practice as
31 assigned by an appropriate authority.
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1 The Compact is intended to regulate the temporary in-person, face-
2 to-face practice of psychology by psychologists across state boundaries
3 for thirty days within a calendar year in the performance of their
4 psychological practice as assigned by an appropriate authority.
5 The Compact is intended to authorize state psychology regulatory
6 authorities to afford legal recognition, in a manner consistent with the
7 terms of the Compact, to psychologists licensed in another state.
8 The Compact recognizes that states have a vested interest in
9 protecting the public’s health and safety through licensing and
10 regulation of psychologists and that such state regulation will best
11