LB87 LB87
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LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH LEGISLATURE
FIRST SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 87
Introduced by Morfeld, 46.
Read first time January 07, 2021
Committee: Education
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to education; to amend sections 9-812 and
2 79-1054, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2020; to provide
3 for mental health first aid training; to change provisions relating
4 to the use of lottery funds; to change provisions relating to
5 innovation grants as prescribed; to harmonize provisions; and to
6 repeal the original sections.
7 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. (1) The State Department of Education shall establish a
2 mental health first aid training program for teachers and other personnel
3 employed by a school district or an educational service unit
4 participating in a grant under subdivision (1)(a) of section 79-1054.
5 (2) The mental health first aid training is to be delivered by
6 trainers who are properly certified by a national organization for
7 behavioral health to provide training meeting the requirements of this
8 section. The program shall also provide an opportunity for teachers and
9 other designated personnel to complete the training necessary to become
10 certified by a national organization for behavioral health to provide
11 mental health first aid training to other teachers and designated
12 personnel.
13 (3) Mental health first aid training shall include training on:
14 (a) The skills, resources, and knowledge necessary to assist
15 students in crisis to connect with appropriate local mental health care
16 services;
17 (b) Mental health resources, including the location of local
18 community mental health centers; and
19 (c) Action plans and protocols for referral to such resources.
20 (4) A recipient of mental health first aid training shall also
21 receive instruction in preparation to:
22 (a) Safely de-escalate crisis situations;
23 (b) Recognize the signs and symptoms of mental illness, including
24 such psychiatric conditions as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major
25 clinical depression, and anxiety disorders; and
26 (c) Timely refer a student to mental health services in the early
27 stages of the development of a mental disorder to avoid subsequent
28 behavioral health care and to enhance the effectiveness of mental health
29 services.
30 Sec. 2. Section 9-812, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2020,
31 is amended to read:
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1 9-812 (1) All money received from the operation of lottery games
2 conducted pursuant to the State Lottery Act in Nebraska shall be credited
3 to the State Lottery Operation Trust Fund, which fund is hereby created.
4 All payments of the costs of establishing and maintaining the lottery
5 games shall be made from the State Lottery Operation Cash Fund. In
6 accordance with legislative appropriations, money for payments for
7 expenses of the division shall be transferred from the State Lottery
8 Operation Trust Fund to the State Lottery Operation Cash Fund, which fund
9 is hereby created. All money necessary for the payment of lottery prizes
10 shall be transferred from the State Lottery Operation Trust Fund to the
11 State Lottery Prize Trust Fund, which fund is hereby created. The amount
12 used for the payment of lottery prizes shall not be less than forty
13 percent of the dollar amount of the lottery tickets which have been sold.
14 (2) A portion of the dollar amount of the lottery tickets which have
15 been sold on an annualized basis shall be transferred from the State
16 Lottery Operation Trust Fund to the Education Innovation Fund, the
17 Nebraska Opportunity Grant Fund, the Nebraska Education Improvement Fund,
18 the Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund, the Nebraska State Fair Board, and
19 the Compulsive Gamblers Assistance Fund as provided in subsection (3) of
20 this section. The dollar amount transferred pursuant to this subsection
21 shall equal the greater of (a) the dollar amount transferred to the funds
22 in fiscal year 2002-03 or (b) any amount which constitutes at least
23 twenty-two percent and no more than twenty-five percent of the dollar
24 amount of the lottery tickets which have been sold on an annualized
25 basis. To the extent that funds are available, the Tax Commissioner and
26 director may authorize a transfer exceeding twenty-five percent of the
27 dollar amount of the lottery tickets sold on an annualized basis.
28 (3) Of the money available to be transferred to the Education
29 Innovation Fund, the Nebraska Opportunity Grant Fund, the Nebraska
30 Education Improvement Fund, the Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund, the
31 Nebraska State Fair Board, and the Compulsive Gamblers Assistance Fund:
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1 (a) The first five hundred thousand dollars shall be transferred to
2 the Compulsive Gamblers Assistance Fund to be used as provided in section
3 9-1006;
4 (b) Beginning July 1, 2016, forty-four and one-half percent of the
5 money remaining after the payment of prizes and operating expenses and
6 the initial transfer to the Compulsive Gamblers Assistance Fund shall be
7 transferred to the Nebraska Education Improvement Fund;
8 (c) Forty-four and one-half percent of the money remaining after the
9 payment of prizes and operating expenses and the initial transfer to the
10 Compulsive Gamblers Assistance Fund shall be transferred to the Nebraska
11 Environmental Trust Fund to be used as provided in the Nebraska
12 Environmental Trust Act;
13 (d) Ten percent of the money remaining after the payment of prizes
14 and operating expenses and the initial transfer to the Compulsive
15 Gamblers Assistance Fund shall be transferred to the Nebraska State Fair
16 Board if the most populous city within the county in which the fair is
17 located provides matching funds equivalent to ten percent of the funds
18 available for transfer. Such matching funds may be obtained from the city
19 and any other private or public entity, except that no portion of such
20 matching funds shall be provided by the state. If the Nebraska State Fair
21 ceases operations, ten percent of the money remaining after the payment
22 of prizes and operating expenses and the initial transfer to the
23 Compulsive Gamblers Assistance Fund shall be transferred to the General
24 Fund; and
25 (e) One percent of the money remaining after the payment of prizes
26 and operating expenses and the initial transfer to the Compulsive
27 Gamblers Assistance Fund shall be transferred to the Compulsive Gamblers
28 Assistance Fund to be used as provided in section 9-1006.
29 (4) The Nebraska Education Improvement Fund is created. The fund
30 shall consist of money transferred pursuant to subsection (3) of this
31 section, money transferred pursuant to section 85-1920, and any other
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1 funds appropriated by the Legislature. The fund shall be allocated, after
2 actual and necessary administrative expenses, as provided in this section
3 for fiscal years 2016-17 and each fiscal year thereafter through 2020-21.
4 A portion of each allocation may be retained by the agency to which the
5 allocation is made or the agency administering the fund to which the
6 allocation is made for actual and necessary expenses incurred by such
7 agency for administration, evaluation, and technical assistance related
8 to the purposes of the allocation, except that no amount of the
9 allocation to the Nebraska Opportunity Grant Fund may be used for such
10 purposes. On or before December 31, 2019, the Education Committee of the
11 Legislature shall electronically submit recommendations to the Clerk of
12 the Legislature regarding how the fund should be allocated to best
13 advance the educational priorities of the state for the five-year period
14 beginning with fiscal year 2021-22. For fiscal year 2016-17, an amount
15 equal to ten percent of the revenue allocated to the Education Innovation
16 Fund and to the Nebraska Opportunity Grant Fund for fiscal year 2015-16
17 shall be retained in the Nebraska Education Improvement Fund. For fiscal
18 years 2017-18 and each fiscal year thereafter through 2020-21, an amount
19 equal to ten percent of the revenue received by the Nebraska Education
20 Improvement Fund in the prior fiscal year shall be retained in the fund,
21 and . For fiscal years 2016-17 through 2020-21, the remainder of the
22 fund, after payment of any learning community transition aid pursuant to
23 section 79-10,145, shall be allocated as follows:
24 (a) One percent of the allocated funds to the Expanded Learning
25 Opportunity Grant Fund to carry out the Expanded Learning Opportunity
26 Grant Program Act;
27 (b) Seventeen percent of the allocated funds to the Department of
28 Education Innovative Grant Fund to be used (i) for competitive innovation
29 grants pursuant to section 79-1054 and (ii) to carry out the purposes of
30 section 79-759;
31 (c) Nine percent of the allocated funds to the Community College Gap
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1 Assistance Program Fund to carry out the community college gap assistance
2 program;
3 (d) Eight percent of the allocated funds to the Excellence in
4 Teaching Cash Fund to carry out the Excellence in Teaching Act;
5 (e) Sixty-two percent of the allocated funds to the Nebraska
6 Opportunity Grant Fund to carry out the Nebraska Opportunity Grant Act in
7 conjunction with appropriations from the General Fund; and
8 (f) Three percent of the allocated funds to fund distance education
9 incentives pursuant to section 79-1337.
10 (5) Any money in the State Lottery Operation Trust Fund, the State
11 Lottery Operation Cash Fund, the State Lottery Prize Trust Fund, the
12 Nebraska Education Improvement Fund, or the Education Innovation Fund
13 available for investment shall be invested by the state investment
14 officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska
15 State Funds Investment Act.
16 (6) Unclaimed prize money on a winning lottery ticket shall be
17 retained for a period of time prescribed by rules and regulations. If no
18 claim is made within such period, the prize money shall be used at the
19 discretion of the Tax Commissioner for any of the purposes prescribed in
20 this section.
21 Sec. 3. Section 79-1054, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
22 2020, is amended to read:
23 79-1054 (1) The State Board of Education shall establish a
24 competitive innovation grant programs in areas, including, but not
25 limited to, (a) mental health first aid, (b) early literacy, (c) quality
26 instructional materials, (d) personalized learning through digital
27 education, or (e) other innovation areas identified by the board, program
28 with funding from the Nebraska Education Improvement Fund pursuant to
29 section 9-812. Grantees shall be a school district, an educational
30 service unit, or a combination of entities that includes at least one
31 school district or educational service unit. For grantees that consist of
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1 a combination of entities, a participating school district or educational
2 service unit shall be designated to act as the fiscal agent and
3 administer the program funded by the grant. The state board shall only
4 award grants pursuant to applications that the state board deems to be
5 sufficiently innovative and to have a high chance of success.
6 (2) An application for participating in an innovation a grant
7 pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall describe:
8 (a) Specific measurable objectives for improving education outcomes
9 for early childhood students, elementary students, middle school
10 students, or high school students or for improving the transitions
11 between any successive stages of education or between education and the
12 workforce;
13 (b) Participation in a The method for annually evaluating progress
14 toward a measurable objective, with a summative evaluation of progress
15 submitted to the state board and electronically to the Education
16 Committee of the Legislature on or before July 1 of each year , 2019;
17 (c) The potential for the grant program project to be both scalable
18 and replicable; and
19 (d) Any cost savings that could be achieved by reductions in other
20 programs if the grant funded program is successful.
21 (3) Based on evaluations received on or before July 1 of each year ,
22 2019, for each grant program, the State Board of Education shall
23 recommend the grant program project as:
24 (a) Representing a best practice;
25 (b) A model for a state-supported program; or
26 (c) A local issue for further study.
27 (4) On or before December 1, 2017, and on or before December 1 of
28 each year thereafter, the state board shall electronically submit a
29 report to the Clerk of the Legislature on all such grant programs grants,
30 including, but not limited to, the results of the evaluations for each
31 grant program. The state board may adopt and promulgate rules and
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1 regulations to carry out this section, including, but not limited to,
2 application procedures, selection procedures, and annual evaluation
3 reporting procedures.
4 (5) The Department of Education Innovative Grant Fund is created.
5 The fund shall be administered by the State Department of Education and
6 shall consist of transfers pursuant to section 9-812, repayments of grant
7 funds, and interest payments received in the course of administering this
8 section. The fund shall be used to carry out this section. Any money in
9 the fund available for investment shall be invested by the state
10 investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the
11 Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.
12 Sec. 4. Original sections 9-812 and 79-1054, Revised Statutes
13 Cumulative Supplement, 2020, are repealed.
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Statutes affected:
Introduced: 9-812, 79-1054