107TH LEGISLATURE INTERIM 

It has been a busy and exciting time of travel the last couple of weeks, but I am so glad to be home for the Dakota-Thurston County Fair this weekend. I love seeing all of the exhibits watching all of the children compete in 4-H Livestock Shows, especially our grandchildren as they show their bucket calves, breeding and market cattle. 

Mike and I just returned home from a trip to Salt Lake City where we attended the American Legislative Exchange Council Conference. It was an extremely informative and beneficial time for those in attendance.

Then it was out to Kearney for Governor Ricketts’ first Ag and Economic Development Summit where I participated in the Next Generation Value Added Ag, Growing Education Opportunities, Building a Broadband Infrastructure, and Protecting Private Property classes. The highlight was hearing Terry Branstad, the 12th U.S. Ambassador to China and former Governor of Iowa, was the keynote speaker. Mr. Banstad, the longest serving Governor in American history, openly shared many experiences that inspired over 400 leaders in attendance. 

Northeast Community College-Wayne State College Agreement

I also had the opportunity to meet with the president of Wayne State College, Dr. Marysz Rames and Chancellor Paul Turman of the Nebraska State College System. They shared some exciting news that will create new opportunities for students and business leaders right here in our own backyard. They the presidents of Northeast Community College and Wayne State College have signed a Memorandum of Agreement that creates the Associate of Applied Science/Bachelor of Science Technology program. It allows graduates who complete their associate degrees at Northeast to transfer all of their completed academic credits to Wayne State to study industrial technology and earn a bachelor degree. The agreement has the potential to strengthen the region’s industrial technology workforce.

 Students enrolled in a number of concentrations qualify for the new program including agriculture, business services, computer, construction, drafting, industrial management, industrial trades, management services, manufacturing, and safety-related occupations. Transfer students from Northeast will have the opportunity to apply for transfer student scholarships through Wayne State.

 Northeast Community College and Wayne State College have had a long-standing working and transfer relationship to serve students since 1986. Over the years, various institutional and programmatic agreements have been signed to create a seamless transfer of pathways for students between the two colleges. In addition, both institutions offer classes in the College Center in South Sioux City.

 Health Education Standards

The Nebraska Department of Education held a public hearing on Friday, August 6th for the second draft of their Health Education Standards. After reading the draft, I find myself asking, “who gave the NDE the authority to spend the time, energy and taxpayer money and resources to put together their new Health Standards?”  Was it the State Board of Education? Was it Commissioner Blomstedt? And why are we even talking about adding so many topics for our teachers to teach when they are already working so hard. I believe we should stay focused on the core topics: Math, English and Science so that when our children graduate and head on into all that life holds for them, they are well prepared to thrive from the excellent education they received in District 17. 

That question prompted me to do some research. Each year the Nebraska Department of Education makes the Nebraska Education Profile (NEP) available. It provides information and data about Nebraska public schools and student performance. The NEP highlights the performance of students by district and school building in English language Arts, mathematics, writing, and science. Beginning in 2017, 11th grade was tested via the ACT. The 2017 & 2018 statewide percentages include only students in grades 3-8 and 11th grade alternate assessment students. The NEP represents a transformation of data from the State of the Schools Report and is intended to help inform the public and school officials about school and district performance. The NEP is also intended to inform parents, community leaders, and policymakers about our education system and to provide data needed for sound decision making by education leaders. The NEP will continue to grow and change as data is added to the system.

The NDE suggests that our school district officials can best explain local data and how it applies to the district, but encourages us to take time to explore the NEP and learn how schools and students in your community are performing. They encourage parents to talk to the teachers of their students, and to local school officials, about the results and the needs of their students.

So I had my staff compile the following Education Profile Report on each school in District 17. Due to Covid, the most recent data available is 2018-2019.

* This website masks or hides data for groups with fewer than 10 students to protect confidential information about individual students as required by federal law.  

I encourage you to take the time to review the second draft for yourself at education.ne.gov. 

The August 6th State Board of Education meeting was recorded and is available on the NDE YouTube channel. Link to Live Internet Broadcast:  https://www.education.ne.gov/live/.

Legislative Page Program

The application process for the Page Program at the Legislature is now available to any Nebraska college student who may be interested. The deadline for submitting page applications and letters of recommendation for the 2022 legislative session will be Friday, October 1 at 5:00 p.m. The page selection committee will meet in October to select individuals to fill those

positions. For more information, go to https://nebraskalegislature.gov. Please feel free to give me a call if you have any questions. 

I always appreciate hearing from you, the Constituents of District 17. Your input helps me know how to effectively serve you in the Legislature. If you have any comments or concerns, please contact me at 402-471-2716 or jalbrecht@leg.ne.gov.