Maher became Nebraska’s education commissioner on July 1, 2023, after having been selected by the State Board of Education to direct the state education department.

Friday’s legislative briefing was held at the request of the Education Committee, chaired by State Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil, through Legislative Resolution 496. This was to get a general overview of the Department of Education, which is regularly affected by new state laws and the state budget, but over which the legislature exercises a different set of control than the Council of State.

Murman and other senators said they received a lot of questions from constituents about the department and that the briefing, which may be repeated in the future, helped answer some of them.

Student literacy

The main objective of Maher’s briefing was three legislative priorities that the State Board of Education seeks to achieve by 2030:

• Improve third graders’ reading skills on state tests to 75%.
• Halve the number of vacancies in schools.
• Halve chronic absenteeism.

THE K-12 state test scores for the previous school year won’t be released for a few weeks, Maher said, but he predicted that Nebraska has rebounded from academic declines following the COVID-19 pandemic but continues to see “widespread gaps” for students disabled, in English. language learners and economically disadvantaged students.

The Ministry of Education continues to tackle student literacy and the State Council is preparing to adopt updates At “Nebraska Literacy Project» next month.

These updates, which Maher introduced in October, include recent legislation to inform five professional development principles grounded in the “science of reading,” curriculum and teacher preparation that aligns with regional trainers in Robust, statewide, evidence-based instructional literacy education. data collection and family literacy programs with preschool education.

Nebraska recently received a $55 million federal grant over the next five years to help improve literacy. In partnership with Suzanne Pillen, First Lady of Nebraskanearly 800,000 age-appropriate books were distributed to children across the state, Maher testified.

He said the measures were not intended to train teachers, but to enable Nebraska to have more proficient readers.

“This is something that I hope the entire state can get behind,” Maher testified. “We will be focused and we will work tirelessly to achieve this goal. »

As the Ministry of Education rolls out new standards for literacy — led in part by state Senators Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn and Lynne Walz of Fremont — Maher said the pilot schools are leading the way and there are incentives for schools and teachers who participate.

“Our way of implementing this project is to work with the coalition of willing countries,” Maher said.

Pilot schools include those most in need of support, such as Omaha, Lincoln, Scottsbluff, Crete, Alliance and Ralston.

Staff shortages and chronic absenteeism

Legislative proposals continue to support teacher retention and recruitment with grants and stipends to obtain new teaching endorsements in high-demand subjects.

Many committee members said they were surprised to learn that of the department’s approximately 554 employees, 224 are designated statewide to support adult learning and other job training to help Nebraskans with disabilities and potential employers.

Maher said the Department of Education has also implemented a return to work policy and strategically reviews every retirement, resignation or other recommendation for a new position.

This fall, Maher was one of 14 education officials nationally to join a national commitment halve chronic absenteeism.

Walz asked Maher if there had been any conversations with improve family involvement and parental support to combat chronic absenteeism.

Maher responded that, as optimistic as he is about the literacy goal, he looks forward to next exploring the building blocks to combat chronic absenteeism.

“I don’t have that firm vision yet,” Maher said. “I would say that small steps work in all agencies.”

A pilot program in Ralston brings together representatives from law enforcement, the justice system and other community members to offer comprehensive services aimed at getting children to school, although Maher said it is all he could say at the moment.

Support for All Nebraska Students

Lawmakers praised Maher for saying he would be a commissioner for all students, not just public school students.

“If Nebraska wants to be as good as it can be, we all need to be pulling in the same direction,” said state Sen. Fred Meyer of St. Paul, a former member of the State Board of Education.

Maher told State Sen. Rita Sanders of Bellevue that anyone with questions about the Department of Education showing “favoritism” toward public education could contact him. As an example, he said, he recently met with about a dozen private school leaders and they discussed how to improve their reading skills in third grade, even though students at non-public schools Public schools do not take the same test as public school students.

“We need all schools in our mission to learn, earn and live,” Maher said. “We will do our best to dispel what I consider to be a myth that we have favorites.”

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