General

Pre-kindergarten Initiative in 2013-14:
Nebraska Early Childhood Education Programs – Ages 3 to 5

State agency with administrative authority over pre-K:
Nebraska Department of Education

Availability of program:
194 out of 249 school districts (78%)

Are districts, counties, or towns in Nebraska required to offer this pre-kindergarten initiative?
No, competitive1

Hours of operation per day:
Determined locally2

Is there a formal partnership at the state level to provide extended day services through collaboration with other agencies and programs?
No2

Enrollment

Fall 2013, Total children:
11,852

Fall 2011, by age:
480 under age 3; 3,291 3-year-olds; 7,995 4-year-olds; 86 5-year-olds

Fall 2011, by type of administering agency:
Public schools, 11,852

Program enrollment, Fall 2013, by operating schedule:
Breakdown not available2

Eligibility

Minimum age for eligibility:
Locally determined

Maximum age for eligibility:
5 by August 1

Kindergarten eligibility age:
5 by July 31

Does state policy allow any exceptions to the age requirement for prekindergarten or kindergarten eligibility?
Yes3

State policy on enrolling children in state pre-K when they are eligible for kindergarten:
Kindergarten age-eligible children with documented disabilities may enroll in pre-K3

Aside from age, how is eligibility determined for individual children for this state prekindergarten initiative?
Eligibility is determined by individual child or family characteristics in addition to age4

What was the state-specified income requirement during the 2013-14 program year?
Eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, or 185% FPL4

To whom, or to what percentage of children, does the income requirement apply?
70% of each program’s grant funding must be used to serve children having at least one risk factor, only one of which is family income.

Is there a sliding payment scale based on income?
Yes4

Is child eligibility for this state prekindergarten initiative ever reassessed after a child has been enrolled in the program?
No

Risk Factors

Risk factors besides income that can be used to determine eligibility:
Child disability or developmental delay; Low parental education level; Non-English speaking family members; Teen parent; Low birth weight or other child health risk

How many of the specified risk factors must be present for eligibility?
1

How do these risk factors relate to the income cutoff for the state pre-K program?
Meeting the income cutoff can count as one of the risk factors

Class Sizes

Maximum class size:
3- and 4-year-olds, 20

Staff-child ratio requirement:
3- and 4-year-olds, 1 to 10

Teachers

Minimum teacher degree requirement:
BA (public and nonpublic)9

Required teacher certification, licensure, and/or endorsement:
Public and nonpublic: EC (B-3rd); EC Unified (B-3rd); Preschool Disabilities (B-K); EC Special Education (B-3rd)9

Education level of teachers during 2011-12 by percent:
BA, 100%

Education level of teachers during 2011-12 totals:
Breakdown not available

Teacher in-service requirement:
12 clock hours per year

Minimum assistant teacher degree requirement:
CDA or 12 semester hours of credit in CD or ECE, or equivalent in prior training and experience (public and nonpublic)

Assistant teacher specialized training requirement:
Public and nonpublic: 12 Semester hours of undergraduate or graduate credit in Child Development or Early childhood Education or the equivalent in prior training or experience

Services

Meal requirement:
Snack6

Support services for English Language Learners and families:
Bilingual non-English classes are permitted in pre-K; Monolingual non-English classes are permitted in pre-K; Translators or bilingual staff are available if children do not speak English7

Support services required for all programs:
Parent involvement activities; Transition to K activities; Parent conferences and/or home visits; Other; based on family need

Regulations

Screening and referral requirements:
Screenings/referrals locally determined

State’s early learning standards document in 2013-14.
Nebraska Early Learning Guidelines for Ages 3 to 5

For more information about the early learning standards in 2013-14:
//www.education.ne.gov/OEC/elg.html8

Funding

Days per week the state prekindergarten initiative is funded to operate using state funds:
Determined locally2

Annual operating schedule for this state-funded prekindergarten initiative:
Academic year

Actual fiscal year 2014 spending for this state prekindergarten initiative:
$27,061,345

All funding sources:
State, $25,416,498; Federal, $1,644,84710

State funding sources and amounts:
Tax Equity and Educational Support Act (TEEOSA), $21,897,734; Early Childhood Education Grant Program for ages 3 to 5, $3,519,164; State Special Education Flexible Funding,

Federal funding sources and amounts:
Head Start, $1,644,847; IDEA Part B-619, IDEA Part C ,Title I Parts A and C, amounts not reported

Is funding for this state prekindergarten initiative determined by a school funding or state aid formula?
Yes10

Agencies eligible to receive funding directly:
Public schools, Other settings: Educational Service Units11

Agencies with which subcontracting is permitted:
Head Start, Private CC

Is there a required local match for this program?
Yes12

Select a state program to view details.


Nebraska Footnotes

  1. Some school districts begin or add capacity with the help of competitive grants. Other school districts may start a program without grant funding, and may receive state aid funding for their 4-year-olds after three years of program approval.
  2. Most programs operate 3.5 to 4 hours per day, 4 or 5 days per week. Schools are encouraged to partner with Head Start and community providers, but there is no formal agreement at the state level. Programs must operate at least 12 hours per week. Additionally, if districts receive State Aid (TEEOSA) or an early childhood grant, the program must operate at least 450 hours per year.
  3. Children with IEPs may participate based on their IEPs. Kindergarten-age children with verified disabilities may enroll in prekindergarten if their IEP team determines that the child can be served best in preschool. Districts may enroll children under age 3, but the district would have to meet staffing and group size requirements established for younger children. State does not have a minimum age date.
  4. While all prekindergarten age-eligible children may be served in a school district early childhood program, regardless of their abilities, disabilities, or the social, linguistic, or economic diversity of the children’s families, funds are targeted to children with at least one risk factor. Some districts enroll all age-eligible children while others may use locally determined risk factors in addition to those specified by the state.
  5. Children who are receiving services through Head Start or IDEA pay nothing. For other children, school districts set the sliding fee scale to fit with their community.
  6. Programs must offer at least one meal and/or snack that follows CACFP requirements.
  7. If a majority of children enrolled use a common language other than spoken English, at least one staff member who uses such language shall be available as an active participant to communicate with such children. If less than a majority of the children speak a language different from the rest, one staff member or a community resource person or parent shall be identified to serve as a resource to the program.
  8. Early Learning Guidelines were revised to align with the Nebraska K–12 standards during 2013. At this time, Nebraska has not adopted the Common Core. Creative Arts are also addressed in the Nebraska Early Learning Guidelines.
  9. If teachers have endorsements other than those listed, they must take college coursework and make annual progress until they obtain an early childhood endorsement. Regardless of where the classroom is housed, it is considered a public school program.
  10. Local sources include local district funds, parent fees, community agencies and resources, and other sources. Funding for the program includes an allocation for the grant program as well as funding in the state aid formula. In the third year of approval by the Nebraska Department of Education, the count of 4-year-olds is put into the formula along with other data. Equalization aid is then calculated for the next year.
  11. Educational Service Units may receive grant funds but cannot receive state aid funding.
  12. Although a 100 percent match of the state grant funds is required, it does not have to come from a local source. State aid requires that districts used federal and/or local sources to support the operation of the early childhood program in addition to state aid.
  13. Self-assessments must be done by someone with Environment Rating Scale training. A randomly selected percent of districts will also receive an assessment by a reliable observer for comparison. Programs less than three years old continue to receive a visit by a reliable observer. Randomly selected programs not visited through one of the other means will receive a site visit as well. However, it is possible that not all sites will receive a visit.
  14. Teaching Strategies GOLD