Section 92-10-003 - Mandatory Requirements for Legal OperationTo be eligible for accreditation or to continue as an accredited school system, the following requirements must be met when applicable. Failure to comply with Sections 003.01 through 003.11 of this Chapter will be just cause for the Commissioner to initiate proceedings before the Board to terminate accreditation and end legal operation during the school year.
003.01Teacher and Administrator Certification. The school system must use only persons certificated pursuant to 92 NAC 21 to be a teacher or administrator. Pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-1603, persons conducting religion or prekindergarten classes in nonpublic schools which are not counted as a part of the school's courses for purposes of complying with the requirements of this Chapter are excluded from this requirement. Pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-802.01, American Indian language teachers who are approved by the tribe to teach their native language are also excluded from this requirement when conducting native language classes.003.02Grade Levels. The school system must operate, offer instruction in, and give credit in only the grades for which the school system is accredited.003.03Required Instruction. Instruction in English, mathematics, science, and social studies must be available each school year for all grades003.04Required Programs and Procedures. Each school system must ensure its teachers arrange and present instruction in the manner specified in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-725 to promote and develop an upright and desirable citizenry. Each school system must also meet the applicable statutory provisions contained in Sections 004.02A3, 004.03A4, 004.04B2, 008.05B, and 008.05C of this Chapter. Each public school district must incorporate multicultural education in all areas of the curriculum of grades kindergarten through twelve, as provided in Section 004.01F of this Chapter. Each public school district must meet the certificated-employee evaluation requirements as provided in Sections 007.06A through 007.06B of this Chapter. Each public school district must comply with the requirements contained in 92 NAC 15 (Regulations and Procedures for the Education of Students with Limited English Proficiency in Public Schools) and in 92 NAC 19 (Regulations Regarding School Enrollment). Each public school must meet statutory provisions contained in Sections 004.01B, 004.02B, 005.02 through 005.02C, 011.01F, and 011.01G of this Chapter. These requirements are based on statute and cannot be waived through Section 013.01 of this Chapter.003.05Graduation Requirements. Each high school must require from grades nine through twelve at least 200 credit hours for graduation, for which at least 80 percent must be from the core curriculum. The number of credit hours given for a course may be less than the number of instructional units and may be increased up to 25 percent above the number of instructional units. 003.05A By the 2014-15 school year, public school districts must adopt and implement graduation requirements that meet the highest level of rigor of the standards as specified in the state standards adopted by the Board, including, but not limited to the following: 003.05A1Language Arts. Forty credit hours of Language Arts with course content that includes composition, verbal communication, literature, research skills, and technical reading and writing.003.05A2Mathematics. Thirty credit hours of mathematics with course content that includes algebraic, geometric, data analysis, and probability concepts.003.05A3Science. Thirty credit hours of science with course content that includes biological, earth/space, and physical science concepts with corresponding science inquiry skills and laboratory experience.003.05A4Social Studies/History. Thirty credit hours of social studies/history with course content that includes civics/government, geography, United States and world history, and economic concepts.003.05B School systems may adopt a policy allowing high school credit to be awarded to students enrolled in a middle grades course if the course content and requirements are equivalent to a course offered in the high school.003.05C As required in 92 NAC 18, school systems accept the academic credit earned at Interim Program Schools and issue diplomas to students transferring from Interim Program Schools who have met the requirements for graduation from their own accredited high school.003.06School Year. Each school system must provide at least the following instruction annually between July 1 and June 30 for the grades it offers: (a) for grades up through grade eight, the time equivalent to 1,032 hours;(b) for grades nine through twelve, the time equivalent to 1,080 hours; and(c) for kindergarten, the time equivalent to 400 hours. When a school is dismissed for any reason, such as tournaments or contests, parent/teacher conferences, funerals, parades, and school picnics, such time may not be counted in meeting the 400/1,032/1,080 hour school year requirement. Time scheduled for the school lunch period may not be counted in meeting the school year requirements. Pursuant to the provisions of Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-213, school systems unable to meet the minimums for instructional hours due to epidemic sickness, severe storm conditions, or destruction of the school house may request permission from the Board to offer fewer than the minimum hours by submitting an affidavit sworn to by the secretary of the school board and explaining the circumstances resulting in the request.003.07Assurance Statement. Each school system must by November 1 of each year, submit to the Department an Assurance Statement, as prescribed by the Department, signed by a representative of the school system governing body affirming compliance or specifically noting any noncompliance with the regulations contained in this Chapter.003.08Reports. The following reports must be submitted to the Department each school year. 003.08A On or before September 15 of each school year, the head administrator of each school system must submit electronically, via the Department's reporting system, a Fall Personnel Report. Additions of certificated staff after submission of the Fall Personnel Report must be reported to the Department at the time of contracting.003.08B On or before June 30 of each school year, the head administrator of each public school district must submit electronically, via the Department's reporting system, data elements required by Sections 005.02 thru 005.02C of this Chapter.003.08C On or before the last day of February of each school year, the head administrator of each nonpublic school system must submit electronically, via the Department's reporting system, a Curriculum Report.003.09Contracting Public School Districts. Public school district's that contract under the provisions of state statute with another public school district or districts to provide all educational services for all students in the secondary grades may be considered accredited but may operate only elementary grades. Public school districts must notify the Department upon approval of the patrons of the district for contracting all elementary students and/or all secondary students with other public school districts. Any public school district reopening after contracting all students must follow the same application procedures as provided for nonpublic schools in Section 015 of this Chapter.003.10School Site Review. The State Department of Education staff may conduct periodic on-site visits to school systems to review and determine compliance with the provisions of this Chapter.003.11Contested Case Orders. In a contested case, any school system receiving an order entered by the Board under the Administrative Procedures Act must shall comply with the conditions of the order, unless a judicial stay has been entered.003.12 Each public school district must require each such district's schools to establish a period of time during the school day, when a majority of pupils are is scheduled to be present, during which pupils will be led in the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in the presence of the flag of the United States of America, in grades kindergarten through twelve. Pupil participation in the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance must be voluntary. Pupils not participating in the recitation of the Pledge must be permitted to silently stand or remain seated but must be required to respect the rights of those pupils electing to participate.92 Neb. Admin. Code, ch. 10, § 003
Amended effective 8/1/2015.Amended effective 6/2/2024