Section 92-89-003 - Distance Education CouncilPursuant to section 79-1333 R.R.S., the Council shall coordinate distance education in Nebraska. The Council shall be composed of one administrator or his or her designee from each educational service unit.
003.01 The Council shall hire an administrator and such other personnel as necessary to carry out the functions of the Council.003.02 The Council shall be funded from appropriations by the Legislature and fees established for services provided to educational entities.003.03 The powers and duties of the Distance Education Council include but are not limited to: 003.03A Providing public access to lists of qualified distance education courses;003.03B Collecting and providing school schedules for participating educational entities;003.03C Facilitation of scheduling for qualified distance education courses;003.03D Brokering of qualified distance education courses to be purchased by educational entities;003.03E Assessment of distance education needs and evaluation of distance education services;003.03F Compliance with technical standards as set forth by the Nebraska Information Technology Commission and academic standards as set forth by the State Department of Education related to distance education;003.03G Establishment of a system for prioritizing courses if the demand for Network Nebraska exceeds the capacity available for distance education and for choosing receiving educational entities when the demand for a course exceeds the capacity as determined by either the technology available or the course provider;003.03H Scheduling and prioritization for access to Network Nebraska by educational entities in cooperation with the Chief Information Officer and using scheduling software or scheduling services which meet any applicable standards established by the commission;003.03I Administration of learning management systems that are in compliance with any applicable standards of the commission either through the staff of the council or by delegation to an appropriate educational entity with the funding for such systems provided by participating educational entities; and003.03J Coordination with educational service units and postsecondary educational institutions to provide assistance for instructional design for both two-way interactive video distance education courses and the offering of graduate credit courses in distance education.003.04 The Distance Education Council shall only provide assistance in brokering or scheduling courses to educational entities that have access to Network Nebraska. 003.04A All costs to the council associated with assisting private, denominational, or parochial schools and private postsecondary educational institutions shall be paid by such private, denominational, or parochial school or private postsecondary educational institution.003.04B Any services of the council may also be offered to other public entities with access to Network Nebraska on a contractual basis.003.04C The Council shall not approve technology purchases for the council in excess of ten thousand dollars without approval of the technical panel of the Nebraska Information Technology Commission that the purchases are in compliance with any applicable commission standards.92 Neb. Admin. Code, ch. 89, § 003