April 11, 2023 at 6:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale: 

Notice of the time and place of the Lincoln Board of Education meeting was e-mailed to an extensive list of local and regional news media.  A mailing list is maintained at the Lincoln Public Schools District Office.  A public notice was published in the LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR.





The Lincoln Board of Education is empowered to act on any item listed on the Agenda at any time during the meeting, irrespective of the time or order listed. Pages listed, or further detail, are available upon request. The Open Meetings Act requires and the intention of the Board is that agenda items be sufficiently descriptive to give the public reasonable notice of the matters to be considered at the meeting. The Lincoln Board of Education releases its agenda well in advance of most meetings and desires that all interested persons are fully informed. Any interested person who has a question or needs clarification about the sufficiency of a descriptive item should contact the Office of the Superintendent of Schools. The Lincoln Board of Education shall also make available for examination and copying as requested by members of the public, at least one copy of all reproducible written materials to be discussed at the meeting.

Rationale:  The attached minutes are intended to accurately reflect the action of the Board at its previous meetings.

Explanation
The minutes have been prepared for Board approval.

Rationale: 

The Board believes public attendance and participation, when appropriate to the business at hand, is beneficial to the work of the Board and models the importance of civic engagement and civil discourse to the community’s children, but it cannot impede the Board from completing the business of the meeting. 

In keeping with Board Policy 8420 and Neb Statute 84-1412(3), the Lincoln Board of Education has established these reasonable regulations to conduct Public Comment::

1. Persons speaking during Public Comment will be called forward individually by the Board Chair to the location identified for such purpose.

2. A time limit of three minutes will be allotted for any speaker unless prior to the beginning of the Public Comment agenda item, the chair sets a different reasonable time frame to be allotted for speakers in order to accommodate the number of persons who have submitted "Record of Appearance" cards. The time limit is per speaker, per meeting and may not be transferred or assigned to other speakers.

3. The chair may endeavor to organize public comment by what agenda items or other issues have been identified as topics by public speakers, adjust for the age of speakers, and/or split the Public Comment agenda item to be conducted in different positions within the Board’s Order of Business. At the discretion of the chair, the speaker may be allotted additional time. Board members may share, address or consider comments from the public during public comment, at the end of public comment or when related business is on the agenda.

4. In order to be called forward to address the Board during Public Comment, each person wishing to speak must obtain a "Record of Appearance" card from staff at the meeting in which they wish to speak. "Record of Appearance" cards are available beginning 30 minutes prior to the scheduled start of the meeting. Those wishing to speak must accurately complete the required sections of the card, and submit it to the appropriate staff member by 15 minutes after the start of the meeting.

5. Individuals will be called forward to speak by name, organization being represented, if applicable, and address. Each individual speaking to the Board will be required to identify himself or herself prior to giving public comment by stating their first and last name and, if applicable, any organization they represent.

6. In cases where more than one person wishes to speak on the same topic, their presentations to the Board may, at the discretion of the chair, be grouped together by topic.

7. If the number of people wishing to speak under the public comment portions of the agenda is large, the chair may rule that a public hearing be scheduled.

8. Persons speaking to the Board during public comment may make printed materials (paper no larger than 8.5 x 11 inches) available to the Board but may not use any other form of media. Public speakers are asked to provide 10 copies of any copies of printed materials presented to the Board.

Persons attending Board meetings and/or speaking to the Board during Public Comment or during a public hearing must follow all requirements established by the Board, as well as all Board, chair and staff directions in order to help maintain the order, proper decorum, safety and security, and the non-disruptive functioning of the Board meeting. These include, but are not limited to the following:

• Abiding by time limits
• Refraining from applauding, cheering, jeering, or engaging in speech that defames any individual(s), or stymies or blocks meeting progress;
• Refraining from the use of audio recordings, video recordings, or any digital still images, posters, signs, costumes, other props and/or photographs
• Refraining from abusive, disruptive or threatening language or gestures, and
• Staying in the areas identified by the Board as reserved for the public.

If at any time persons appearing before the Board do not comply with these or any other Board requirements, it shall be the responsibility of the chair to declare that person or persons out of order and require a change in behavior, delay or recess the meeting, or refuse permission to continue to address the Board, and ultimately may require the person or persons to leave the premises of the Board meeting.

Rationale: 

Rationale:  The Human Resources Division also includes the Office of Risk Management.  As such, in addition to the Lincoln Board of Education approving all contractual agreements with employees, all employee benefit issues, all personnel actions, and all other matters within the scope of the Human Resources Division, as part of the Human Resources Matters agenda; the Lincoln Board of Education also must approve the settlement of Workers’ Compensation claims, take action on tort claims filed against the district, and take action on all other matters within the scope of the Office of Risk Management.

Explanation:
This report includes routine human resources changes:

a. Administrator Employees:
         Elections - 4
         Change of Status - 2
         Separations - 1

b. Certificated Employees:
          Elections - 19
          Leave of Absence - 46
          Change of Status - 5
          Re-Elect Re- Assign - 3         
          Separations - 72

c. Certificated Substitute Employees:
          Elections - 22
          Cnage of Status - 1
          
d.  Classified Employees:
          Elections - 23
          Change of Status - 1
          Separations - 101
e. other - Civic Leave
             
 

Proposal:
That the Board approve the Human Resources items presented in the attachment(s).*

*The information in the attachment(s) may be protected by privacy legislation until the Board of Education takes action on the staff recommendations.  Therefore, this attachment(s) is not included in agenda materials provided the public and the news media.  Any information in the attachment(s) that is not protected by privacy legislation, however, is available for public inspection from the Associate Superintendent for Human Resources upon request.

That the Board is approving the Human Resources items attached with the information as presented or as on file with official district records and documents relating to each such item, or in such other form as may be approved by the Associate Superintendent for Human Resources, or the Associate Superintendent’s designee, and that the Board hereby authorizes the Associate Superintendent for Human Resources, or the Associate Superintendent’s designee, to transact and complete each such item approved hereby, and to sign, execute, and deliver necessary documents or contracts, and to take or cause to be taken any and all other action as may be necessary to complete each such item of transaction as contemplated, for and on behalf of this school district.

Rationale: 

Rationale:  On January 24, 2023, the Board adopted a resolution to accept option enrollment students for the 2023-24 school year.  Applications for enrollment during the 2023-24 school year have been received and are in compliance with the Board resolution of January 24, 2023.  

Explanation 
The applications included in this agenda item have been examined by staff and meet one of the criteria set forth by the Board in the resolution of January 24, 2023.  Staff recommends approval of the applications.

Proposal   
That the Board adopts the following resolution:

WHEREAS, the students who have been assigned student numbers 455254, 455258, 455255 and 283429 (for purposes of confidentiality, assigned numbers are being used) meet one or more of the criteria of the Board resolution of January 24, 2023, with regard to such option students;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the aforementioned students be accepted as option students on the condition and with the express understanding that all programs, all classes and all buildings of assignment, except as otherwise required by law, shall at all times and from time to time during attendance at Lincoln Public Schools be determined solely by Lincoln Public Schools.
 

Rationale: 

March 15, 2023, was the deadline for enrollment option applications to be completed for students wishing to attend school in a district other than the one in which they reside for the 2023-24 school year.  The Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education has authority to waive the deadline for late enrollment option requests (NDE Rule 7, Section 004.05).    

Explanation:
A request from a student who resides in the district of Lincoln Public Schools and wishes to attend school outside of Lincoln Public Schools has been received after the March 15, 2023, deadline.  The Lincoln Board of Education may deny or approve this request.  If the request is approved by the Board of Education, it will be forwarded to the option school district for their approval.

Student Number            Option District
455277                             Raymond Central

Proposal:
That the Board approve the request for option out for the 2023-24 school year.

Rationale:  Lincoln Public Schools regulation 5460.1 and Nebraska state law provides that if a student has been expelled from any public or private school, and the student has not completed the terms or time period of the expulsion, the student shall not be permitted to enroll in this school district until the expulsion period from such other school has expired unless the Lincoln Board of Education approves by a majority vote the enrollment of such student prior to the expiration of the expulsion period. Student number 451055 (for purposes of confidentiality we are using an assigned number) has filed the proper application and has requested enrollment. 

Explanation:
The Department of Student Services has reviewed the application and the background information on the student and is recommending that the application be approved and that the student be enrolled in the Lincoln Public Schools Expelled Student Program for the remainder of this school year, subject to such terms and conditions as imposed by the Director of Student Services and all program rules and regulations until the term or time period of the original underlying expulsions are completed.                                                 
Proposal:
That the Board approves the application and all recommendations of the Department of Student Services.

Rationale:  *The Lincoln Board of Education is empowered to act on any item listed on the Agenda at any time during the meeting, irrespective of the time or order listed. Pages listed, or further detail, are available upon request. The Open Meetings Act requires and the intention of the Board is that agenda items be sufficiently descriptive to give the public reasonable notice of the matters to be considered at the meeting. The Lincoln Board of Education  Board releases its agenda well in advance of most meetings and desires that all interested persons are fully informed. Any interested person who has a question or needs clarification about the sufficiency of a descriptive item should contact the Office of the Superintendent of Schools.

Rationale: 

Rationale: 

The U.S. Department of Education through Title VI of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides funds to fulfill the federal government’s responsibility to the Indian people for the education of Indian children. These funds support the goal of ensuring programs that serve Indian children are of the highest quality and provide for not only the basic elementary and secondary educational needs, but also the unique educational and culturally related academic needs of these children.

Lincoln Public Schools has received federal funds for services for Native American students since the mid-1980’s.  The following table reflects an annual student count and the grant award amount received in recent years.  Grant award amounts vary by year according to the total amount of Indian Education funds available at the federal level and are not based only on the number of students per program.
 

School Year	Student Number	Amount Awarded
2015-16	606	$148,737
2016-17	611	$146,179
2017-18	585	$138,292
2018-19	572	$151,709
2019-20	526	$139,941
2020-21	558	$149,006
2021-22	665	$164,298
2022-23	715	$197,942

Explanation  

Lincoln Public Schools Indian Education program will provide support to Native American students in grades K-12 in the 2023-24 school year. Native American students are enrolled in all schools across the district representing about 60 tribes as designated by the parent. Estimated funding from Title VI for 2023-24 is approximately $198,000, based on the current student count of 719. Decisions regarding the use of these funds are made in consultation with the Native American Advisory Committee.

Proposal  

That the Board discuss the submission of the required application of the Indian Education grant to the U.S. Department of Education for approximately $198,000. No district-funding match is required.

This grant application is due May 12, 2023.
 

Rationale: 

NDE is working with school districts in these communities to develop appropriate programming. If approved, NDE will provide $1,150 per student for the approximately 251 Afghan students served by Lincoln Public Schools (approximately $288,000). LPS will use these funds to hire a Bilingual Liaison who speaks Pashto and Dari to work specifically with Afghan students and their families, as well as a part-time adult literacy instructor to teach English to parents of these students and a part-time newcomer engagement specialist to coordinate services that help families acclimate to life in Lincoln. School-based therapy for students and parenting classes will also be provided.

Proposal  

That the Board discuss the submission of an LPS application to Nebraska Department of Education to support a Bilingual Liaison, Adult Literacy Instructor and Newcomer Engagement Specialist, as well as mental health services and parenting classes supporting new Afghan arrivals to Lincoln. The grant application request will be for approximately $288,000 for a period of 18 months. No match is required. LPS will be a subrecipient of this award through NDE, which is a recipient of funds through NDHHS.
 

Rationale: 

Lincoln Public Schools proposes to apply for $25,000 from Children’s Hospital’s Community Impact Grant to address the focus area of pediatric mental wellness.  If awarded, grant funds would be used to purchase supplies to create calming kits for use at all LPS middle schools, including Nuernberger Education Center and the Student Support Program.  These kits would be available for students in need of assistance to self-regulate at any point during the school day through their counseling office. Calming kits would include items that are meant to help students refocus from intense feelings so that they can return to class prepared to learn.

Proposal  

That the Board discuss the submission by Lincoln Public Schools of the Community Impact Grant application to Children’s Hospital and Medical Center for $25,000. This grant has no match requirement.

The proposal is due May 5, 2023.
 

Rationale: 

Rationale:  As a result of the Educators Health Alliance (EHA) increase in health insurance premium rates for the 2023-24 school year being greater than assumed in negotiations, and considering current collective bargaining agreements and arrangements, the Board of Education has negotiated, on the impact of such increases on the employees for each of its nine employee bargaining groups and as per good faith negotiations has agreed to pay for the additional increase.  The total cost to the district is expected to be in the range of approximately $746,019.

Explanation:
It is recommended that the Board of Education approve and accept the proposed Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with the Lincoln Education Association (LEA), the Lincoln Public Schools Association of Office Professionals, the  Paraeducator Association, the Custodial Employees Association, the Nutrition Services Workers Association, the  Maintenance Employees Association, the  Transportation Employees Association and the  Technicians and Administrators Salary Schedule amendments in order to increase the District’s monthly health insurance contribution as a result of the Educators Health Alliance (EHA) increase in health insurance premium rates for the 2023-24 school year. Complete copies of the proposed MOU agreements and the Technician and Administrator Salary Schedule amendments are available in Human Resources.


 

Rationale:  April 13: Face the Chamber, 12 noon, Country Club
April 17: Latino/Latina/Lanix Student Honors, 5:30 pm, SCC
April 19: GNSA Meeting, 3:30 pm, NCSA
April 25: Board Meeting, 6:00 pm, SJDLC

 

Rationale: 

The Board believes public attendance and participation, when appropriate to the business at hand, is beneficial to the work of the Board and models the importance of civic engagement and civil discourse to the community’s children, but it cannot impede the Board from completing the business of the meeting. 

In keeping with Board Policy 8420 and Neb Statute 84-1412(3), the Lincoln Board of Education has established these reasonable regulations to conduct Public Comment::

1. Persons speaking during Public Comment will be called forward individually by the Board Chair to the location identified for such purpose.

2. A time limit of three minutes will be allotted for any speaker unless prior to the beginning of the Public Comment agenda item, the chair sets a different reasonable time frame to be allotted for speakers in order to accommodate the number of persons who have submitted "Record of Appearance" cards. The time limit is per speaker, per meeting and may not be transferred or assigned to other speakers.

3. The chair may endeavor to organize public comment by what agenda items or other issues have been identified as topics by public speakers, adjust for the age of speakers, and/or split the Public Comment agenda item to be conducted in different positions within the Board’s Order of Business. At the discretion of the chair, the speaker may be allotted additional time. Board members may share, address or consider comments from the public during public comment, at the end of public comment or when related business is on the agenda.

4. In order to be called forward to address the Board during Public Comment, each person wishing to speak must obtain a "Record of Appearance" card from staff at the meeting in which they wish to speak. "Record of Appearance" cards are available beginning 30 minutes prior to the scheduled start of the meeting. Those wishing to speak must accurately complete the required sections of the card, and submit it to the appropriate staff member by 15 minutes after the start of the meeting.

5. Individuals will be called forward to speak by name, organization being represented, if applicable, and address. Each individual speaking to the Board will be required to identify himself or herself prior to giving public comment by stating their first and last name and, if applicable, any organization they represent.

6. In cases where more than one person wishes to speak on the same topic, their presentations to the Board may, at the discretion of the chair, be grouped together by topic.

7. If the number of people wishing to speak under the public comment portions of the agenda is large, the chair may rule that a public hearing be scheduled.

8. Persons speaking to the Board during public comment may make printed materials (paper no larger than 8.5 x 11 inches) available to the Board but may not use any other form of media. Public speakers are asked to provide 10 copies of any copies of printed materials presented to the Board.

Persons attending Board meetings and/or speaking to the Board during Public Comment or during a public hearing must follow all requirements established by the Board, as well as all Board, chair and staff directions in order to help maintain the order, proper decorum, safety and security, and the non-disruptive functioning of the Board meeting. These include, but are not limited to the following:

• Abiding by time limits
• Refraining from applauding, cheering, jeering, or engaging in speech that defames any individual(s), or stymies or blocks meeting progress;
• Refraining from the use of audio recordings, video recordings, or any digital still images, posters, signs, costumes, other props and/or photographs
• Refraining from abusive, disruptive or threatening language or gestures, and
• Staying in the areas identified by the Board as reserved for the public.

If at any time persons appearing before the Board do not comply with these or any other Board requirements, it shall be the responsibility of the chair to declare that person or persons out of order and require a change in behavior, delay or recess the meeting, or refuse permission to continue to address the Board, and ultimately may require the person or persons to leave the premises of the Board meeting.

Rationale: 

Explanation
At this point, it is appropriate for the Board to meet in closed session for one of the stated matters and/or any other permissible closed session matters in compliance with the law.

Rationale:  The Lincoln Board of Education is authorized by state statute to hold closed sessions.  Closed sessions may be held when clearly necessary for the protection of the public interest or for the prevention of needless injury to the reputation of an individual.  Reasons that meet this standard include but are not limited to:  (a) strategy sessions with respect to collective bargaining, real estate matters, pending litigation, or litigation which is imminent as evidenced by communication of a claim or threat of litigation to or by the public body; (b) discussion regarding deployment of security personnel or devices; (c) investigative proceedings regarding allegations of criminal misconduct; (d) evaluation of the job performance of a person when necessary to prevent needless injury to the reputation of a person and if such person has not requested a public meeting; and (e) legal advice.