Integrating NECPRS (the Nebraska Early Childhood Professional Record System online database) into Nebraska’s child care licensing procedure would expedite and simplify the process of verifying provider training and education, resulting in cost and procedural efficiencies for state government and child care providers.
The 106th Nebraska Legislature, First Session, convened its 2019 session this week. The first day, new senators plus re-elected senators were sworn into office and Senator Jim Scheer was re-elected Speaker of the Legislature for the next two years. Senators also elected chair positions for the 14 standing committees, the Executive Board and the Committee on Committees.
The 106th Nebraska Legislature, First Session, will convene January 9 for 90 days, marking the beginning a new biennium that includes passing a two-year state budget.
The current method used to verify qualifications of Nebraska early childhood educators in licensed programs is unnecessarily cumbersome, and a system already in use provides a simple solution.
Nebraska Senators introduced 108 Interim Study resolutions at the end of the recent Legislative session. We've indentified those that have potential to affect early childhood issues and will keep you updated on their progress.
The 105th Nebraska Legislature, Second Session, adjourned sine die April 18. To balance the state budget, Governor Ricketts introduced across-the-board cuts resulting in early childhood programs receiving a 2% cut for FY2018-2019 and a 4% cut the following year. Here's our session-end report detailing specific bills impacting early childhood this session.
Nebraska’s Corrections system has been the subject of urgent discussion in the Legislature given its insufficient facilities, prison rioting and workforce instability. Reducing state funding for Sixpence and other quality early childhood programs represents a very small savings to taxpayers in the larger scheme of things. If even a few young children at risk eventually drift into the Corrections system, it will be too late to ask ourselves if those savings were worth it.
Bill contains cuts to the Sixpence Early Learning Fund, the Early Childhood Grant Program and Step Up to Quality. The small gains obtained from reductions to early care and education are likely to be lost by resulting future increased costs of special education services, grade retention and youth detention/rehabilitation services.
We make it easy to contact Senators and ask them to retain funding for early care and education programs in Nebraska.
Earlier this week, Nebraska Senators and Committees named priority bills; priority designation makes it more likely that a bill will be considered by the full Legislature this session. Thank you to Senator Harr for designating LB1108, which would adjust the School Readiness Tax Credit Act, as his priority bill.