108B LB964 Online Written Testimony

Dear Members of the Education Committee:

Lincoln Public Schools supports LB964 and requests that the Committee move the bill to General File.  The bill will create the Special Education Teacher Forgivable Loan Program Act, and be administered by NDE to help lessen the shortage of special education teachers across the state.  Currently, it is difficult in Lincoln to fill all of the necessary special education positions to meet the needs of our current students.  From listening to our colleagues across the state, the issue is not just a Lincoln issue.  It is an issue that districts across the state are facing.  LB964 funds a program that enables NDE to enter into a contract with eligible students to receive a forgivable loan for the first five years of a teacher education program in exchange for an agreement to begin teaching within one year of graduation and teacher in the area of special education for the length of the loans provided by NDE up to the full five years.  The importance of this legislation compared to legislation to support existing teachers is that it increases the number of available teachers in the profession and helps them through the first five years of the profession when many teachers may choose to look at another profession.

John P. Neal
Lincoln Public Schools