This section defines key education terms for Chapter 79 and lets the State Board of Education define school-day and school-calendar units by rule.
For purposes of Chapter 79: (1) School district means the territory under the jurisdiction of a single school board authorized by Chapter 79; (2) School means a school under the jurisdiction of a school board authorized by Chapter 79; (3) Legal voter means a registered voter as defined in section 32-115 who is domiciled in a precinct or ward in which he or she is registered to vote and which precinct or ward lies in whole or in part within the boundaries of a school district for which the registered voter chooses to exercise his or her right to vote at a school district election; (4) Prekindergarten programs means all early childhood programs provided for children who have not reached the age of five by the date provided in section 79-214 for kindergarten entrance; (5) Elementary grades means grades kindergarten through eight, inclusive; (6) High school grades means all grades above the eighth grade; (7) School year means (a) for elementary grades other than kindergarten, the time equivalent to at least one thousand thirty-two instructional hours and (b) for high school grades, the time equivalent to at least one thousand eighty instructional hours; (8) Instructional hour means a period of time, at least sixty minutes, which is actually used for the instruction of students; (9) Teacher means any certified employee who is regularly employed for the instruction of pupils in the public schools; (10) Administrator means any certified employee such as superintendent, assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, school nurse, or other supervisory or administrative personnel who do not have as a primary duty the instruction of pupils in the public schools; (11) School board means the governing body of any school district. Board of education has the same meaning as school board; (12) Teach means and includes, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities: (a) The organization and management of the classroom or the physical area in which the learning experiences of pupils take place; (b) the assessment and diagnosis of the individual educational needs of the pupils; (c) the planning, selecting, organizing, prescribing, and directing of the learning experiences of pupils; (d) the planning of teaching strategies and the selection of available materials and equipment to be used; and (e) the evaluation and reporting of student progress; (13) Permanent school fund means the fund described in section 79-1035.01; (14) Temporary school fund means the fund described in section 79-1035.02; (15) School lands means the lands described in section 79-1035.03. Educational lands has the same meaning as school lands; (16) Community eligibility provision means the alternative to household applications for free and reduced-price meals in high-poverty schools enacted in section 104(a) of the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, section 11(a)(1) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, 42 U.S.C. 1759a(a)(1), as such act and section existed on January 1, 2015, and administered by the United States Department of Agriculture; and (17)(a) Certificate, certificated, or certified, when referring to an individual holding a certificate to teach, administer, or provide special services, also includes an individual who holds a permit issued by the Commissioner of Education pursuant to sections 79-806 to 79-815 or an alternative certificate issued pursuant to section 79-8,145.01. (b) Certificate, certificated, or certified, when referring to an individual holding a certificate to teach, also includes an individual who is granted a certificate in accordance with the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact and section 79-816.01. The State Board of Education may adopt and promulgate rules and regulations to define school day and other appropriate units of the school calendar. History: Laws 1881, c. 78, subdivision I, § 1, p. 331; R.S.1913, § 6700; C.S.1922, § 6238; C.S.1929, § 79-101; R.S.1943, § 79-101; Laws 1949, c. 256, § 1, p. 690; Laws 1971, LB 802, § 1; Laws 1984, LB 994, § 3; Laws 1988, LB 1197, § 1; Laws 1993, LB 348, § 5; R.S.1943, (1994), § 79-101; Laws 1996, LB 900, § 1; Laws 1997, LB 345, § 5; Laws 1999, LB 813, § 5; Laws 2003, LB 67, § 2; Laws 2010, LB1006, § 1; Laws 2015, LB525, § 2; Laws 2018, LB377, § 9; Laws 2023, LB298, § 5; Laws 2023, LB705, § 54; Laws 2024, LB1329, § 8.