The State Board of Education did not approve the 2025-26 Nebraska Council on Teacher Education roster after extended debate and tied roll-call votes. Multiple motions to approve parts of the roster or the full slate failed on 4-4 votes during the Aug. 8 meeting.

Why it matters

The NCTE roster determines who advises state education leaders on educator preparation and standards. Board members said they were split over whether teacher seats proposed by the Nebraska State Education Association (NSEA) gave fair representation to nonpublic and nonunion teachers. Because the board did not approve the roster, department staff may use interim appointment procedures in the NCTE organizational policies to fill vacancies for the coming year.

What happened at the meeting

The board first considered a motion to approve the higher education and governance sections of the roster; that motion failed on a 4-4 roll call. An amendment to add the teacher section to that motion also failed 4-4. A subsequent motion to approve the entire roster likewise failed on a 4-4 vote.

Board members and staff described procedural questions and competing priorities. Several board members urged either approval of the whole roster or sending the item back to committee. Others said the existing nomination structure had not provided slots for nonpublic or nonunion public teachers.

"Until there are nonpublic school teachers and nonunion public school teachers given a seat at the NCTE table, I will be voting no," said board member Liz Renner, summarizing concerns raised during discussion. Sherry Jones and others argued for more representation for nonpublic teachers; Deborah Neri and other members argued the board should approve the recommended roster and pursue structural changes later.

Parliamentarian Ryan Fore and NDE staff joined the discussion to explain options: if the board takes no action, organizational policies allow NDE staff to approve interim replacements recommended by the NCTE executive committee for the coming year. Brad Dirkson, NDE administrator, told the board that, under organizational policies, the executive committee would ask nominating groups for replacements and staff would then appoint members for the one-year interim term.

Votes at the meeting and next steps

- Motion (amended) to insert "teachers" into a motion to approve higher education and governance sections: failed 4 yes, 4 no.
- Motion to approve higher education and governance sections: failed 4 yes, 4 no.
- Motion to approve the entire 2025-26 NCTE roster: failed 4 yes, 4 no.

Because the board did not approve the roster, NDE staff may fill vacancies under section 6 of the NCTE organizational policies for one year while a longer-term solution is pursued. Several board members asked staff to bring proposals for more equitable representation and to consider returning the item to committee.

Ending

Board members left the meeting without a final roster; staff said interim appointments are allowed under existing policies. Several members signaled plans to pursue structural changes to how teacher seats are nominated and apportioned.