Board deadlocks over NCTE roster after heated debate on teacher representation
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Summary
A protracted, sometimes contentious discussion about the 2025–26 Nebraska Council on Teacher Education roster ended without board approval: members split over whether to approve higher education and governance appointments separately from teacher nominations, and multiple motions were tied or failed.
A lengthy debate over appointments to the Nebraska Council on Teacher Education (NCTE) consumed much of the State Board’s Aug. 8 meeting and ended with no approved roster.
Chair Sherry Jones moved to approve the higher education and governance sections of the 2025–26 roster while leaving teacher appointments for a separate vote; several board members objected to altering the committee motion without notice. Board parliamentarian Ryan Fore and staff described options for splitting or reconsidering motions, but divisions remained.
A proposed amendment to insert the word "teachers" (so the motion would approve higher education, governance and teacher sections together) resulted in a 4–4 tie and failed. The subsequent motion to approve only the higher education and governance sections also failed on a split vote. Later motions to approve the full roster likewise failed by tied 4–4 votes.
Opponents of the split argued the motion that came out of the planning and evaluation committee should have been transacted intact; one board member said that the new motion was created after the committee met and committee members were not informed. Supporters of splitting the roster said they were trying to address representation concerns—particularly the lack of nonpublic-school and non‑union teacher representation on the teacher portion of the roster—and wanted to create a path for broader representation.
Staff told the board that if no appointments are approved by the board the department has authority under organizational policies to appoint interim members and that the executive committee of the NCTE would solicit nominations to fill vacancies for the coming year.
What this means: Because motions to approve sections or the full roster failed, staff will follow organizational policies for interim appointments and return to the board if further board action is required.