In a recent meeting, the State Board of Education opted not to make a decision on the Community Achievement Plan proposed by the Learning Community of Douglas and Sarpy counties. The hesitation arose after certain board members voiced concerns regarding a partnership with a healthcare organization that offers transgender health services.
The comprehensive plan aims to enhance early childhood education access, foster greater parental involvement, and improve student attendance rates.
A notable component of the plan is a collaboration with OneWorld Community Health Centers, which played a role in establishing a learning center in South Omaha. Board member Lisa Schonhoff, who identifies with the Republican Party but serves on the non-partisan board, expressed her approval of many of OneWorld’s services, such as dental care, behavioral health, and care for underserved populations.
However, Schonhoff drew a line at services related to transgender health, stating, “My hangup is this — because this is child abuse in my mind, and I won’t attach my name to it — ‘hormone therapy and medical transition assistance for transgender individuals,’” She further remarked on the potential risks for minors, referencing practices observed in other states like Washington.
A search conducted by Nebraska Public Media News on OneWorld’s website revealed a single reference to hormone therapy.
Board member Deborah Neary, representing central Douglas County, highlighted the prevalence of such services in Omaha’s health centers, noting, “The offer was on the table that we just write that into the plan that no state funds can go towards those kinds of activities, but they aren’t part of the plan anyway.” Despite this, the suggestion was not accepted.
Another board member, Sherry Jones, advocated for postponing the decision to allow members not involved in the planning and evaluation committee more time to review the plan and related materials, particularly those concerning associated nonprofits.
Kristin Christensen, the chair of the policy and evaluation committee, pointed out that the board had previously reviewed the plan in December and had ample time to deliberate. She expressed concern about the delay, stating, “It feels a little frustrating to me when we’ve had time to kind of vet this and look through it and have these discussions, and then when it comes time to, now it’s an action item this month, then now we’re putting the brakes on and halting it when we’ve had time before this month to get to this point.”
Aside from the partnership with OneWorld, Schonhoff questioned the evaluation methodologies used in early childhood education settings, suggesting that the continuous assessment of students’ social and emotional activities could distract teachers and potentially contribute to anxiety and depression in young children.
With no action taken on the plan, Shirley Vargas from the Nebraska Department of Education noted that the board has until the following month to decide before the state aid certification deadline of March 1.
Literacy updates
Jamie Cook, the literacy officer for the Nebraska Department of Education, shared progress on a $55 million federal literacy grant. Since August, 46 school districts have received funds, and preliminary results show a significant increase in teacher readiness to apply early literacy skills, climbing from 60% to 87%. For educators teaching fourth grade and above, readiness levels averaged 96%.
Cook emphasized positive outcomes from the grant-supported projects, such as a district that improved reading fluency by an average of 32 words per minute. Another district distributed over 1,000 literacy kits to families, and one more saw students accumulate 44,000 minutes of reading within a month.
The State Board of Education is scheduled to convene for its next regular meeting on February 6.
