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LINCOLN 鈥斅燗 first-of-its-kind statewide report related to reading and dyslexia for Nebraska K-12 students shows strides in addressing literacy as policymakers see room for improvement.

The Nebraska Department of Education submitted its on Sept. 3 as required under . State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn shepherded the legislation through in 2023 as a from that began assessing K-3 students three times a year to get them on individualized reading improvement plans and supports earlier, if needed. In 2017, the Legislature 鈥渄yslexia鈥� in state law.

LB 298 requires each public school in the state to report the number of students in the 2023-24 academic year who were:

• Tested for a specific learning disability in the area of reading, including tests that identify characteristics of dyslexia and the results of such tests.
• Identified as having a reading issue, including dyslexia, pursuant to assessments under the Nebraska Reading Improvement Act, which Linehan passed in 2018.
• Identified as having a reading issue who have shown growth on the measure used to identify the reporting issue.

鈥淭hings only get measured in government if somebody鈥檚 watching, and you have to have somebody watching,鈥� Linehan told the Nebraska Examiner of the report.

Breaking down the report

The data indicates that of 10,225 public K-12 students ages 3 to 21 who were tested last year for a specific learning disability in the area of reading, 4,747 students (46.43%) were eligible for special education services.

However, the department cautions that the term 鈥渟pecific learning disability鈥� is broad and consists of various distinct areas in which a child might need additional support to meet state standards: oral expression, written expression, basic reading skills, reading fluency, reading comprehension, mathematics calculation and mathematics problem solving.

鈥淚n sum, there is currently not a clean and clear way to fully identify the number of students with a specific learning disability in reading,鈥� the report states.

There is also great variance in what 鈥渦niversal screeners鈥� are used across school districts to assess students in grades K-3, with up to 13 different screeners used across the state鈥檚 244 school districts.

In the 2023-24 academic year, 23,814 students in grades K-3 鈥斅爉ore than a quarter of all K-3 students 鈥斅爓ere on a reading improvement plan. Of those, 22,538 students (94.64%) were reported to improve during the year.

Elizabeth Tegtmeier of North Platte, president of the Nebraska State Board of Education, which oversees the Education Department, said the report to the Legislature had 鈥渇allen short鈥� of her expectations. She said she and the board expected a 鈥渟erious and detailed audit.鈥�

Linehan, who has dyslexia, said until that breakdown was publicly available, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think you鈥檙e going to find out what schools are actually addressing this and which schools still need more help in identifying it.鈥�

District-specific data

The Examiner and Linehan requested data broken down by district, excluding data concealed for federal privacy reasons.

Of 196 districts, for example, more than 50% of K-3 students were on a reading improvement plan in 20 districts. In contrast, fewer than 10% of K-3 students were on a reading plan in eight districts. The median was 28.2% of K-3 students on a reading plan in each district. The department masked data for 48 districts for privacy reasons.

The districts with the highest percentage of students on a reading improvement plan were Umo N Ho N Nation Public Schools (75.93%), Bayard Public Schools (66.23%), Southern School District 1 (59.79%), Maxwell Public Schools (59.62%) and Kimball Public Schools (59.35%).

The districts with the lowest percentage of students on a reading improvement plan were聽 Norfolk Public Schools (5.45%), Gordon-Rushville Public Schools (6.1%), Johnson County Central Public Schools (7.3%), Tekamah-Herman Community Schools (7.33%) and Seward Public Schools (7.97%).

Six school districts reported a greater than 100% improvement rate, which David Jespersen, a department spokesperson, was likely due to 鈥渦ncertainty鈥� about the various parameters in the first year of reporting.

The report showed 100 districts reported 100% growth, while no reported growth percentage was shown for 54 districts.

The five school districts with the lowest reported growth percentage were: Ralston Public Schools (23.32%), Madison Public Schools (36.49%), South Sioux City Community Schools (39.22%), East Butler Public Schools (50%) and McCook Public Schools (50.85%).

However, the department cautioned that one growth point on one screener might not equate to the same growth on another assessment.

鈥淚t is difficult to interpret the significance of the reported student growth based upon the 2024 data collection,鈥� the report states.

Linehan said that district-specific data is important in part because when she in 2017, with former State Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln, multiple teachers and superintendents said they had never taught a student with dyslexia.

鈥楤ottom line, it鈥檚 a journey鈥�

Linehan said the data can also show that the department understands the state has a problem and needs to prioritize where funds go.

David Jespersen, a spokesperson for the Education Department, said that while the department can鈥檛 鈥渇ully verify鈥� that all school districts are following the three annual assessment periods, 鈥渨e have no reason to believe they were not.鈥�

The state-level funding is designed to employ to support teachers who teach children from age 4 to third grade how to read. Linehan passed the appropriation in this year.

Tim Royers, a teacher in Millard Public Schools, and president of the Nebraska State Education Association that represents teachers, agreed the report indicates progress but said it is 鈥渃ertainly not job done.鈥�

He said expanded training opportunities for staff, parents and other stakeholders is needed to provide holistic support to students.

鈥淏ottom line, it鈥檚 a journey,鈥� Royers said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 definitely some evidence of progress there but we feel that there鈥檚 still work to be done.鈥�

For the 2023-24 academic year, ranged from seven students in McPherson County Schools to 15,411 students in Omaha Public Schools. The median enrollment was 100 K-3 students per district. Total enrollment ranged from 52 to 51,693 students, with a median of 379.

Improving data collection and literacy

In a to Nebraska Education Commissioner Brian Maher, Linehan and State Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil, the Legislature鈥檚 Education Committee chair, pointed to a report from the .

It stated that third-grade reading proficiency can be a significant indicator of later academic success, including graduation and college-going rates.

Linehan and Murman said the department should also consider doing away with a specific part of the department鈥檚 rule on special education services. They pointed to a subjective 鈥渆nvironmental, cultural or economic disadvantage鈥� that could be impacting a student鈥檚 learning but doesn鈥檛 qualify them for a 鈥渟pecific learning disability.鈥�

The Education Department suggested various ways to improve data collection, such as:

• Adding clear language to specify the total number of students evaluated for any form of a specific learning disability, including reevaluation.
• Implementing clear guidelines for categorizing students identified with a specific learning disability, the total number of which is broken down into:
  • Number of students with a primary disability in reading (in two brackets 鈥斅燼ge 3 to third grade, fourth grade to age 21).
  • Number of students evaluated but not identified as having a disability in reading.
  • Number of students identified with having a disability in another area.

鈥淲ithout early support, the gap between dyslexic students and their peers can widen, making it harder to catch up later,鈥� the report states.

The report states that policymakers, educators and stakeholders must collaborate to address the identified gaps.

鈥淏y refining data collection processes, enhancing instructional strategies and providing adequate resources, we can better support our students and advance literacy outcomes across the state, the department writes.

The future of literacy policy

Linehan has advocated throughout her eight years in the Legislature for students with dyslexia. This is her final year in the Legislature because of term limits.

She and Murman suggested the department offer insight into demographics, performance on reading evaluations, types of evidence-based reading interventions deployed and criteria for student progress.

Royers said 鈥渢he gift of time鈥� is important for teachers when screening can be time intensive, especially in kindergarten or early grades when students might begin to develop coping mechanisms. For example, a student might memorize sight words or a combination of shapes that could mean 鈥渃at鈥� that a teacher might not catch without one-on-one intervention.

鈥淲e know what the playbook is, but it takes a lot of investment at a one-on-one level in order to execute the playbook properly,鈥� Royers said of young students.

Royers said giving educators more time, or bringing in support staff, would be most helpful to join the spirit of recent legislation to be proactive.

One of Linehan鈥檚 fears is not catching children as early as possible, which she agreed is difficult. Teachers see a range of students, with some already able to read a book, while others haven鈥檛 yet learned the alphabet.

Linehan said new funds should be invested in staff, not 鈥渢he newest curriculum out there.鈥�

The State Board of Education and Legislature should also collaborate for accountability, she said. For example, they should seek more specific information about the use of new teaching coaches: specific goals, such as the number of coaches needed and how many teachers the state should support.

Tegtmeier said the Education Department will continue to , particularly with a to improve third grade reading proficiency to 75% by 2030. For the , were proficient on state assessments.

鈥淟iteracy remains a board priority with significant amounts of resources devoted to it,鈥� Tegtmeier said. 鈥淚t is imperative that guidelines and regulations from NDE accompany the assessment requirement to ensure consistency throughout the state. Our students, parents and taxpayers deserve no less.鈥�

A review of Nebraska鈥檚 244 school districts for offers insights into proficiency in English Language Arts for K-12 students statewide. There were new 鈥渃ut scores鈥� to define 鈥減roficiency鈥� in this subject area聽 that the Nebraska Department of Education said 鈥渂etter reflect student achievement in Nebraska when compared to students nationally.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Cate Folsom for questions: info@nebraskaexaminer.com. Follow Nebraska Examiner on and .

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