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Professional Practices Commission

General Information
  • Formal Name:
    Professional Practices Commission
  • Contact Person:
    Kelly Muthersbaugh, Clerk of the Commission
  • Purpose:
    The Commission, upon receipt of petitions alleging a violation of standards of professional ethics and practices, filed by Dr. Matthew Blomstedt, Commissioner of Education, holds hearings and receives evidence and testimonies. The Commission members may then issue a private admonishment or warning or publicly reprimand educators or they may make a recommendation to the Nebraska State Board of Education that an educator's certificate be suspended or revoked. The Commission is also charged with advising the Nebraska State Board of Education regarding rules and regulations for standards of professional ethics and practices for holders of public schools certificates. The Commission may make recommendations to educational entities which promote improvement of education and the teaching profession. Other services provided by the Commission include the publishing of three pamphlets: Code of Ethics Teaching Profession; Standards of Competency Teaching Profession; and, Teacher Aides. The Clerk of the Professional Practices Commission is responsible for all record-keeping, all functions of the office, and responds to all requests to provide informational presentations to college classes in teacher and administrator training. She provides workshops and seminars for lay and professional groups and informs educational entities and the public of the activities of the Commission.
  • How Many Affectable:
    Varies.
  • How Many Served:
    Varies.
  • Year Created:
    1967
  • Year Active:
    1970
  • Sunset Date:
    None.
Authorization
  • Authorization Citation:
    Section 79-859 through 79-871.
  • Parent Agency:
    None.
Memberships and Meetings
  • Number Of Members:
    12.
  • Who Appoints:
    Governor.
  • Legislative Approval:
    Not required.
  • Qualifications Of Members:
    Educators must be representative of elementary and secondary classroom teachers, school administrators and postsecondary education.
  • Per Diem:
    No.
  • Expense Reimbursement:
    Yes.
  • Term Length:
    3 years.
  • Terms Rotate or Expire At Once:
    Terms Rotate
Meetings Required In:
  • Required FY 13-14:
    Four.
  • Held FY 13-14:
    Four.
  • Required FY 14-15:
    Four.
  • Held FY 14-15:
    Four.
  • Required FY 15-16:
    Four.
  • Held FY 15-16:
    Four.
Operations
  • Support Staff:
    Yes.
  • Shared or Separate:
    Separate.
  • FY 13-14 Budget:
    $129,042.19
  • FY 14-15 Budget:
    $132,011.77
  • FY 15-16 Budget:
    $136,955.47
  • Other Funding Sources:
    Totally cash funded.
  • Spending Authority:
    Commisison approves proposed budgets.
Accomplishments
  • Since July 1, 2012:
    Since the last report in 2012, there have been fifty-five petitions filed with the Commission resulting in the following: Twenty-five recommendations for revocation of a certificate with 8 of those recommended to be permanent. Eleven recommendations for suspension of a certificate. Three public reprimands were issued. Two petitions were dismissed. Six were granted reinstatements. Two petitions requesting reinstatement were denied. One petition requesting reinstatement was withdrawn. We currently have five cases pending so those recommendations are not part of this report. This is an increase of fourteen petitions filed from those filed in the last report in 2012. (Forty-one between 2008-2012 and fifty-five between 2012-2016.)We do offer administrative law training to commissioners at the National Judicial College, and have sent attendees three times these past four years.We are in the process of producing, with the assistance of Nebraska Educational Television, a series of six additional training videos that will be used to further assist and enhance our outreach program to educate and prevent teacher and administrator violations of standards of professional ethics and practices.A significant number of inquiries from members of the public and teaching profession have been addressed. We continue to provide presentations to groups regarding the activities of the Commission. Numerous pamphlets have been requested and disseminated