(1) Teaching American Indian languages is essential to the proper education of American Indian children. School districts and postsecondary educational institutions may employ approved American Indian language teachers to teach their native language. For purposes of this section, approved American Indian language teacher means a teacher who has passed the tribe’s written and oral approval test.

Terms Used In Nebraska Statutes 79-802.01

  • School: means a school under the jurisdiction of a school board authorized by Chapter 79. See Nebraska Statutes 79-101
  • State: when applied to different states of the United States shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories organized by Congress. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
  • Teach: means and includes, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities: (a) The organization and management of the classroom or the physical area in which the learning experiences of pupils take place. See Nebraska Statutes 79-101
  • Teacher: means any certified employee who is regularly employed for the instruction of pupils in the public schools. See Nebraska Statutes 79-101

(2) Approved American Indian language teachers that do not also have a Nebraska teaching certificate shall not teach any subject other than the American Indian language they are approved to teach by the tribe.

(3) Each tribe shall develop both a written and an oral test that must be successfully completed in order to determine that a teacher is approved to teach the tribe’s native language. When developing such approval tests, the tribe shall include, but not be limited to, which dialects will be used, whether it will standardize its writing system, and how the teaching methods will be evaluated in the classroom. The teacher approval tests shall be administered at a community college or state college.

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