A pioneer school located in Harrisburg, Banner County, Nebraska

EDUCATIONAL SERVICE UNIT 13

Just as children are not created equally in their physical and mental abilities,  neither are school districts equal in richness or size.  Too often, children with special needs could not achieve their maximum potential because they lacked access to skilled teachers and special programs to supplement their learning.  Many districts could not provide needed special services to help children, or to enhance learning programs for the average and gifted students, because of lack of funds.

Recognizing these needs, in August of 1965 the Nebraska Legislature passed a special bill, L. B. 301, creating 19 educational service units.  Their express purpose, according to that law, was “to provide supplementary educational services to local school districts.”

Each unit is governed by an elected lay board consisting of one member from each county in the unit, along with four at-large members, all of whom are elected to four-year terms.

 Since its beginning, the 19 service units have gone through reorganization several times with the latest merger creating one unit for the entire Panhandle of Nebraska. It will include 15,000 students in 70 schools in 11 counties.  The services offered are too numerous to discuss in detail, but instead will simply be listed.  They are as follows: Special Education, Transition Services, Meridian School, Speech-Language Program, Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Resource Teacher Program, OT/PT Services, West Region Autism Spectrum Disorder Program, Para Educator Certification, School Health Coordinator, Psychological Services, Alternative Learning Transition School, Juvenile Services, Early Development Network, Medicaid in Public Schools, Panhandle Early Childhood Training Coalition and SOAR (Sharing Opportunities Achieving Results). 

From within SOAR are services such as: Assessment Studies, Procedures for Professional Growth, Instructional Materials/Media Services, Technology for Teacher Activities, Cooperative Purchasing, Distance Learning Consortium, Telecomputing Resources and Community Supports Student Learning by Sharing Expertise.  

 For more information contact the Educational Service Unit # 13 at http://www.esu13.org