The Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission was created by the Educational Television Act, adopted by the 1963 Legislature. In 1984, the Legislature changed the commission's name and broadened its scope to include all educational telecommunications. The commission promotes and provides noncommercial educational telecommunications throughout Nebraska via broadcast, satellite, fiber optic, computer and other technologies.
The Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission holds the license for the nine transmitters and five translators that comprise NPRN, the Nebraska Public Radio Network. It also holds the license for eight of the nine television transmitters and 14 translators that comprise the Nebraska ETV Network. The ninth transmitter, KUON-TV, is licensed to the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. Through a longstanding agreement with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Board of Regents, KUON-TV operates as the flagship station for the Nebraska ETV Network.
The Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission is comprised of 11 members. Nine are appointed by the governor and are subject to legislative approval. The Nebraska commissioner of education, or his or her designee, and the president of the University of Nebraska, or his or her designee, are standing members. Appointed members include: a Nebraska state college representative, a Nebraska community college representative, a Nebraska private educational institution representative, and two members of the public from each of the state's three congressional districts, none of whom may be associated with any of the institutions listed above. No more than four members of the commission may be actively engaged in the teaching profession or administration of an educational institution.
Commissioners are appointed to four-year terms on a staggered basis. They are not paid but are reimbursed for expenses.
The commission meets each month with most meetings held at the Terry M. Carpenter Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Center, 1800 North 33rd Street, Lincoln.
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