This document establishes the policy of the State Board of Education for assuring that all Nebraska public schools provide equitable opportunities for all students to receive an essential education. This document contains recommendations for: (1) Essential Curriculum; (2) Essential Staffing; (3) Essential Support Services; (4) Essential Facilities and Environment; and (5) Suggested Strategies. The Essential Education Recommendations were developed over a two-year period through the work of the Commissioner's Advisory Committee on Essential Education and input from numerous other educators, patrons and board members across the State of Nebraska in meetings, conferences, policy partner forums, surveys and focus groups. Each section of this document includes: (1) Recommendations for each area, program, or topic; (2) Applicable current laws or rules supporting each topic; and (3) Some items contain regulation numbers. Those items represent regulations already in place in the Nebraska school accreditation requirements. This policy should guide immediate and long-range planning for implementation of recommendations at the state and local levels.