Section 71-1956 - Child care and early childhood education program; rating; quality rating criteria(1) Each applicable child care and early childhood education program which applies under section 71-1957 to participate in the quality rating and improvement system developed pursuant to section 71-1955 shall be rated on a quality scale using ratings labeled steps one through five and based on quality rating criteria.(2) Quality rating criteria shall be used to assign a quality scale rating as appropriate for the specific step. The criteria shall include, but not be limited to: (a) Licensing requirements as specified in the Child Care Licensing Act;(b) Facility safety and management;(c) Child development and school readiness outcomes;(d) Program curriculum, learning environment, and adult-child interactions;(e) Professional development and training;(g) Program administration;(h) Standards used by nationally recognized accrediting bodies approved by the State Department of Education; and(i) Other standards as required by the State Department of Education for prekindergarten services and prekindergarten programs established pursuant to section 79-1104 and federal performance standards for Head Start and Early Head Start programs.Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 71-1956