School Bills at State Level

Four of the eight bills I introduced this session had hearings this week. I previously shared information about one of those bills, LB875, which would prevent alcohol from being sold less than cost with certain exceptions related to the age of the product.

I presented LB899 before the Education Committee. LB899 would restore the option to suspend preK-2nd grade students to our smaller schools. I shared the reasons for why this was introduced to the members of the Education Committee and I’d like to share them with you as well.

Last year a bill was introduced that removed suspension as an option for preK-2nd grade students. Previously, suspension of students of any age was a measure of last resort and most often was used to give time for parents, school staff, specialists and the student to meet and develop a plan to deal with any behavioral or other needs of the suspended student. These suspensions seldom lasted more than a day.

Senator McKinney, the sponsor of the original bill LB632, felt that suspending our youngest children was a disciplinary measure that was not necessary and was in some instances being used punitively. LB632 as initially introduced only applied to the largest schools in Nebraska as they had the resources and funding to provide more alternatives to suspension. The Education Committee decided to amend LB632 to prohibit all schools in Nebraska from suspending our youngest students. LB632 was included as part of a large package of 23 education-related bills that passed the Legislature last spring. The prohibition on suspension for preK-2nd grade began this past fall.

It quickly became apparent that this new law had unintended consequences. Chiefly, it prevented schools from suspending students who committed violent acts against other students, teachers or staff. Sadly, this was not limited to a few isolated incidents of preK-2nd grade students in our schools. I and others were contacted by schools of a growing problem throughout Nebraska. Senator Murman, Chair of the Education Committee also heard these concerns and offered a bill, LB1146, that would allow suspension of preK-2nd grade students who commit violent acts against their fellow students, the teachers or staff.

The Education Committee held a joint hearing on both LB899 and LB1146. The testimony from teachers and administrators from our public schools, representing both large and small schools, shared details of incidents that I would have never thought such a young person capable of doing. Opponents of my bill and Senator Murman’s bill stated that these young students needed more help and resources to deal with their behaviors. Supporters of LB899 and LB1146 advocated that in some cases, suspending these young students was necessary to get the parents involved in resolving the matter. One opponent of the bill shared that under current law, the county attorney could bring legal action against the parents of students committing these violent acts if they refused to engage with the schools to address the behavior. In the end, it was generally agreed by both sides that in a perfect world these students would have the behavioral health resources, involved parents, funds for and the access to needed resources to address the issues that led to the violent behavior and to prevent it from recurring. The unfortunate reality is that very few schools have such resources.

The prospects of additional funding for this is highly unlikely as the Legislature seems more focused on capping school funding, along with local and county government budgets, in order to reduce property taxes. Overall, the hearing on LB899 and its counterpart in LB1146 yielded a lot of thoughtful discussion. There was a shared realization that despite the disagreement on how to solve the issue, both the supporters and opponents of these bills completely agreed that the students who committed violent acts needed help and care, and their classmates, teachers and school staff needed to be in a secure environment and not fear for their safety. As this conversation continues, I will keep you up-to-date with any positive developments.

I appreciate all the emails and the new requests to sign up for my regular newsletter. Next week I will share information about the other two bills that had hearings this past week.

As always, if I can be of assistance to you in any way, please do not hesitate to contact my office. My staff members - Matt and Katie - are available to assist you with your needs and they pass along messages, so if you’d like a call back, please let them know!

Email: jhughes@leg.ne.gov Phone: 402-471-2756 Facebook: Senator Jana Hughes

Jana Hughes represents District 24 in the Nebraska Legislature. Read her column from time to time in the Polk County News.