Capitol Updates

Thursday, April 2, 2026

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Strong Opposition to LB1050 Student Retention

The NSEA remains firmly opposed to LB1050, both in its originally introduced form and as amended by AM3052. While we appreciate Senator Hughes’ sincere efforts to craft a compromise through this amendment, the changes do not address our core concerns. AM3052 requires the State Department of Education to develop and adopt a comprehensive model policy by July 1, 2027, covering the identification of students with reading deficiencies, targeted reading interventions for kindergarten through third grade, dyslexia screening and technical assistance, parental involvement in interventions, the right of parents to request retention under existing law, mandatory retention at third grade for students with persistent reading deficiencies, and a parental override process.  

Despite these adjustments, educators are deeply troubled by the bill’s continued heavy reliance on third-grade retention as a central intervention. Research consistently shows that retention is a complex decision with documented long-term negative effects on students’ academic achievement, self-esteem, social development, and emotional well-being—outcomes that often fail to produce sustained gains in reading proficiency.  Nebraska law already allows parents to request retention when they believe it serves their child’s best interest, making this new mandate largely redundant.  

Instead of elevating retention, resources should be directed toward proven, research-based alternatives such as explicit systematic foundational skills instruction grounded in the science of reading, high-dosage one-on-one or small-group tutoring, robust Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS/RTI), intensive ongoing teacher professional development, and high-quality early childhood and summer literacy programs. These strategies, already yielding positive results, focus on early, targeted help without the harm associated with holding students back. 

AM3052 further layers on significant new mandates—including more frequent approved assessments, expanded data reporting, dyslexia screening requirements, and compliance with a standardized statewide policy—without any dedicated state funding to support implementation. This top-down approach shifts Nebraska away from its longstanding collaborative model of literacy improvement and toward a compliance-driven system that limits local control and the flexibility districts need to meet the unique needs of their students and communities.  

Teachers already manage extensive mandatory trainings and initiatives; these additional requirements will divert precious time and resources away from direct instruction, lesson planning, and the very interventions that help struggling readers succeed. As a result, districts may be forced to raise local property taxes or cut other essential programs to cover the costs of new classrooms, staff, training, interpreters, and documentation. 

A more thoughtful, data-driven path forward is already before the Legislature in the form of LR440, Senator Hughes’ interim study resolution. LR440 would examine the identification, evaluation, and effectiveness of current reading screeners approved by the State Department of Education to determine whether refinements to screening practices should come before any consideration of retention policies. Nebraska educators and literacy experts stand ready to partner with state leaders on solutions developed here in our state, drawing on the input of those who know our students and communities best. 

CALL TO ACTION: We urge you to contact your state senator immediately—prior to the scheduled debate on Tuesday, April 7—and voice your strong opposition to LB1050 in both its current form and as amended by AM3052. You can contact your senator at (click here). Please also encourage support for LR440 as the better, collaborative approach. Your voice matters—together we can champion research-based solutions that truly support every Nebraska child’s path to reading success. 

Restrictive Property Tax Caps Threaten Public Schools

Nebraska’s public schools are under attack with the advancement of LB1219, prioritized by Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair, and it is now on General File in the Legislature. This bill would impose a rigid new cap on property tax levies by all political subdivisions—including every school district—beginning Jan. 1, 2027. It overrides both the Property Tax Growth Limitation Act and the more flexible School District Property Tax Limitation Act that currently allow districts to better account for student needs and cost increases. 

LB1219 limits the total dollars a district can levy each year to the prior year’s amount plus only a 2 percent base increase and “real growth” from new construction, building additions, annexation, or certain personal property changes. It ignores inflation, rising market values on existing property, salary and benefit increases, and enrollment growth that existing law already recognizes. School districts, which depend on local property taxes for the majority of their operating budgets, would suddenly lose the ability to keep pace with real-world costs. 

The cap could slash budgets by millions within just a few years—potentially $15.5 million in one large district alone—directly threatening teacher salaries, classroom resources, special education services, and extracurricular programs. With roughly 80 percent of most district budgets tied to personnel costs, the result would be larger class sizes, reduced support staff, program cuts, and possible school closures in smaller and rural communities. 

NSEA members should oppose LB1219 because it strips local control from elected school boards and hands it to an inflexible statewide formula that fails to recognize the true cost of educating Nebraska’s children. Public education funding must keep up with inflation and student needs, not be artificially frozen by a one-size-fits-all tax cap that benefits property owners at the expense of students and educators. 

CALL TO ACTION: NSEA members, your voice matters right now. Contact your state senator immediately—before next week—to strongly oppose LB1219 and protect funding for Nebraska’s public schools. Find your senator’s contact information at (click here) and tell them to vote NO on this harmful measure. 

Review of Education Related Priority Bills

Approved by Governor 

LB653 (Murman) Change acceptance of students under the enrollment option 
NSEA Position: Support 

LB956 (Cavanaugh, J.) Provide collection of postsecondary institution compensation data 
NSEA Position: Support 

Presented to Governor 

LB824 (Lonowski) Change provisions to termination of employment under the School Employees Retirement Act and the Class V School Employees Retirement Act 
NSEA Position: Support (includes LB1102 and LB1166) 

LB1071 (Arch) Provide, change, and eliminate provisions related to appropriations for the expenses of Nebraska State Government for the biennium ending June 30, 2027 
NSEA Position: Monitor 

Final Reading 

LB429 (Murman) Provide requirements and restrictions for school boards relating to professional employees’ organizations 
NSEA Position: Monitor 

LB745 (Juarez) Change provisions to requirements for a diploma of high school equivalency 
NSEA Position: Support 

LB748 (Sorrentino) Change provisions to Nebraska educational savings plan trust 
NSEA Position: Monitor 

LB820 (Retirement) Change contributions by school districts, computation of tax withholdings, retirement allowances, and cost-of-living adjustments 
NSEA Position: Support 

LB924 (Andersen) Change powers of learning community councils and levies 
NSEA Position: Monitor 

LB940 (Murman) Prohibit certain color additives in school meals 
NSEA Position: Monitor 

Select File 

LB304 (DeBoer) Eliminate a sunset date for the federal Child Care Subsidy program  
NSEA Position: Support 

LB937 (Education) Adopt the Prior Learning Act and change provisions relating to student transfers, school absences, option enrollment, extracurricular activities, and the College Pathway Program Act 
NSEA Position: Monitor (includes LB1146, LB1164, LB1224, LB1241 and LB1243) 

LB966 (Cavanaugh, M.) Adopt the Hunger-Free Schools Act 
NSEA Position: Support 

LB1029 (Conrad) Redefine terms to reportable funding from a foreign adversarial source for colleges and universities 
NSEA Position: Support 

LB1050 (Murman) Provide requirements for dyslexia screening and limit advancement to grade four under the Nebraska Reading Improvement Act 
NSEA Position: Oppose 

General File 

LB730 (Kauth) Require schools designate restrooms and locker rooms based on sex 
NSEA Position: Oppose 

LB1086 (Dover) Change eligibility requirements for community college gap assistance 
NSEA Position: Support 

LB1219 (Brandt) Limit amount of property taxes that may be levied by a political subdivision 
NSEA Position: Oppose 

In Committee 

LB1034 (Dungan) Prohibit school staff from allowing federal immigration enforcement officers to access schools without a judicial warrant 
NSEA Position: Support 

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