URGENT Hearing for LB441 is Fri March 24th. Your Public Comment is NEEDED!
Courtney Pentland
This bill has a hearing date of March 24, 2023 at 1:30pm. Comments must be completed by March 23rd at noon. It is imperative that we have as many comments on record as possible. The numbers make a huge difference to committee members. We need more opposition comments than support comments.
- Cost for school districts to carry liability insurance for all educators and school librarians would require additional funding and would be of similar cost to that of insurance carried by police officers.
- Cost for school districts for legal fees related to any prosecution in which the school district is also named as a defendant could be burdensome and would require additional funding.
- Students may lose access to materials that would prepare them to make informed decisions as members of our Nebraska communities.
- The teacher and school librarian shortage would increase as current employees may choose to leave education and potential future teachers may choose to pursue other careers rather than face potential litigation.
- Families may choose to leave our communities or our state if they feel their children’s constitutional rights to information would be violated through state-sanctioned censorship.
The NSLA has made official statements to the Judiciary Committee regarding LB441.
Please continue to look for posts on social media from NSLA and how to get involved.
How to submit a comment:
In any public comments or statements, be sure to state clearly if you are opposed or for the bill being referenced. See our attached letter for reference.
You can submit statements in one of two ways:
500 Word Public Comment statement on the bill’s page once a hearing is scheduled.
Go here: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=50448
NOTE. You will receive an email at the address you include in the public comment. You must approve your comment through that email before it will be submitted to the public record and shared with the committee.
If 500 words is not sufficient, you can submit a longer letter directly to the committee members listed below.
If you feel so inclined, please share any comments or letters with the NSLA Advocacy committee at advoca...@gmail.com.
If you wish to reach out to the Judiciary Committee Members individually, here are their email addresses along with more tips on how to create a concise response.
Sen. Justin Wayne, Chairperson jwa...@leg.ne.gov
Sen. Carol Blood cbl...@leg.ne.gov
Sen. Wendy DeBoer wde...@leg.ne.gov
Sen. Barry DeKay bde...@leg.ne.gov
Sen. Suzanne Geist sge...@leg.ne.gov
Sen. Rick Holdcroft rhold...@leg.ne.gov
Sen. Teresa Ibach tib...@leg.ne.gov
Sen. Terrell McKinney tmck...@leg.ne.gov
Adapted by NSLA January 25, 2023
Created by Wes Jensen OEA PACE Chair January 18, 2023
Contacting Senators Handout
Tips for Communicating with a Senator
● Keep it simple. They want to know your opinion. General rule: keep emails to a paragraph or two and keep phone calls/messages to a few sentences. ● Be firm, but courteous. Use respectful language.
● Praise them when applicable.
Ways to Communicate with a Senator
Primary Components of Effective Communication (Example messaging only!)
● Introduce yourself & the issue/bill you are communicating on.
○ Hi, my name is Concerned Teacher and I am reaching out in support of expanding access to free breakfasts and lunches for students of Nebraska’s public schools.
● Establish a connection to the Senator.
○ I am a resident of your district OR I am a teacher in your district OR As a proud Nebraska public school teacher, I am reaching out to you, as a member of the Education Committee.
● Establish your professional experience.
○ As a public school teacher, I know how important Nebraska’s support of public education is.
● Share your specific reason for reaching out in a personalized manner. ○ Omaha Public Schools is able to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students. I have seen what a positive difference this has made for my students and I want these academic, social benefits to be available to more public school students across Nebraska.
● Make your ask and be specific.
○ I urge you to support the bill (state name/# if you can) that will expand access to free breakfasts and lunches for Nebraska’s public school students. Thank you for your support.