Lincoln, NE—In preparation for the Nebraska Education Committee’s Hearing on Social Emotional Learning (LR 149), the Nebraska Department of Education’s Launch NE website and use of ESSER funding (LR 148), and Interim Study on LB 374 (LR 147), Chairman Murman released the following statement:

“In District 38 and across Nebraska, parents have long been concerned about content in schools and the tools they have to achieve transparency in the classroom. I look forward to asking questions of all the invited testifiers, evaluating existing transparency mechanisms, and continuing towards our goal of finding consensus to improving Nebraska schools with parents, teachers, and administrators alike.”

July 31^st, 2023

Education Committee Hearing

Invited Testifiers

1. Commissioner Brian Maher, Commissioner of Nebraska Department of Education
2. Mike Pate, current Millard Public Schools board member
3. Lisa Wagner, President of Central City Public School Board
4. Jackie Egan, NAACP Lincoln, Nebraskans for Peace, Let’s Talk Alliance, Lincoln Education Collaboration
5. Kirk Penner, (Testifying in personal capacity), State Board of Education District 5, former Aurora Public Schools board member
6. Lisa Schonhoff, English Language Learning Educator, Bennington Public Schools
7. Sue Greenwald, Protect Nebraska Children Coalition
8. Lori Samuelson, School Psychologist, Hastings Public Schools

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Glenvil, NE—State Senator Dave Murman, representing Legislative District 38, appeared on KETV 7 News Omaha on Thursday to celebrate the historic investments in Nebraska public schools made through a joint effort by Governor Pillen and the legislature.

As part of this investment, Senator Murman is releasing figures from the Governor’s office detailing the increase in state aid to every school in Legislative District 38. The estimates represent the combined increase in foundation aid and special education reimbursement funds for Fiscal Years 2023-24 through 2025-26. Every school is guaranteed at least $1,500 in state aid per student in Nebraska.

On Thursday, Murman reiterated his belief that this influx of new state aid will empower school districts to lower their property tax levies, stating “that increase [in state aid] should be refunded back to the property taxpayer.”

Estimated Combined Increase in State Aid to Public Schools FY23/24 – FY25/26: 

Adams Central: $6,052,409

Alma: $1,119,192

Arapahoe: $1,796,026

Blue Hill: $1,637,167

Bruning-Davenport: $1,393,395

Cambridge: $433,165

Doniphan-Trumbull: $2,692,750

Franklin: $1,751,977

Harvard: $2,048,721

Holdrege: $6,805,871

Loomis: $1,230,822

McCook: $2,915,666

Minden: $5,122,107

Red Cloud: $1,528,662

Shickley: $925,256

Southern Valley: $2,631,015

Southwest: $1,644,987

South Central: $4,930,266

Superior: $987,597

Sutton: $2,599,829

Wilcox-Hildreth: $1,655,622

Estimates for all Nebraska school districts can be found here.

LINCOLN—Nebraska Senator Dave Murman and his colleagues on the Education Committee celebrated the advancement of LB 705 and the encompassed bills (see below) to the Governor’s desk.

Senator Murman and his colleagues released the following statements:

Said Senator Murman: “This package is the culmination of hours of hard work by all committee members to benefit students and advance education in Nebraska. From pre-kindergarten to college, or whether you attend public, private or homeschool, this bill makes significant, broad-sweeping improvements. My goal was to pass legislation that keeps our schools safe, to provide funding for necessary school functions, to recruit teachers to the classroom, and to provide for more parental involvement in schools. LB705 meets the moment for our students, our educators, and our schools, and I was privileged to lead such an experienced and well-intentioned committee through this process.”

Said Senator Conrad: “This series of bills was carefully and conscientiously crafted together under the leadership of Senator Murman and others on the Education Committee. It is a demonstration of what good policy work this truly unique legislature can do when people set politics and differences aside, and do what’s best for the children of this State.”

Said Senator Linehan: “The Education Package is designed to help all students in Nebraska. Through this package, we will be helping all schools with at least 80% of their special education funding, recruiting and retaining teachers, and opening new pathways for people to enter the teaching profession. Thanks to the leadership of Chairman Murman and Governor Pillen, the Education Committee has put together a comprehensive package that will positively impact the lives of our students. I also thank my fellow committee members for putting the education of Nebraska students first– and for recognizing that good education is key to the future of our great state.”

Said Senator Walz: “”LB705 is an important piece of legislation that continues the committee’s hard work to support our education community for school for students, staff and parents. I was proud to contribute pieces to this legislation like teacher recruitment and providing important school safety measures.”

Said Senator Briese: “I am excited about the reforms and policy improvements contained in LB 705, and grateful for the hard work of my fellow senators and our staff, as well as input from stakeholders and the general public which have come together to make this important legislation a success.”

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Education Omnibus Bill

Vehicle—LB 705

1. LB 705 (Murman)*: Change provisions for the distribution of lottery funds used for education, transfer powers and duties, create new acts and funds, and change education provisions.
2. LB 153 (DeBoer): Adopt the Extraordinary Increase in Special Education Expenditures Act
3. LB 201 (Vargas): Provide a high school graduation requirement relating to federal student aid.
4. LB 222 (Fredrickson): Prescribe requirements for the student application and admission process of public colleges and universities regarding criminal history and juvenile court record information.
5. LB 356 (Walz): Redefine terms under the Nebraska Opportunity Grant Act
6. LB 372 (Murman): Change provisions relating to part-time enrollment in public schools and extracurricular activities.
7. LB 385 (Linehan)*: Adopt the Nebraska Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act
8. LB 414 (Conrad): Change provisions related to the enrollment option program
9. LB 516 (Walz)**: Provide and change powers and duties for the State Department of Education, Commissioner of Education, State Board of Education, and the state school security director, provide grants to school districts for security-related infrastructure projects, and provide grants to educational service units and local public health departments to hire school psychologists and licensed mental health practitioners as prescribed.
10. LB 520 (Walz): Change provisions relating to high school graduation requirements and academic content standards and the Computer Science and Technology Education Act
11. LB 585 (Hughes)***: Change a duty of the state security director and require behavioral and mental health training for certain school personnel
12. LB 603 (Linehan): Change provisions relating to the Alternative Certification for Quality Teachers Act and authorize the Commissioner of Education to issue alternative certificates to teach as prescribed
13. LB 632 (McKinney): Prohibit the suspension of students in prekindergarten through second grade in a school.
14. LB 647 (McDonnell)***: Change provisions relating to the purchase and loan of textbooks for children enrolled in kindergarten to grade twelve of a private schools.
15. LB 648 (McDonnell): Provide powers and duties to the State Department of Education relating to the development of a workforce diploma program
16. LB 698 (Murman): Change provisions relating to residency for enrollment in a public college or university.
17. LB 703 (Murman): Change provisions relating to the University of Nebraska
18. LB 708 (Arch): Require the Office of Probation Administration, the State Court Administrator, the State Department of Education, and the Department of Health and Human Services to enter into a memorandum of understanding for the sharing of data regarding data relevant to students who are under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court
19. LB 724 (Vargas): Eliminate certain basic skill and content test requirements for eligibility for teaching certificates
    1. Will be amended to require the content-specific praxis
20. LB 762 (DeBoer): Provide powers and duties to the State Department of Education relating to a teacher apprenticeship program.
21. LB 774 (Vargas): Change provisions relating to the Student Discipline Act
22. LB 787 (Wayne): Adopt the STEEM Development Act
23. LB 805 (Von Gillern)**: Require schools to allow certain youth organizations to provide information, services, and activities

KEY:

* = Committee priority

** = Senator priority

*** = Speaker priority

Today, Senator Dave Murman released a brief statement regarding Senator Joni Albrecht’s Nebraska Heartbeat Act:

“I was proud to stand alongside Sen. Joni Albrecht and several other pro-life colleagues to announce our Heartbeat Protection legislation and companion legislation to support pro-life health centers around Nebraska.

LINCOLN—This weekend, news of a threat against Catholic students at the John Paul II Newman Center near the University of Nebraska-Omaha shocked citizens across Nebraska. A letter reportedly signed by “Jane’s Revenge,” a group that has claimed responsibility for firebombing[1] and widespread vandalism[2] across the United States, made a terroristic threat against students at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Subsequently, a similar threat was made against the congregation of Christ Community Church.

Upon hearing of the threat, Senator Dave Murman, who is a member of the Nebraska Legislature’s Education Committee, released a brief statement:

“Nebraskans deserve to be free from the threat of politically motivated terror. These threats against churches and pro-life students at their schools need to be investigated with every resource possible,” said Senator Murman. He continued, “We should all pray for law enforcement as they carry out this investigation and continue to pray for an end to abortion in our state and across the world.”

[1] https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252352/pregnancy-clinic-firebombed-janes-revenge-no-arrests

[2] https://www.axios.com/local/des-moines/2022/06/13/janes-revenge-claims-vandalized-des-moines-resource-center

LINCOLN—Today, Senator Dave Murman of Glenvil called for the Department of Education to eliminate links and resources to National Sexuality Education Standards, a form of comprehensive sex education, found on https://education.ne.gov/csss/hiv/. The link was found and reported to the Senator’s office by a concerned civilian in conjunction with Senator Murman’s investigation into the promotion of Critical Race Theory at the Nebraska Department of Education.

The Department’s website states:

from “HIV/AIDS Education” www.education.ne.gov/csss/hiv/

When asked for an explanation, calls from the Senator’s office to the Department of Education went unanswered.

On Friday, Senator Murman said, “The Department of Education has been through this once before. The Department knows full well that it lacks the legal discretion to promote sex education standards. I call on the Department to remove, condemn, and apologize for promoting this material with state resources.”

LINCOLN—On October 31st, 2022, the Nebraska Board of Education abruptly canceled
their public comment period for the Board’s November 4th meeting. Senator Dave
Murman of Legislative District 38 released the following statement:

“The Nebraska Board of Education has long held a public comment period where citizens
can interact with their elected members of Government in their official capacity.
Yesterday, the board decided that after a slew of oversight failures, including the
imposing of a regimen of Critical Race Theory on teachers, they would shut down the
voices of parents before an election.

“The Nebraska Board of Education has fallen in line with those they’re supposed to
oversee, and they have decided to play politics instead of doing what is best for Nebraska
children and working on behalf of the citizen. I wholeheartedly condemn this action and
call on the Board to open up their meeting for public comment.”

Senator Murman appeared on Newsmax “National Report” this morning to discuss evidence of Critical Race Theory resources provided to Nebraska’s public school teachers by the Nebraska Department of Education.

LINCOLN—Senator Dave Murman of Glenvil was joined today by Hastings Senator Steve Halloran, Elmwood Senator Rob Clements, Bayard Senator Steve Erdman and Adams Senator Myron Dorn. They held a joint press conference in the State Capitol Rotunda to discuss their call for a legislative investigation into the Nebraska Department of Education.

Over the last few years, the Nebraska Department of Education has received money from the federal government’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund to help schools rebound from COVID-19. With this money, the Department created an online resource hub known as “Launch Nebraska” that could be accessed by any internet user. After a year of operation, Launch Nebraska appears to have shifted its focus, and that is what prompted the call for an investigation.

“The website provided ‘professional resource and learning links’ targeted toward educators and members of the education administration. With this, the Nebraska Department of Education guided educators to the ‘Culturally Responsive Education’ hub, where educators were encouraged to ‘Take Action’ and provided with a PDF document titled ‘Winning Racial Justice In Our Schools: Resisting the Right Wing Attacks On Critical Race Theory.’ This comes at a time when ACT scores for the previous year have been reported as the lowest in at least a decade. In Nebraska, 20% of tested graduates met all four ACT benchmarks for college percent, which is down from 23% a year earlier.”

The Education Department has come under fire in recent months because of its proposed Comprehensive Sex Education standards. Murman says that the uncovered documents show unequivocally that the Department has also been promoting Critical Race Theory for at least a full school year.

“It has become clear that the Nebraska Department of Education and Launch Nebraska have gone off the rails from the original intent of this program. That’s why I am calling for a legislative investigation into the Nebraska Department of Education. The people of Nebraska, and certainly in my district in south-central Nebraska, expect our schools to teach their kids the basics: math, reading, science, civics, history, writing, and financial literacy, and prepare students for higher education or a job in the trades.”

Senator Murman said that there should never be another dime of taxpayer money that goes to a state-employed agency that is determined to participate in political activity.

h/t: ERIN BAMER, OMAHA WORLD-HERALD