Nebraska Public Media

Sen. Dave Murman, chair of the Education Committee, is the lead sponsor of a proposal to once again allow schools to suspend students in kindergarten (LB653) through second grade. That practice was prohibited in 2023, unless the student brings a deadly weapon to school. Murman’s proposal would add that students could also be suspended if they engage in violent behavior capable of causing physical harm to another student or school employee. Sen. Jana Hughes supported the proposal, saying schools are reporting increasingly violent behavior, even among the youngest students. Sen. Terrell McKinney tried to stop the bill. McKinney, who’s black, recalled why he sponsored the ban on suspensions three years ago. “At the core of it, when I introduced the bill and I spoke to it, is the school-to-prison pipeline, the disproportionate amount of kids that look like me and others that are being suspended, that is an issue that needed to be addressed,” he said. McKinney faulted schools for not using alternatives to suspension to handle disruptive students.

Sen. Tom Brandt objected to another part of the proposal, which would require school districts, once they accepted a child under the state’s public school choice or option enrollment program, to also accept any siblings, even if the siblings had special education needs requiring an individualized education program. 

Senators voted 33-8 to accept both the suspension and option enrollment parts of Murman’s proposal, then gave the bill first-round approval.