2 weeks Ago
Gov. Jim Pillen speaks during a press conference on Jan. 23 at the Capitol.
A committee of Nebraska lawmakers signaled bipartisan support Tuesday for a proposed law championed by Republican Gov. Jim Pillen that would require every school board in the state to ban the use of cellphones in schools. Introduced at Pillen's request by Sen.
Rita Sanders of Bellevue, the bill (LB140) is a part of the governor's broader agenda to shield Nebraska's children from the harmful effects that social media can have on adolescents. At a public hearing that lasted nearly two hours Tuesday afternoon, the Legislature's Education Committee heard from a broad group of Nebraskans in support of the proposal, including the governor, teachers — and, perhaps most surprisingly, students. People are also reading.
.. Their testimony was embraced by nearly every lawmaker on the committee, including Sen.
Danielle Conrad of Lincoln, a Democrat and frequent critic of Pillen who told the governor: "As a policymaker and as a parent, I agree with you." "I think when I talk to the parents in my district, it doesn't matter if you're a Democrat, a Republican or an independent, we're all struggling to find the right balance with technology in our lives, and particularly as parents, when it impacts our kids," she said. "And I really see the proposal that you brought forward as the exact kind of problem-solving we should be focused on together in Nebraska.
" In his remarks to the committee, Pillen apologized for not pushing the policy change in his first year as governor in 2023 and called the issue facing lawmakers "really urgent." He also pledged to tweak the bill's language in response to any concerns to garner bipartisan support. The bill, which would require school boards to adopt phone bans prior to the 2025-2026 school year, calls for exceptions to the policies, including when students may need to use their phones for emergencies, health care reasons, when authorized by a teacher or other staff member, or when a student's special individualized education program requires phone usage.
Lawmakers did take issue Tuesday with some of the bill's wording, including one portion that would bar students from using phones or other electronic devices while " attending a school function" — a proposal that senators and testifiers seemed to bristle at. "Can we write that policy? Sure," said Colby Coash, a lobbyist for the Nebraska Association of School Boards. "Can that be enforced? Probably not.
" Coash and others who weighed in on the bill at Tuesday's hearing, including Tim Royers, president of the Nebraska State Education Association, also questioned the exception in the bill that would allow students to use phones when authorized by teachers. Royers, who said that phone use in schools is the "No. 1 behavior concern" among Nebraska high school teachers, said that exception "seemingly undermines all of the previous provisions by allowing either (a school) board or an employee to just determine appropriate use.
" Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, who is championing the bill alongside Pillen , urged lawmakers to get "phones out of the hands of students during the entire school day" rather than forcing teachers to police a patchwork of policies statewide. Hilgers, a father of four, said he is "the bad guy currently" in the eyes of his oldest daughter, a 14-year-old who he hasn't allowed to have a smartphone. "So if I could be the bad guy for all the kids in the state of Nebraska, I'd be happy to do that," he said.
But not all kids are opposed to the proposal Hilgers' office helped draft. Three students at K-12 schools across Nebraska — including a high school senior from Elkhorn, a freshman from Omaha and a fifth grader from Lincoln — asked lawmakers to support the change Tuesday. Elsa Plouzek, who attends fifth grade at a private school in Lincoln after she transferred this year from a public school, said she and her classmates believe her new school's screen-free policy helps students "think better and feel better.
" The 11-year-old faced questions from lawmakers over how many of her peers even have cellphones. "In my class? I think only two people out of like 13 or 14," she said. "OK," Sen.
Jana Hughes of Seward said. "And then last year?" "I think everyone did," she said. "Exc ept me.
" Download the new Journal Star News Mobile App Meet Nebraska state senators making laws in 2025 District 49 Bob Andersen Omaha Elected 2024 402-471-2725 [email protected] District 14 John Arch La Vista Elected 2018, 2022 402-471-2730 jarch@leg.
ne.gov District 18 Christy Armendariz Omaha Elected 2022 402-471-2618 [email protected].
gov District 21 Beau Ballard Lincoln Appointed 2023, elected 2024 402-471-2673 [email protected] District 25 Carolyn Bosn Lincoln Appointed 2023, elected 2024 402-471-2731 cbosn@leg.
ne.gov District 29 Eliot Bostar Lincoln Elected 2020, 2024 402-471-2734 [email protected].
gov District 32 Tom Brandt Plymouth Elected 2018, 2022 402-471-2711 [email protected] District 9 John Cavanaugh Omaha Elected 2020, 2024 402-471-2723 jcavanaugh@leg.
ne.gov District 6 Machaela Cavanaugh Omaha Elected 2018, 2022 402-471-2714 [email protected].
gov District 2 Robert Clements Elmwood Appt. 2017, elected 2018, 2022 402-471-2613 [email protected].
gov District 37 Stanley Clouse Kearney Elected 2024 402-471-2726 [email protected] District 46 Danielle Conrad Lincoln Elected 2022 402-471-2720 dconrad@leg.
ne.gov District 10 Wendy DeBoer Bennington Elected 2018, 2022 402-471-2718 [email protected].
gov District 40 Barry DeKay Niobrara Elected 2022 402-471-2801 [email protected] District 30 Myron Dorn Adams Elected 2018, 2022 402-471-2620 mdorn@leg.
ne.gov District 19 Robert Dover Norfolk Appointed 2022, elected 2024 402-471-2929 [email protected].
gov District 26 George Dungan Lincoln Elected 2022 402-471-2610 [email protected] District 20 John Fredrickson Omaha Elected 2022 402-471-2622 jfredrickson@leg.
ne.gov District 7 Dunixi Guereca Omaha Elected 2024 402-471-2721 [email protected].
gov District 1 Bob Hallstrom Syracuse Elected 2024 402-471-2733 [email protected] District 16 Ben Hansen Blair Elected 2018, 2022 402-471-2728 bhansen@leg.
ne.gov District 48 Brian Hardin Gering Elected 2022 402-471-2802 [email protected].
gov District 36 Rick Holdcroft Bellevue Elected 2022 402-471-2642 [email protected] District 24 Jana Hughes Seward Elected 2022 402-471-2756 jhughes@leg.
ne.gov District 8 Megan Hunt Omaha Elected 2018, 2022 402-471-2722 [email protected].
gov District 44 Teresa Ibach Sumner Elected 2022 402-471-2805 [email protected] District 42 Mike Jacobson North Platte Appt.
2022, elected 2022 402-471-2729 [email protected] District 5 Margo Juarez Omaha Elected 2024 402-471-2710 mjuarez@leg.
ne.gov District 31 Kathleen Kauth Omaha Appt. 2022, elected 2022, 2024 402-471-2327 kkauth@leg.
ne.gov District 34 Loren Lippincott Central City Elected 2022 402-471-2630 [email protected].
gov District 33 Dan Lonowski Hastings Elected 2024 402-471-2712 [email protected] District 41 Dan McKeon Amherst Elected 2024 402-471-2885 dmckeon@leg.
ne.gov District 11 Terrell McKinney Omaha Elected 2020, 2024 402-471-2612 [email protected].
gov District 17 Glen Meyer Pender Elected 2024 402-471-2716 [email protected] District 22 Mike Moser Columbus Elected 2018, 2022 402-471-2715 mmoser@leg.
ne.gov District 38 Dave Murman Glenvil Elected 2018, 2022 402-471-2732 [email protected].
gov District 27 Jason Prokop Lincoln Elected 2024 402-471-2632 [email protected] District 35 Dan Quick Grand Island Elected 2024 402-471-2617 dquick@leg.
ne.gov District 28 Jane Raybould Lincoln Elected 2022 402-471-2633 [email protected].
gov District 12 Merv Riepe Ralston Elected 2022 402-471-2623 [email protected] District 3 Victor Rountree Bellevue Elected 2024 402-471-2627 vrountree@leg.
ne.gov District 45 Rita Sanders Bellevue Elected 2020, 2024 402-471-2615 [email protected].
gov District 39 Tony Sorrentino Elkhorn Elected 2024 402-471-2885 [email protected] District 13 Ashlei Spivey Omaha Elected 2024 402-471-2727 aspivey@leg.
ne.gov District 43 Tanya Storer Whitman Elected 2024 402-471-2628 [email protected].
gov District 23 Jared Storm David City Elected 2024 402-471-2719 [email protected] District 47 Paul Strommen Sidney Elected 2024 402-471-2616 pstrommen@leg.
ne.gov District 4 R. Brad von Gillern Elkhorn Elected 2022 402-471-2621 bvongillern@leg.
ne.gov District 15 Dave Wordekemper Fremont Elected 2024 402-471-2625 [email protected].
gov Reach the writer at 402-473-7223 or [email protected] . On Twitter @andrewwegley Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
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