A state panel bought a taste Tuesday of the fervour and emotion that’s been burning throughout Nebraska over well being education requirements for colleges.
Sen. Joni Albrecht of Thurston pitched to lawmakers on the Education Committee her invoice that might strip the Nebraska State Board of Education of the facility to jot down the requirements.
Albrecht stated the Legislature must ship a “clear and concise” message to the board.
“Sadly, the public trust has been broken, and now it’s time for the Legislature to step in and restore that trust,” she stated.
The committee members took testimony for about 2½ hours, with invoice supporters and opponents taking turns. Committee members requested few questions in the course of the listening to.
The state’s requirements could be voluntary for districts to undertake.
Much of the testimony targeted on whether or not colleges ought to have complete and inclusive well being requirements — not on the query of whether or not the state education board ought to have the facility to jot down them.
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Zoe Miller, a testifier from Omaha, stated complete well being education in colleges would assist forestall suicide, sexual violence, excessive sexually transmitted an infection charges and excessive teen being pregnant charges.
“Our health education curriculum is in dire need of reworking to be more inclusive and honest, meaning we can’t just cater our health education to cisgender White men,” Miller stated.
Jo Giles, govt director of the Women’s Fund of Omaha, stated all younger folks deserve entry to finish, sincere and correct info to make knowledgeable selections about their well being and their futures.
“Omitting complete health information for young people leaves a devastating hole in their education and does not prepare them for life,” she stated.
She stated 57% of Nebraska youngsters have intercourse earlier than they graduate from highschool however solely 8% have ever been examined for a sexually transmitted illness.
Jill Greenquist of Omaha, a spouse and mom who favored the invoice, stated she testified to guard her youngsters “from activist individuals and entities who believe their way of educating children should go beyond the standards of math, science, language arts and social studies.”
“I’m disappointed,” she stated, “that the Nebraska Department of Education cannot be trusted with establishing educational standards that are focused on the essentials.”
Albrecht appealed to the committee to advance the invoice, LB 768, for consideration by the entire Legislature.
The invoice would limit the board’s authority for creating new requirements to the core educational topic areas already licensed below state regulation: studying, writing, math, science and social research.
The state at present has no statewide well being education requirements. They are developed by native districts.
In addition, the invoice would scrub the phrase complete from a pair of passages of Nebraska regulation coping with well being education in colleges.
Under the invoice, native authorities would nonetheless be directed to supply for instructing public college college students in a well being education program, however the regulation would now not outline it as complete.
The board is just not required below state regulation to create well being requirements. If permitted, the requirements would solely be beneficial for adoption by native districts.
The board has beforehand permitted related beneficial requirements, past these required by regulation, within the areas of high quality arts, bodily education, world language and profession and technical education.
Albrecht stated lawmakers have a historical past of weighing in on main education points, for example passing payments on studying and civics education, drug and alcohol abuse and suicide prevention, she stated.
“We, as legislators, decide the big stuff, the big stuff that’s going to make a difference in the fabric of education in the state of Nebraska,” she stated.
Albrecht inspired the committee members to learn what was within the first and second drafts of the requirements produced by a staff of writers and the Nebraska Department of Education.
“Take the first draft and take the second draft, and tell me that you’re OK with this being in our school system,” she stated.
The controversial requirements have been on ice since Sept. 3 when board members, going through a groundswell of opposition, postponed their growth indefinitely. The board voted 7-1 earlier this month to oppose Albrecht’s invoice.
Board member Maureen Nickels on Tuesday stated small college districts lack the wherewithal to jot down their very own requirements, they usually depend on the state for assist.
Nickels stated well being requirements are “the only set of standards that we have not put out yet at the Department of Education, and I sincerely believe it’s important for us to have standards by the state for every curriculum out there, for every course that we teach out there.”
Meet the Nebraska state senators
Nebraska has 49 state senators within the Legislature. Scroll by to search out your state senator and others.

State Sen. Julie Slama
District: 1
From: Sterling
Party: Republican

State Sen. Robert Clements
District: 2
From: Elmwood
Party: Republican

State Sen. Carol Blood
District: 3
From: Bellevue
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Robert Hilkemann
District: 4
From: Omaha
Party: Republican

State Sen. Mike McDonnell
District: 5
From: Omaha
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh
District: 6
From: Omaha
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Tony Vargas
District: 7
From: Omaha
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Megan Hunt
District: 8
From: Omaha
Party: Democratic

State Sen. John Cavanaugh
District: 9
From: Omaha
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Wendy DeBoer
District: 10
From: Bennington
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Terrell McKinney
District: 11
From: Omaha
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Steve Lathrop
District: 12
From: Omaha
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Justin Wayne
District: 13
From: Omaha
Party: Democratic

State Sen. John Arch
District: 14
From: La Vista
Party: Republican

State Sen. Lynne Walz
District: 15
From: Fremont
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Ben Hansen
District: 16
From: Blair
Party: Republican

State Sen. Joni Albrecht
District: 17
From: Thurston
Party: Republican

State Sen. Brett Lindstrom
District: 18
From: Lincoln
Party: Republican

State Sen. Mike Flood
District: 19
From: Norfolk
Party: Republican

State Sen. John McCollister District: 20 From: Omaha Party: Republican

State Sen. Mike Hilgers
District: 21
From: Lincoln
Party: Republican

State Sen. Mike Moser
District: 22
From: Columbus
Party: Republican

State Sen. Bruce Bostelman
District: 23
From: Brainard
Party: Republican

State Sen. Mark Kolterman
District: 24
From: Seward
Party: Republican

State Sen. Suzanne Geist
District: 25
From: Lincoln
Party: Republican

State Sen. Matt Hansen
District: 26
From: Lincoln
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Anna Wishart
District: 27
From: Lincoln
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks
District: 28
From: Lincoln
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Eliot Bostar
District: 29
From: Lincoln
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Myron Dorn
District: 30
From: Adams
Party: Republican

State Sen. Rich Pahls
District: 31
From: Omaha
Party: Republican

State Sen. Tom Brandt
District: 32
From: Plymouth
Party: Republican

State Sen. Steve Halloran
District: 33
From: Hastings
Party: Republican

State Sen. Curt Friesen
District: 34
From: Henderson
Party: Republican

State Sen. Raymond Aguilar
District: 35
From: Grand Island
Party: Republican

State Sen. Matt Williams
District: 36
From: Gothenburg
Party: Republican

State Sen. John Lowe
District: 37
From: Kearney
Party: Republican

State Sen. Dave Murman
District: 38
From: Glenvil
Party: Republican

State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan
District: 39
From: Elkhorn
Party: Republican

State Sen. Tim Gragert
District: 40
From: Creighton
Party: Republican

State Sen. Tom Briese
District: 41
From: Albion
Party: Republican

State Sen. Mike Groene
District: 42
From: North Platte
Party: Republican

State Sen. Tom Brewer
District: 43
From: Gordon
Party: Republican

State Sen. Dan Hughes
District: 44
From: Venango
Party: Republican

State Sen. Rita Sanders
District: 45
From: Bellevue
Party: Republican

State Sen. Adam Morfeld
District: 46
From: Lincoln
Party: Democratic

State Sen. Steve Erdman
District: 47
From: Bayard
Party: Republican

State Sen. John Stinner
District: 48
From: Gering
Party: Republican

State Sen. Jen Day
District: 49
From: Omaha
Party: Democratic
joe.dejka@owh.com, 402-444-1077