LINCOLN — The Nebraska Legislature, at the urging of Gov. Jim Pillen, passed a bill Friday to allow schools to once again suspend students in grades pre-K-2 for engaging in violent behavior capable of causing physical harm.

Legislative Bill 653, from State Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil, chair of the Education Committee, passed 33-15. The bill, once signed, will reverse a 2023 law from State Sen. Terrell McKinney of North Omaha that limited suspensions to only pre-K-2 students bringing a deadly weapon to school.

The Education Committee added McKinney’s 2023 legislation to a mega-bill from Murman in 2023, in a year defined by constant filibusters that made it harder for individual bills to pass. The 140-page education package passed 47-0 and Pillen signed it.

During his 2026 State of the State address, Pillen derided the “Christmas tree bill” and said it prevents suspending “disruptive” students, “no matter what.” He recognized a teacher whom he said had seen how the law “unintentionally damaged the classroom experience at many schools.” 

He said educators and teachers “deserve better.”

Pillen, in a statement to the Nebraska Examiner on Friday, applauded the Legislature for passing Murman’s bill and said he looks forward to signing it. He said the law “will provide teachers and school administrators the tools they need to deal with and assist young students who engage in violent behavior in the classroom.”

Bill opponents argued the measure would hurt students’ future educational trajectory if they’re suspended young, which could hurt the state’s future workforce. They also argued the language was overly broad and could lead to more suspensions than proponents and Pillen said would occur.

LB 653 mandates that, before suspension takes effect in the youngest grades, schools must give students’ guardians oral and written notice of the charges. Current law requires either.

The suspended student would also be explicitly allowed to present evidence, and the principal, within 24 hours of the suspension, would newly need to provide the student and family a description of the actions taken to try to discontinue or alleviate the behavior, resources available to assist the student and how the school plans to handle behavior in the future, “including an actionable plan aimed at maximizing strategies to keep the student in school.”

Principals must already describe the conduct leading to and the reasons for suspension. A “reasonable effort” must also be made currently to meet with the student’s family. 

Under the bill, if a meeting is not held, the student’s family could request one in writing.

McKinney led the 2023 bill in part over concerns about disproportionate suspensions of students of color. He led the opposition to Murman’s bill this year.

“One of the last things we’re going to do on the last day while we’re in session during Black History Month is pass a bill that will outright ensure that more Black kids will be disproportionately suspended in our schools,” McKinney said.

McKinney, one of three Black lawmakers in the Legislature, began clapping at the microphone: “Thank you, Nebraska Legislature.”

State Sen. Jana Hughes of Seward, vice chair of the Education Committee, said she’s heard stories from schools about young students throwing chairs or desks and disrupting the learning of other students. When those students get older, Hughes said, some ask why they’re being suspended now when they didn’t get the same treatment when they were younger.

Hughes, a former school board member and substitute, said it shouldn’t be used all the time and only in “extreme instances.” But she said it can work and might change some behaviors.

“We are handicapping our schools,” Hughes said, encouraging her colleagues to talk to pre-K-2 teachers. “The behaviors are getting worse.”

The bill also includes a provision requiring school districts that allow option enrollment to automatically accept applications for the siblings of option students. Option enrollment allows families to attend participating school districts outside the district boundaries of where they live.

This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/02/27/bill-passes-to-reinstate-suspensions-of-pre-k-2-nebraska-students-for-violent-behavior/