Judiciary committee hears LB 156 to allow limited suits against public schools in child sexual‑assault cases

At a public hearing of the Nebraska Legislature’s Judiciary Committee, senators heard testimony on LB 156, a bill introduced by Senator Danielle Conrad that would create a narrow waiver of sovereign immunity to let families sue public schools for child sexual assault when the school’s negligence contributed to the harm.

LB 156 responds to recent Nebraska court decisions, supporters said, by restoring a limited civil remedy for children sexually assaulted at school; opponents warned the bill’s language is broad, could expose taxpayers to large judgments and would erode long‑standing sovereign‑immunity protections.

Senator Danielle Conrad, the bill’s introducer, told the committee the proposal is intended to be narrow and targeted. “If there was ever a need to have a waiver of sovereign immunity, it’s for cases like Taylor’s,” Conrad said, describing a constituent whose family sought redress after a student with developmental disabilities was sexually assaulted during a school activity and whose case was affected by the Nebraska Supreme Court’s Moser decision. Conrad said LB 156 would allow suits when a child is sexually assaulted “on school grounds or in a vehicle owned, leased, or contracted by the school and being used for school purposes” or during school‑sponsored activities, and that the measure seeks to match public‑school accountability to that of private schools in comparable situations.

Proponents said the current law leaves many victims without…