Omaha Public Schools board adopts legislative positions on dozens of bills, votes to enter closed session

OMAHA, Neb. — The Omaha Public Schools Board of Education on Feb. 20 approved the legislative committee’s recommendations on dozens of state bills, voted to approve the consent agenda and excused two absent board members, then moved into closed session.

The board voted to accept the legislative committee’s summary of recommended positions — which lists bills the district will support, oppose or monitor — by a roll-call vote recorded as seven ayes. The committee recommended positions on bills ranging from scholarship and private-school tax-credit proposals to changes in school discipline rules and special-education transportation requirements.

Why it matters: the board’s adopted positions guide the district’s lobbyists and staff when testifying or otherwise engaging with the Nebraska Legislature this session. Several bills the committee highlighted have direct implications for district budgets, student services and discipline policy.

Key recommendations noted by the committee include: support for LB598 (reimbursements for extraordinary limited English proficiency costs and expanded uses of the…