State Sen. Loren Lippincott of Central City (courtesy Unicameral Information Office)
LINCOLN — A Nebraska state senator testified Monday that allowing offsite religious electives could be “another tool” in addressing K-12 students’ behavior and academic performance.
State Sens. Loren Lippincott of Central City, right. Sept. 20, 2023. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
Legislative Bill 1066 , introduced by State Sen. Loren Lippincott of Central City and 11 other senators, would allow a private entity approved by a public school board to offer elective courses in religious instruction. Students would be able to attend, at most, one period or one hour of such a course per day during a semester.
Lippincott said this method of instruction, or release time, could add a “valuable missing component” to Nebraska K-12 electives.
“It would be no different than a kid working at the John Deere store or doing something like this,” Lippincott told the Nebraska Examiner.
LB 1066 would allow school boards to adopt policies authorizing students to attend such courses, as long as they do not “undeniably promote licentiousness,” lack legal, moral or sexual restraints , or go against other school policies.