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| Our vision is that all Nebraska children begin kindergarten with the experience they need to become successful students and productive citizens. |
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You'll find bill descriptions and status, a calendar, links to the
Nebraska Legislature's website, a report from the previous session and the ability to search bills by number or by nine categories: Child Care, Child Safety, Child Welfare, Early Childhood Workforce, Economic Assistance/Public Benefits, Education, Physical & Mental Health, School Funding and Systems/Governance.
Bill information and status is updated daily.
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Quick Links
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- University of Iowa study finds that interaction, not just the sound of words, is key to babies' language development during reading times.
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Omaha World-Herald: spotlights Kearney's Lindsie Lybarger, a new foster parent and educator with Kearney Public Schools'
- Babies have logical reasoning before age 1, finds a new Emory University study. It was previously thought children didn't develop this capability until age 4 or 5.
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More details and registration information will be available soon.
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104th Nebraska Legislature, Second Session, Convenes
State senators convened earlier this month for the second session of the 104th
Nebraska Legislature. This year's shorter 60-day session concludes the two-year biennium, and is scheduled to adjourn April 20.
Speaker Galen Hadley said the Legislature will address every priority bill this session. Senators can designate one priority bill, committees can designate two and the Speaker can designate 25. In previous years, senators have run out of time before all priority bills could be heard by the entire legislative body.
Senators introduced 446 new bills this year to be considered along with those carried over from the first session. Because the biennium ends this year, all unpassed bills will be indefinitely postponed when the Legislature adjourns this spring.
Nebraska faces a shortage of high-quality early childhood educators, which impacts the ability of local communities to respond to the needs of young families. We need nearly 10,000 early childhood professionals statewide -- including child care, Head Start and school districts -- to reach all of the children known to be at risk of failing in school.
LB773 will bring together state agencies, higher education, child care providers and others to assess the current early childhood workforce and make recommendations for growing it. Each member on the representative panel will bring a critical piece to this important issue.
FFN senior policy associate Jen Goettemoeller testified in support of LB773 with AM1851 before the Legislature's
Education Committee Jan. 19.
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'Early Education: An Enterprising Proposition'
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What are the key skills and qualities tomorrow's Nebraskans will need to drive enterprise and economic growth in our state? How do we ensure the next generation will have them? Legislators, business and education leaders and other stakeholders gathered in Lincoln to explore these questions at an event hosted by First Five Nebraska and the
Nebraska Early Childhood Business Roundtable.
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Based on newly released Census data, First Five Nebraska calculates
that 64,127 children from birth to age 5
in our state face risk factors that threaten their ability to thrive in school and beyond.
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