Nebraska Update

Thousands of people gathered in southwest Lincoln Wednesday to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramandan and fasting in the Muslim faith. Ousmane Youm is a member of the Islamic Foundation of Lincoln community. In addition to fasting and other spiritual disciplines, Ramadan is about giving back.

Nebraska Legislature Speaker John Arch is taking a wait-and-see attitude about a possible special session to change Nebraska's Electoral College voting system.

Senator Lou Ann Linehan’s bill would appropriate $10 million dollars to scholarship granting organizations, allowing low-income students to apply for grants that can be used at private schools. Linehan’s bill would also sunset legislation passed last year giving up to $25 million dollars of tax credits for donations to scholarship granting organizations.

A Lincoln food pantry has revamped its system that allow people to have a more welcoming experience.

Nebraska schools could be sued for up to a million dollars if a staff member sexually assaults a student, under a proposal that advanced Tuesday in the Legislature. And a bill to increase taxes on home sellers, and reduce them on people who inherit property, also moved ahead.

A University of Nebraska-Lincoln researcher is the first Husker to join the National Academy of Education, which is an organization focused on education research. Susan Sheridan, the director of the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools, has decades of research leading to her invitation to the academy.

A proposal to restrict trans athletes in Nebraska's K-12 schools was blocked by a filibuster in the Legislature Friday.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Education and Human Sciences recognized students in their teaching programs for reaching the halfway point of their degrees. “Nebraska needs teachers. We want teachers. We want to honor teachers," UNL CEHS acting dean Nick Pace said. "We want to honor their work and thank them for having the heart and the hands for this work. It’s never been more important and it’s never probably been more difficult.”

Senator Justin Wayne filed several amendments to his bill regarding punitive damages, including one which would allow an individual to hold political subdivisions or state agencies liable for the sexual assault of a minor by a public employee. The amendment’s language was taken directly from Senator Steve Halloran’s bill, which did not make it out of the Judiciary Committee.

The Nebraska Legislature considered proposals Thursday to improve firefighters' pensions, while a contentious debate on restricting transgender student athletes was set for Friday.