School board authority in Nebraska

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Nebraska state law makes school boards responsible for governing and managing public school districts in the state. This article details the powers and duties Nebraska law grants to school boards for governing school districts and the constraints on that authority with regard to certain topics.

HIGHLIGHTS

Though Nebraska does not have a statewide Parents' Bill of Rights, state law requires that local districts include in their policies what a parent's rights are regarding involvement in their child's education.

State law allows school boards to delegate authority granted to the district superintendent by the Student Discipline Act to any school personnel.

Nebraska does not have public charter schools.

School boards in Nebraska are authorized to engage in collective bargaining with school personnel, which can contractually constrain their authority.

Types of legal and contractual constraints on school board authority

See also: Local school board authority across the 50 states

This page presents the results from Ballotpedia research on school board authority and constraints on that authority in all 50 states as of 2024. School board authority comes from state constitutions and state statutes and can be interpreted or specified by state regulations or court decisions. In addition to authority over district budgets, the selection of a superintendent, and administrative responsibilities, school boards have varying levels of authority over district policy on other topics depending on the state and district.

There are several sources of legal and contractual constraints on school board policy-making authority which also vary by state or by district.

• State laws commonly restrict or mandate school board policies on certain topics.
  • Parents' Bills of Rights, which at least 26 states have in statute to some degree, limit the policies school boards are allowed to pass.
• State rules, guidance, and funding incentives can constrain, mandate, or influence school board policies. These include regulation from state education commissions and superintendents, executive orders from governors, or grant conditions.
• Federal and state court rulings can dictate whether or not school district policies are compatible with state law or federal law.
• The federal government, largely through its Department of Education, can promulgate regulations or guidance that influence district policy or make funding contingent on certain policies.
• Collective bargaining agreements between school districts and teacher unions can create contractual constraints on the policies school boards can pass.
• State school board associations can influence school board policy or, in some cases. enter into contracts with school boards that can limit school board policy.

This page features the following sections:

• Nebraska law on school boards' authority over district policy. This section features the statutes in Nebraska law that establish, enable, or define local school district boards.
• Constraints on Nebraska school boards' authority. This section provides an overview of constraints on the school boards' authority in Nebraska. It contains information on the constraints by the following topics:
  • Curriculum requirements
  • Curriculum restrictions
  • Book bans, removals, and restrictions
  • Parental notification
  • Discipline
  • School board elections
  • Public school choice and open enrollment
  • Charter schools
  • Cellphone bans
• Collective bargaining agreements
• Parents' bill of rights
• How does Nebraska compare to other states?
• Noteworthy Events. This section tracks noteworthy events related to school boards' authority in Nebraska.

School board authority over district policy in Nebraska

Enabling or authorizing statute for the boards of school districts in Nebraska

See also: Enabling statute

Nebraska Statute § 79-101 creates school district boards and gives them authority to govern the schools in their district according to state law:

“ (11) School board means the governing body of any school district. Board of education has the same meaning as school board; ”

Nebraska school boards' powers and duties

Nebraska public school boards of directors are given broad authority to administer the public schools in Nebraska. In addition to budget-related and fiscal duties, school property and facilities management, and administrative responsibilities, the specific powers and duties include:

• the care and custody of school district properties
• the hiring of teachers and school personnel

The powers and duties all school district boards are charged with appear in Nebraska Statutes Chapter 79 and include the following duties, among others:

“ 79-526. Class I, II, III, or IV school district; school board; schools; supervision and control; powers. (1) The school board or board of education of a Class I, II, III, or IV school district has responsibility for the general care and upkeep of the schools, shall provide the necessary supplies and equipment, and, except as otherwise provided, has the power to cause pupils to be taught in such branches and classified in such grades or departments as may seem best adapted to a course of study which the board shall establish with the consent and advice of the State Department of Education. The board shall make provision for pupils that may enter at any time during the school year. The board shall have a record kept of the advancement of all pupils in each branch of study. The board shall make rules and regulations as it deems necessary for the government and health of the pupils and devise any means as may seem best to secure the regular attendance and progress of children at school. (2) The school board may make expenditures for supplies, equipment, travel, meals, and lodging for school programs and activities, including extracurricular and interscholastic activities, appropriate for the benefit, government, and health of pupils enrolled in the school district. ”

Powers and duties specific to Class III and IV school boards— which oversee school districts with elementary, middle, and high schools all under a single board— are as follows:

“ 79-526. Class III or IV school district; school board; schools; supervision and control; powers. (1) The school board or board of education of a Class III or IV school district has responsibility for the general care and upkeep of the schools, shall provide the necessary supplies and equipment, and, except as otherwise provided, has the power to cause pupils to be taught in such branches and classified in such grades or departments as may seem best adapted to a course of study which the board shall establish with the consent and advice of the State Department of Education. The board shall make provision for pupils that may enter at any time during the school year. The board shall have a record kept of the advancement of all pupils in each branch of study. The board shall make rules and regulations as it deems necessary for the government and health of the pupils and devise any means as may seem best to secure the regular attendance and progress of children at school. (2) The school board may make expenditures for supplies, equipment, travel, meals, and lodging for school programs and activities, including extracurricular and interscholastic activities, appropriate for the benefit, government, and health of pupils enrolled in the school district. ”

Discretionary duties

In addition to the powers and duties of school boards listed in state statute, Nebraska school boards are given discretionary duties listed throughout Nebraska Statutes Chapter 79. For example, NE Code § 79-261 includes the following discretionary duties:

“ 79-261. School board or board of education; powers; delegation of authority. (1) The school board or board of education may by rule amplify, supplement, or extend the procedures provided in the Student Discipline Act if such actions are not inconsistent with the act. (2) Any action taken by the school board or board of education or by its employees or agents in a material violation of the act shall be considered null, void, and of no effect. (3) The school board or board of education may authorize the delegation to other school officials of responsibilities directed to the principal or superintendent by the act. ”

Constraints on Nebraska school boards' authority

This section tracks constraints on school boards specific to Nebraska as of September 2024. It features constraints on school boards' authority from state law, collective bargaining agreements, and Parents' Bills of Rights.

Constraint on Nebraska school boards' authority by topic

This section features constraints on Nebraska school boards' authority on policies related to the following topics:

• Curriculum requirements
• Curriculum restrictions
• Book bans, removals, and restrictions
• Parental notification
• Discipline
• School board elections
• Public school choice and open enrollment
• Charter schools
• Cellphone bans

Curriculum requirements

Nebraska Statutes Chapter 79, Article 7 requires the following specific topics to be included in each district's curriculum, among others:

• multicultural education, as defined by the law;
• character education; and
• dating violence education.

Curriculum restrictions

Ballotpedia could not identify any curricular content prohibited by Nebraska statutes, regulations, case law, or collective bargaining agreements.

Federal law and guidance

Federal executive orders:

President Donald Trump (R) issued an executive order (E.O.) on January 29, 2025, entitled Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling, prohibiting federal funding that directly or indirectly facilitates K-12 instruction regarding what the bill calls gender or equity ideology. It directs federal executive agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education, to create a plan to relinquish federal funds from school or teacher certification programs that include what the E.O. called gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology. The order defined discriminatory equity ideology as ideology that treats individuals as members of preferred or disfavored groups rather than as individuals and minimizes agency, merit, and capability in favor of immoral generalizations.

Book bans, removals, and restrictions

Nebraska school boards have the authority to remove books from school libraries. State law requires that school boards have a catalogue of books in school libraries available for review to parents, guardians, or educational decisionmakers.

The Nebraska State Board of Education struck down a statewide regulation to ban what the rule called sexually explicit material, with opponents of the regulation arguing that local districts needed to retain the authority to select and remove books in their districts.

Case law:
The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed local school boards' authority to remove school books in Island Trees Sch. Dist. v. Pico by Pico in 1982 but held that school library books are distinct from curricular books, which school boards have more authority to regulate. The ruling held that school boards are charged with inculcating community values and may make curricular decisions accordingly. In Zykan v. Warsaw Community School Corp. in 1980, the Supreme Court held that school boards had discretionary power over curriculum, textbooks, and other educational matters but could not impose religious creeds or "permanently the student’s ability to investigate matters that arise in the natural course of intellectual inquiry,” according to the opinion.

Federal guidance

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights rescinded all guidance against the removal of books and no longer employed a coordinator to investigate local district book removals as of January 24, 2025. The Department said they believed removing books from school libraries was a question of parental and community judgment, not civil rights, and that the office had no role as it related to book removal.

Parental notification

Nebraska law requires school districts to adopt truancy policies that include parental notification. The policies must include the following provisions:

• Schools must notify a parent if their student has accrued what the statute calls excessive absences.
• Schools must notify a parent if the school plans to report what the law defines as excessive truancy to the county attorney.
• Schools must notify a parent if their student is suspended or expelled.
• Schools must have a system in place for parents or guardians to be notified regarding books their student checks out from a school library.

Case law: The United States Supreme Court ruled in Mahmoud v. Taylor on June 27, 2025, that Montgomery County Board of Education's introduction of LGBTQ+ related storybooks, along with its decision to withhold opt outs, placed an unconstitutional burden on the parents’ rights to the free exercise of their religion.

Discipline

See also: How does Nebraska compare to other states on school board authority over disciplinary policy?

Nebraska is one of 47 states that gives school boards authority over district disciplinary policy.

The text of the Nebraska Student Discipline Act is as follows:

“ 1. School Boards. The school board or board of education shall establish and promulgate rules and standards concerning student conduct which are reasonably necessary to carry out or to prevent interference with carrying out any educational function, if such rules and standards are clear and definite so as to provide clear notice to the student and his or her parent or guardian as to the conduct prescribed, prohibited, or required under the rules and standards. Notwithstanding any other provisions contained in the Student Discipline Act, the school board or board of education may by rule specify a particular action as a sanction for particular conduct. Any such action must be otherwise authorized by section 79-258, 79-265, or 79-267. Any such rule shall be binding on all students, school officials, board members, and hearing examiners. Expulsion may be specified as a sanction for particular conduct only if the school board or board of education finds that the type of conduct for which expulsion is specified has the potential to seriously affect the health, safety, or welfare of the student, other students, staff members, or any other person or to otherwise seriously interfere with the educational process. ”

Federal guidance

President Donald Trump (R) issued an Executive Order (E.O.) titled Reinstating Common Sense School Discipline Policies on April 23, 2025, that required the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Attorney General, to issue guidance local educational agencies (LEAs) and State educational agencies (SEAs) regarding "school discipline and their obligations not to engage in racial discrimination under Title VI in all contexts, including school discipline," according to the order. The first Trump administration rescinded guidance issued in 2014 under the Obama administration that suggested that higher rates of discipline for racial minorities could be evidence of discrimination and could cause schools to lose federal funding. Trump's 2025 E.O. argued that the guidance "effectively required schools to discriminate on the basis of race by imposing discipline based on racial characteristics, rather than on objective behavior alone." Though the guidance was rescinded in 2018, the U.S. Department of Education continued to collect data regarding the racial breakdown of disciplinary actions taken across the country. Trump's 2025 E.O. prohibits schools from engaging in what it called racial discrimination in the application of school discipline.

School board elections

See also: Rules governing school board election dates and timing in Nebraska, How does Nebraska compare to other states on school board authority over election timing?

Nebraska is one of 42 states in which school boards do not have authority over the timing of school board elections because state or municipal laws determine school board election dates.

Click here to read about the laws governing school board elections in Nebraska.

Public school choice and open enrollment

See also: School choice in Nebraska

School boards in Nebraska have the authority to permit students who do not live in their district to attend their schools and are required to admit students in certain circumstances, including in the case of a military dependent. Every K-12 student in Nebraska is granted the option to attend a school not in their district, subject to some limitations:

“ 79-215. Students; admission; tuition; persons exempt; department; duties. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a student is a resident of the school district where he or she resides and shall be admitted to any such school district upon request without charge. (2) A school board shall admit a student upon request without charge if at least one of the student's parents resides in the school district. (3) A school board shall admit any homeless student upon request without charge if the district is the district in which the student (a) is currently located, (b) attended when permanently housed, or (c) was last enrolled. (4) A school board may allow a student whose residency in the district ceases during a school year to continue attending school in such district for the remainder of that school year. (5) A school board may admit nonresident students to the school district pursuant to a contract with the district where the student is a resident and shall collect tuition pursuant to the contract. (6) A school board may admit nonresident students to the school district pursuant to the enrollment option program as authorized by sections 79-232 to 79-246, and such admission shall be without charge. (7) In order to carry out the provisions of section 79-2201, a school board shall permit children of military families to enroll preliminarily in a school district if a parent presents evidence of military orders that the military family will be stationed in this state during the current or following school year. A student of a military family shall be admitted to the school district without charge upon arrival in Nebraska if the requirements of this section are met. (8) A school board may admit a student who is a resident of another state to the school district and collect tuition in advance at a rate determined by the school board. (9) When a student as a ward of the state or as a ward of any court (a) has been placed in a school district other than the district in which he or she resided at the time he or she became a ward and such ward does not reside in a foster family home licensed or approved by the Department of Health and Human Services or a foster home maintained or used pursuant to section 83-108.04 or (b) has been placed in any institution which maintains a special education program which has been approved by the State Department of Education and such institution is not owned or operated by the district in which he or she resided at the time he or she became a ward, the cost of his or her education and the required transportation costs associated with the student's education shall be paid by the state, but not in advance, to the receiving school district or approved institution under rules and regulations prescribed by the Department of Health and Human Services and the student shall remain a resident of the district in which he or she resided at the time he or she became a ward. Any student who is a ward of the state or a ward of any court who resides in a foster family home licensed or approved by the Department of Health and Human Services or a foster home maintained or used pursuant to section 83-108.04 shall be deemed a resident of the district in which he or she resided at the time he or she became a foster child, unless it is determined under section 43-1311 or 43-1312 that he or she will not attend such district in which case he or she shall be deemed a resident of the district in which the foster family home or foster home is located. (10)(a) When a student is not a ward of the state or a ward of any court and is residing in a residential setting located in Nebraska for reasons other than to receive an education and the residential setting is operated by a service provider which is certified or licensed by the Department of Health and Human Services or is enrolled in the medical assistance program established pursuant to the Medical Assistance Act and Title XIX or XXI of the federal Social Security Act, as amended, the student shall remain a resident of the district in which he or she resided immediately prior to residing in such residential setting. The resident district for a student who is not a ward of the state or a ward of any court does not change when the student moves from one residential setting to another. (b) If a student is residing in a residential setting as described in subdivision (10)(a) of this section and such residential setting does not maintain an interim-program school as defined in section 79-1119.01 or an approved or accredited school, the resident school district shall contract with the district in which such residential setting is located for the provision of all educational services, including all special education services and support services as defined in section 79-1125.01, unless a parent or guardian and the resident school district agree that an appropriate education will be provided by the resident school district while the student is residing in such residential setting. If the resident school district is required to contract, the district in which such residential setting is located shall contract with the resident district and provide all educational services, including all special education services, to the student. If the two districts cannot agree on the amount of the contract, the State Department of Education shall determine the amount to be paid by the resident district to the district in which such residential setting is located based on the needs of the student, approved special education rates, the department's general experience with special education budgets, and the cost per student in the district in which such residential setting is located. Once the contract has been entered into, all legal responsibility for special education and related services shall be transferred to the school district in which the residential setting is located. (c) If a student is residing in a residential setting as described in subdivision (10)(a) of this section and such residential setting maintains an interim-program school as defined in section 79-1119.01 or an approved or accredited school, the department shall reimburse such residential setting for the provision of all educational services, including all special education services and support services, with the amount of payment for all educational services determined pursuant to the average per pupil cost of the service agency as defined in section 79-1116. The resident school district shall retain responsibility for such student's individualized education plan, if any. The educational services may be provided through (i) such interim-program school or approved or accredited school, (ii) a contract between the residential setting and the school district in which such residential setting is located, (iii) a contract between the residential setting and another service agency as defined in section 79-1124, or (iv) a combination of such educational service providers. (d) If a school district pays a school district in which a residential setting is located for educational services provided pursuant to subdivision (10)(b) of this section and it is later determined that a different school district was the resident school district for such student at the time such educational services were provided, the school district that was later determined to be the resident school district shall reimburse the school district that initially paid for the educational services one hundred ten percent of the amount paid. (e) A student residing in a residential setting described in this subsection shall be defined as a student with a handicap pursuant to Article VII, section 11, of the Constitution of Nebraska, and as such the state and any political subdivision may contract with institutions not wholly owned or controlled by the state or any political subdivision to provide the educational services to the student if such educational services are nonsectarian in nature. (11) In the case of any individual eighteen years of age or younger who is a ward of the state or any court and who is placed in a county detention home established under section 43-2,110, the cost of his or her education shall be paid by the state, regardless of the district in which he or she resided at the time he or she became a ward, to the agency or institution which: (a) Is selected by the county board with jurisdiction over such detention home; (b) has agreed or contracted with such county board to provide educational services; and (c) has been approved by the State Department of Education pursuant to rules and regulations prescribed by the State Board of Education. (12) No tuition shall be charged for students who may be by law allowed to attend the school without charge. (13) The State Department of Education shall establish procedures and criteria for collecting enrollment, admission, and related information needed for any student to attend a school district in this state which shall include, but not be limited to, having an adult with legal or actual charge or control of a student provide through electronic means or other means specified by the department the name of the student, the name of the adult with legal or actual charge or control of the student, the address where the student is or will be residing, and information on how and where the adult may generally be reached during the school day. (14) The department may adopt and promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this section. 79-234. Enrollment option program; established; limitations. (1) An enrollment option program is hereby established to enable any kindergarten through twelfth grade Nebraska student to attend a school in a Nebraska public school district in which the student does not reside subject to the limitations prescribed in section 79-238. The option shall be available only once to each student prior to graduation, except that the option does not count toward such limitation if such option meets, or met at the time of the option, one of the following criteria: (a) The student relocates to a different resident school district, (b) the option school district merges with another district, (c) the student will have completed either the grades offered in the school building originally attended in the option school district or the grades immediately preceding the lowest grade offered in the school building for which a new option is sought, (d) the option would allow the student to continue current enrollment in a school district, (e) the option would allow the student to enroll in a school district in which the student was previously enrolled as a student, or (f) the student is an open enrollment option student. Sections 79-232 to 79-246 do not relieve a parent or guardian from the compulsory attendance requirements in section 79-201. (2) The program shall not apply to any student who resides in a district which has entered into an annexation agreement pursuant to section 79-473, except that such student may transfer to another district which accepts option students. ”

Charter schools

See also: Charter schools in Nebraska, How does Nebraska compare to other states on school board authority over charter schools?

Nebraska is one of three states for which Ballotpedia could not identify legislation regarding the authorization of public charter schools.

Cellphone bans

See also: How does Nebraska compare to other states on cellphone laws?

Nebraska is one of 26 states with state laws or executive orders prohibiting or limiting cell phones in classrooms and/or schools, including through requiring school boards to pass certain policies.

Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen (R) signed Legislative Bill 140 on May 21, 2025, which requires school boards to adopt policies limiting cellphone use in K-12 classrooms.

Collective bargaining agreements

Teacher union collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) can constrain school board authority. Teacher CBAs are agreements between a school district and a teachers’ union to establish rights and other contract details for public school employees. CBAs do not have the force of law, but are contractually binding for a set period of time. Within the time set out in the agreement, the school board must comply with the stipulations that were agreed to in the contract. In this way, CBAs can constrain school board authority by giving teachers authority over curriculum, prohibiting school boards from banning books, and establishing certain student or parental rights. They can also determine rights and protections for educators, and conditions for students (such as required recess periods or the amount of standardized testing), among other provisions.

CBAs vary greatly within and across states in size, topics covered, and constraints they put on school boards. Not all states allow teachers to bargain collectively. As of January 2022, 35 states and the District of Columbia guaranteed K-12 teachers some right to bargain collectively, and six states prohibited public-sector employee collective bargaining by law, which includes public school teachers. The other nine states have no statewide bargaining framework, but local jurisdictions within these states can grant bargaining rights if they choose.

Nebraska school boards are authorized to engage in collective bargaining agreements with school employees, which can constrain their authority over certain district policies.

For example, in the CBA between the Omaha Education Association and the Douglas County School District Board, though school boards are tasked with the hiring and supervision of school personnel, teachers' jobs are protected under their CBA with regards to their political behavior.

“ It shall be the policy of the Board of Education to guarantee all employees of the District full political equality with other citizens in the exercise of their political rights and responsibilities with the statutes of the State of Nebraska. ”

Parents' Bill of Rights

See also: How does Nebraska compare to other states on Parents' Bills of Rights?

Nebraska is one of 24 states that does not have a statewide Parents' Bill of Rights.

However, state law requires local districts to develop policies stating what a parent's rights are regarding access to the schools, testing information, and curriculum matters:

“ 79-531. Involvement of parents, guardians, and educational decisionmakers; public school district; adopt policy. (1) On or before July 1, 2025, each public school district in the state shall develop and adopt a policy stating how the district will involve parents, guardians, or educational decisionmakers in the education of their children and the rights of each parent, guardian, or educational decisionmaker to: (a) Access testing information and curriculum; and (b) Request that a child be excused from specific instruction or activities. (2) The policy of each public school district relating to how the district will seek to involve parents in the schools and what rights parents have relating to access to schools that is in effect prior to July 19, 2024, shall remain in effect until a new policy is developed and adopted on or before July 1, 2025, pursuant to subsection (1) of this section. ”

How does Nebraska compare to other states?

This section compares Nebraska's school board authority and constraints with those of other states on select topics. These topics include authority over discipline policy, school board election timing, charter schools, cellphone use policy, as well as constraints on school boards' authority from Parents' Bills of Rights.

Book bans, removals, and restrictions

Twenty-three (23) states have no laws regulating the curation of school library books. Twenty-seven (27) states, however, have passed laws restricting school board authority over school library book curation. These laws typically fall into one of the following categories:

• Eleven states require school boards to develop a policy for the removal of books, including creating a way for the public to challenge school library books.
• Nine states prohibit school boards from removing books on the grounds that they represent specific ideologies or perspectives.
• Six states prohibit books if they contain specific material, including sexual content or anything deemed harmful to minors.
• Five states require school boards to establish local boards to review challenges to library books.
• Two states require school boards to allow parents to view a catalogue of books.

Some states have adopted multiple types of these policies.

Discipline

• School boards in 47 states have authority over disciplinary policy in their district.
• School boards in two states have authority over disciplinary policy for specific circumstances, such as suspension, expulsion, or bullying.
• Individual schools in one state create their own disciplinary policy.

School board elections

School boards' authority over the timing of school board elections varies by state.

• School boards in 42 states do not have authority over election timing;
• School boards in five states can choose from limited options when to hold school board elections;
• School boards in two states can choose from a date range when to hold school board elections;
• The school board in Hawaii is not elected.

The map below shows the types of authority school boards in the states have to determine the timing of school board elections.

Charter schools

See also: Charter schools in the United States

Some school boards in the U.S. are authorized to approve or deny applications for charter schools in their district, while state boards of education hold the authority in other states. In some states, school boards can authorize charter schools, but there are other entities besides school boards that can also authorize charter schools or to which a school board decision can be appealed.

• 10 states do not authorize school boards to make decisions on whether to approve new charter schools in their districts.
• 36 states do authorize school boards to approve new charter schools in their districts, deny approval to new charter schools, or both.
• 3 states do not have laws governing charter school authorization.
• 1 state allows school districts to apply to the state board of education to be a charter school district.

State cellphone laws

See also: State policies on cellphone use in K-12 public schools

In most states, school boards or superintendents often set policies on cellphones in public schools. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), around 76% of schools said they banned the non-academic use of cellphones or smartphones during school hours during the 2021-22 school year, down from 91% in 2010.

Beginning with Florida in 2023, some states enacted laws or policies to regulate student cellphone usage in public schools. Twenty-six (26) states had statewide laws or policies restricting cellphone use in K-12 classrooms or schools as of June 2025. Four states had requirements for all school district boards to adopt a policy on cellphones but without specific requirements for those policies. Four other states had policies encouraging school districts to establish restrictions on cellphone use in the classroom.

Parents' Bill of Rights

See also: Parents' Bill of Rights in education

If state law explicitly provides certain rights to parents, it can constrain the policy-making authority of school boards. These sections of statute are often referred to within statute and are categorized here as Parents' Bills of Rights. In some states, they are education-specific, regarding the rights a parent has to be involved in their child's public education. Common examples include notification requirements, opt-out rights, and records access. Other Parents' Bills of Rights are more general, commonly affording parents a right to direct the upbringing of their child.

• 26 states have enacted a statewide Parents' Bill of Rights
• 24 states have not enacted a Parents' Bill of Rights.

Noteworthy events

See also: Overview of trends in K-12 curricula development

• Nebraska requires parental notification for library book check-out (2025): Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen (R) signed Legislative Bill 390 on April 14, 2025, to require schools to provide a catalogue of school library books for review by parents or guardians, and to establish a method for notifying parents about books their student checks out from a school library.

• Nebraska requires school boards to limit cellphone use in K-12 classrooms (2025): Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen (R) signed Legislative Bill 140 on May 21, 2025, which requires school boards to adopt policies limiting cellphone use in K-12 classrooms.

• Nebraska senator announces hearing date to study the use of CRT in public schools (2023): Nebraska State Senator Dave Murman (R), chair of the Nebraska Legislature’s Education Committee, announced that the committee would hear invited testimonies on July 31, 2023, from Nebraska Department of Education officials, educators, and parents. The hearing was scheduled after the passage of three interim study resolutions, which Murman introduced in May, through which the legislature resolved to study the usage of CRT, social and emotional learning, parental involvement, access to educational materials, and other related issues in public schools.

See also

• Local school board authority across the 50 states
• K-12 curriculum authority, requirements, and statutes in the states
• State policies on cellphone use in K-12 public schools
• Rules governing school board election dates and timing
• Charter schools
• School choice
• Parents' Bill of Rights in education
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