Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil introduced a bill Friday that would require K-12 school boards across the state to adopt policies that would allow parents to be notified when their child checks out books from public school libraries.
Nebraska parents could be notified when their child checks out books from public school libraries under a proposal put forward by a state lawmaker Friday.
Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil, the Republican chairman of the Legislature’s Education Committee, introduced a bill Friday that would require K-12 school boards across the state to adopt policies prior to the 2026 school year allowing parents to opt into such notifications.
Murman’s bill (LB390) calls for districts to allow parents to receive app or email notifications noting the title and author of books checked out by their children at elementary, middle and high school libraries. The notifications would also include the date the book is due back.
“I mean, we’re talking about K 12 students, so typically they’re 18 and under,” Murman said Friday. “The parents (are) responsible for their minor children. So yeah, they should definitely know what their children are up to, or what they’re reading.”
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“A lot of parents probably won’t even opt into it, but I think it’s an important parental responsibility to know what your child is reading,” Murman added.
His proposal also calls for every school district in Nebraska to create an online catalog of all books in each of their school’s library and make the catalog accessible to parents and guardians.
Murman said every school in the state his office researched already offered such catalogs, but he wants “to make sure it’s prominently displayed on their website,” though his bill doesn’t mandate that.
His bills marks the latest in a series of Republican-led efforts to wade into school libraries in Nebraska within the last year, though Murman’s bill wouldn’t police the content offered in school libraries like other recent proposals have sought to.
In February, a Nebraska State Board of Education member proposed rule changes that would prevent what he believes to be inappropriate content from reaching students in an effort to remove so-called pornographic materials from school libraries. The board rejected that proposal in March.
Also in March, lawmakers narrowly blocked a bill that sought to remove protections for K-12 educators accused of providing obscene materials to minors in a vote that divided the Legislature largely along party lines.
Gov. Jim Pillen in August appointed a woman to serve on the Nebraska Library Commission after she had been recalled from the Plattsmouth Community School Board following her effort to remove more than 50 books from the school library, including many that deal with themes of race, sexuality and addiction.
Murman called his bill “common-sense legislation for parents to know about what’s in the school libraries, and especially to know what their student — their own children — are reading.”
His proposal was among 50 bills and two resolutions lawmakers put forward Friday, which marked Day 8 of this year’s 90-day legislative session. Among others:
SPORTS BETTING: Two lawmakers put forward proposals Friday seeking to legalize online and mobile sports betting in Nebraska, where sports gambling is legal but must be done in-person at the state’s racetrack casinos.
Sen. Stanley Klouse of Kearney introduced a bill (LB421) that would allow for the state’s licensed gaming operators to offer online sports betting and contract platforms like FanDuel or DraftKings. Lincoln Sen. Eliot Bostar offered a proposed constitutional amendment (LR20CA) that would put the fate of online sports betting in the hands of Nebraska voters in 2026.
DEATH PENALTY: Sen. Loren Lippincott of Central City introduced a bill (LB432) reviving his attempt last year to allow Nebraska to execute death row inmates by forcing them to breathe pure nitrogen gas, suffocating them. A similar proposal Lippincott offered last year was panned at a public hearing and stalled in the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee.
His proposal comes two days after Omaha Sen. Terrell McKinney introduced a proposed constitutional amendment (LR15CA) that, if approved by lawmakers and then by state voters, would abolish the death penalty altogether in Nebraska.
The Legislature in 2015 abolished the death penalty in Nebraska, overriding a veto from then-Gov. Pete Ricketts to do so, but voters reinstated it at the ballot box a year later through a ballot initiative effort that Ricketts and his father personally spent at least $400,000 supporting.
TEACHER BONUS: Lincoln Sen. George Dungan introduced a bill (LB411) that would pay Nebraska teachers an annual retention bonus on a sliding scale, awarding $2,000 a year to teachers in their first through sixth years which would grow up to $4,000 annually by their 16th year.
STATE SCHOLARSHIPS: Sen. Bob Andersen of Omaha put forward a bill (LB427) that would pour $1,500 of state dollars into an educational savings account for K-12 students to be used for a narrow set of expenses, including textbooks, tutoring — or private school tuition.
TAX CAPS: Anderson also introduced a bill (LB424) that would cap Nebraskans’ property tax bills from increasing by more than 3% annually.
FEDERAL FUNDING: Omaha Sen. Ashlei Spivey introduced a bill (LB403) to create a new division of Nebraska’s executive branch called the Office of Grants that would be tasked with maximizing grant funding received by state agencies, cities and counties, and private organizations in Nebraska.
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Photos: Day 1 of the Nebraska Legislature’s 2025 session
Nine-year-old Everett Prokop (left) sits in the chair of his father, Sen. Jason Prokop of Lincoln (front right), as he shows family members his desk on the floor of the Legislature on first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
LuRae Hallstrom (left), wife of Sen. Bob Hallstrom of Syracuse (not pictured), shows off her husband’s desk to her great grandniece, Lila Belle Niss, 7, on the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
Sen. Jared Storm of David City (from left), Sen. Tony Sorrentino of Omaha, and Sen. Robert Clements of Elmwood speak on the floor of the Legislature during the first day of the 2025 session Wednesday at the Capitol.
Ciara Quick (left) uses a phone to photograph her grandparents, Sen. Dan Quick of Grand Island and his wife Alice during the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
State senators, legislative staff and friends and family gather on the floor of the Legislature on the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
Senators gather on the floor of the Legislature during the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
A man walks down a hallway during the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol in Lincoln.
State senators, legislative staff and friends and family gather on the floor of the Legislature on the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
Lt. Gov. Joe Kelly oversees the swearing-in ceremony for new senators during the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
Sen. Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue joins other senators in prayer during the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
Lt. Gov. Joe Kelly (left) speaks with Brandon Metzler, the clerk of the Legislature, before a vote on the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
Speaker John Arch of Papillion speaks during the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
Sen. Rita Sanders of Bellevue speaks during the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
Sen. Barry DeKay of Niobrara speaks during the first day of the legislative session Jan. 8 at the Capitol. He introduced a bill Tuesday that would ban the production, import, distribution, promotion, display, or sale of any “cultivated-protein food” in Nebraska.
Sen. Bob Andersen of La Vista (left) raises his hand as he is sworn in alongside other senators during the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol in Lincoln.
Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil speaks during the first day of the legislative session Jan. 8 at the Capitol.
Sen. Jana Hughes of Seward speaks during the first day of the legislative session on Wednesday at the Capitol.
Sen. Jared Storm of David City sets up his desk on the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
Sen. Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue refills a candy bowl passed down to him by former Sen. John Lowe (not pictured) during the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
Sen. Dave Wordekemper of Fremont holds his 2-week-old granddaughter Chloe as he takes her around the floor during the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
A Nebraska Honor Guard member presents the colors before the Pledge of Allegiance during the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
State senators and their friends and family gather on the floor of the Legislature during the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
Zoe, 6, (left) and Betsy, 7, (right) spend time on the floor with their mother, Sen. Carolyn Bosn of Lincoln (center), during the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
Speaker John Arch of Papillion is sworn in during the first day of the legislative session at the Capitol in Lincoln.
Speaker John Arch of Papillion is sworn in during the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
Sen. Bob Andersen of La Vista (left) has his legislative pin adjusted by his wife, Julie, during the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
Legislative page Heather Lange places an additional chair next to the desk of Sen. Wendy DeBoer of Bennington (not pictured) during the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
Mila Sorrentino (left) listens as her grandfather, Sen. Tony Sorrentino of Omaha, shows her how votes are cast from his desk on the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
Sen. Dan Quick of Grand Island speaks on the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
Kevin Stocker (bottom right)a Nebraska Public Service commissioner, takes a phone call on the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
Sen. Dan Lonowski of Hastings casts his vote for the chair of the Revenue Committee during the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
Nebraska resident Lia Post wears an embroidered jean jacket during the first day of the Legislature’s 2025 session Wednesday at the Capitol.
Sen. George Dungan of Lincoln speaks on the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
Sen. Beau Ballard of Lincoln smiles during the first day of the legislative session on Wednesday at the Capitol.
Sen. Loren Lippincott of Central City (left) and Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln (center) speak with colleagues on the floor of the Legislature during the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln (right) tallies committee chair votes on the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the session.
Sen. Jana Hughes of Seward speaks during the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
Sen. Dunixi Guereca of Omaha shakes hands with other senators on the first day of the legislative session Wednesday at the Capitol.
Reach the writer at 402-473-7223 or [email protected]. On Twitter @andrewwegley
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