Mini-Series Part 2: LB1053, Suspension in the Primary Grades

My Views Are My Own

By Lisa Schonhoff, Ed.S.

1/21/2025

Picture This:  You are about to tour an elementary school where your five-year-old will attend during the next school year.  You ring the doorbell to be let into the office.  While signing in, you hear blood-curdling screams and pounding on a wall.  You notice an adult holding a door to a small room shut while a six-year-old child is screaming and punching the door.  The other adults go about their business, unfazed, as if nothing unusual is happening.

You begin walking down the hall and notice a child throwing a screaming fit while running from a teacher in the hallway.  The teacher in the hallway is waiting for an administrator to get to the child because this particular teacher was not trained to “touch the child.”  

You continue walking down the hallway when you notice a line of students being dispersed into various classrooms.  You notice that these students are coming from a classroom that has a child throwing furniture while screaming cuss words and spitting on a teacher.  

These types of situations have become increasingly common occurrences in our schools.  Ask any teacher.  The number one reason why teachers are leaving the education field is because of student behaviors. “LB 1053 would repeal a 2023 law prohibiting schools from suspending students in pre-K through second grade.”  While no educator wants to suspend a child in the primary grades, it is not appropriate to ban suspensions per state statute.  The only way Nebraska will be able to improve literacy and math proficiency is by guarding instructional time for teachers and students, and that is why I am for the repeal of the 2023 law.  We MUST get back to the basics and ensure that our classrooms provide a learning environment that is conducive to learning.