Education Committee
Sen. Dave Murman, Chairperson
Sen. Joni Albrecht, Vice Chairperson
Sen. Danielle Conrad
Sen. Lou Ann Linehan
Sen. Fred Meyer
Sen. Rita Sanders
Sen. Lynne Walz
Sen. Justin Wayne
Good afternoon distinguished members of the Education Committee:
My name is John Neal, J-O-H-N N-E-A-L.
I am here representing Lincoln Public Schools in support of LB1050. LPS is in support of the LB 1050, its requirement for school districts to provide menstrual products to students beginning with the 2025-2026, and we appreciate the State Department of Education being tasked with promulgating rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this act and provide guidance to districts.
While LPS has offered free menstrual products, understanding the importance of location and availability of free menstrual products is something that LPS has learned more recently with the help of student advocates, including Ms. Bell. Ms. Bell and her student colleagues at East High and across our district represents LPS very well.
We are proud of them for what they did on this issue, but there is something else equally important that I would like to share. Through their actions, these students demonstrate that they have achieved one of our mission goals that students graduate from LPS civic life ready. They have proved they are civic life ready not because they are advocating for a bill that LPS wanted or asked them to support. They are civic life-ready because they advocated within the district to change and improve a process that may have helped them a little, but really they were pushing for something that would help others. This is being civic life ready. Using the skills that you have developed in school to make a difference in the community for others. Now they are
pushing the state to do the same. Whether they are ultimately successful at the state level is yet to be determined, but regardless of the outcome, we are proud of their work and their courage, and we support LB1050 coming out of Committee and on to General File.
Thank you.
