Nebraska becomes second state to delay moving public school students to homeschool if guardian is under investigation

Legislators this session made Nebraska the second state in the country to require a delay in pulling students out of public school to be homeschooled if the parent or guardian is under a Division of Children and Family Services investigation.

Under the bill, such a move would be prevented for 14 days to prevent reactive withdrawals after an investigation begins. The Nebraska Department of Education estimates just over 18,000 children were exempt students, or homeschooled, across the state in the 2025-26 school year.

This measure was first introduced as a stand-alone bill by Senator Megan Hunt, LB1224. Key features of that bill were later amended into a larger, omnibus bill, LB937.

Homeschool and child advocates disagree over the constitutionality of the law, which senators passed unanimously.

Nebraska homeschool groups and a national group, the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, opposed the law. Darren Jones, senior counsel with the defense association, argued parents have the right to homeschool their children.

“That’s a violation of the family’s constitutional right to direct the education of the children,” Jones said.

Jones said Nebraska is generally a friendly state to homeschooling, referred to as exempt schooling under state law, with few regulations. But Tess Ulrey, executive director of the Coalition for Responsible Home Education, said the state has work to do when it comes to protecting homeschoolers. She shared some of her coalition’s research on the subject.

“Withdrawal to homeschool during an active CPS investigation in a reactive way can be one of the key indicators for some of the worst outcomes of child maltreatment,” Ulrey said.

Ulrey drove to Nebraska from Michigan to testify on the bill in February.

“I’m Midwestern, we drive places,” Ulrey said with a laugh. But it was worth it to her.

Ulrey said legislation like Nebraska’s latest homeschooling law is inspired by a case known as Raylee’s Law, which was proposed in West Virginia after an 8-year-old died from abuse when she was pulled from public school to homeschool. While Ulrey has not heard of a similar circumstance in Nebraska, she pointed out that many lawmakers draw inspiration from other states.

“The reality is, the same loophole that existed in West Virginia existed in Nebraska,” Ulrey said.

As originally proposed, the bill would have prevented pulling a student out of public school during an active investigation at all. While lawmakers changed the bill and passed it with a 14-day delay, both Jones and Ulrey have issues with the bill that ultimately passed. Jones said investigations could continue while students are homeschooled and there should be no delay.

“I have never found child protective services investigations to stop just because the parents withdrew their kids from the school that they were in,” Jones said.

He added that his association, now that the law has passed, “...would like to hear from parents who are denied their constitutional right to begin homeschooling merely because they are under investigation by Nebraska child services.”

Ulrey said she preferred the original all-out ban on removing students until an investigation is complete. But she believes the bill that was passed does have some teeth because the delay prevents parents from reactively pulling their students out of school to avoid mandatory reporters of abuse.

“I don’t agree, frankly, that a 14-day restriction is a constitutional issue,” Ulrey said. “Yes, parents have a right to homeschool their children. But a state has a responsibility and a requirement to all of its constituents.”

West Virginia did not adopt Raylee’s Law, which was very similar to Nebraska’s, but other states have. Tennessee has legislation on the books preventing parents under a CPS investigation from pulling their children out of school to homeschool. Pennsylvania and Arkansas prevent people who have been convicted of crimes like sex offenses against a child from homeschooling at all. Ulrey said Nebraska’s law is just one step of many she hopes the state will take.

“From our perspective, there isn’t a state in the country that does enough to both protect children and also give homeschool children access to really important resources,” Ulrey said.

Ulrey pointed out that many developmental disability resources go through public schools, but added that many homeschoolers may need access to a school library, if it’s the only one in their area, or may want to play sports with other students.