Lawmaker revives proposal to hold Nebraska schools liable for some child sexual assaults
by Zach Wendling
A letter from Taylor Woods of Lincoln, a survivor of sexual assault at 19 years old while she was in a transitionary Lincoln Public Schools program for adults with disabilities, to State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln sits on Conrad’s desk in the legislative chamber on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
LINCOLN — A state lawmaker is seeking to uphold her promise to a Lincoln family to fight for and revive a 2024 vetoed proposal for families to sue public schools in some cases of child sexual assault.
State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln introduced Legislative Bill 156 on Monday as a revived version of LB 25 of 2024, which Gov. Jim Pillen vetoed after lawmakers had already adjourned the 2024 legislative session, preventing any attempt at a possible veto override. The new bill is narrower, applying only to sexual assaults of children in school settings.
Conrad said the legislation comes in response to a string of Nebraska Supreme Court decisions that closed the courthouse doors for families to allege negligence against political subdivisions in cases more broadly including abuse of children in foster care and deaths of state prisoners.
“The point is quite simple: When a citizen is hurt by their government they should have access to recourse,” Conrad told the Nebraska Examiner. “It’s our job to fight for citizens, not to give big government special favors and immunities when they hurt their citizens.”
‘We were so close’: Nebraska mother responds to veto of child sexual assault and abuse bill
Conrad’s legislation would allow lawsuits arising out of sexual assaults of children that occurred:
On school grounds.In a vehicle owned, leased or contracted by a school and being used for a school purpose.In a vehicle being driven for a school purpose by a school employee or designee.At a school-sponsored activity or athletic event.
LB 25 would have allowed lawsuits beyond direct ties to a school, when the child abuse or sexual assault of a child was the “proximate result” of the failure of any political subdivision or an employee to exercise “reasonable care” to protect the child.
Private schools can already be sued and held liable in these instances.
The governor’s veto
LB 25 was led by former State Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha, then chair of the Judiciary Committee. Pillen vetoed the bill days after it passed in a 28-17 vote, having received broad support across the proverbial aisle.
Loree Woods, center left, in blue, embraces her daughter, Taylor, following the final vote in favor of LB 25, which would have expanded certain lawsuits in cases of child sexual assault and abuse within political subdivisions on April 18, 2024. Gov. Jim Pillen vetoed the legislation April 24, 2024. (Courtesy of Loree Woods)
The governor had argued that Wayne’s legislation, one of many since the Moser v. State (2020) decision by the Nebraska Supreme Court prohibited similar lawsuits against state or local government, was “overly broad.” Pillen said it would “substantially erode” decades-old sovereign immunity protections.
“We must hold perpetrators accountable and protect children from abuse by enforcing the criminal laws that exist and by targeting the wrongdoer,” Pillen said in his veto letter. “Taxpayers should not bear this burden.”
Laura Strimple, a spokesperson for the governor, had said several criminal and civil remedies already existed and that Pillen would fight “soft-on-crime efforts to water down those protections,” in addition to ones like LB 25 that she said could open the “floodgates” to trial lawyers and “frivolous lawsuits.”
Promise to a Lincoln family
Former State Sen. Julie Slama of Dunbar challenged opponents arguing LB 25 would raise taxes, asking: “How many child molesters is your school district employing if it’s going to impact your bottom line?”
Other supporters of the law have said the lawsuits would allow an attempt, but not a guarantee, at financial rewards that could help a child with medical care or counseling that they might need for the rest of their lives.
Conrad and Wayne, both lawyers, have said attorneys have an ethical duty against filing frivolous claims.
Loree Woods, left, joined with State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln for an informal news conference following the veto of legislation that would have allowed new lawsuits against political subdivisions if negligence was a proximate cause of child sexual assault or abuse. Conrad holds a picture of Woods’ daughter, Taylor, a survivor of sexual assault. April 25, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
One of the faces behind the LB 25 measure, and others like it, goes back to 2016 — Loree Woods and her daughter Taylor Woods.
Loree Woods had testified multiple times on behalf of her daughter, including most recently in August, during the summer special session on property taxes, detailing how 19-year-old Taylor Woods was sexually assaulted in October 2016 while in the care of Lincoln Public Schools.
Taylor Woods was in a program to help prepare students with disabilities, primarily aged 18 to 21, for a positive transition to adulthood.
The day after Pillen’s veto, Loree Woods joined Conrad to talk with reporters, saying her daughter’s life had been defined by trauma and fear since her assault.
“If you could live in her head for one day, you would not want to be a part of that,” she said of her daughter, now 27, who would have been too old to benefit from the law change.
The Nebraska Supreme Court decided in 2020, in Moser v. State, that cases arising from assault or battery precluded any lawsuits against political subdivisions under the State Tort Claims Act and Political Subdivisions Tort Claims Act.
The Woods family was scheduled for a court date just weeks after the Moser decision, leading to the Woods’ case being dismissed.
Taylor Woods of Lincoln, center, awaits the final vote on LB 25 in the 2024 legislative session. (Courtesy of Loree Woods)
‘I am a very strong girl’
Conrad said the Nebraska Supreme Court had for decades “struck the right balance” between government immunity and citizens seeking justice. But she pointed to decisions like Moser v. State, related to a state prisoner’s death, and Joshua v. State in May 2024, related to foster care abuse, as tipping points.
She said Pillen “needlessly and heartlessly” vetoed the measure that Conrad had pledged to the Woods family to continue highlighting after Wayne and after lawmakers left the Legislature.
Part of LB 156, Conrad said, is paying respects to Loree Woods and her husband, Roger, who died in a September accident. She shared a letter she had received from Taylor Woods.
“It will keep me and my peep’s safe again,” Taylor Woods wrote in a letter to Conrad. “I am a very strong girl and want you to tell my story just like my mom. I am proud of myself and proud of you caring about me and my friends.”
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