100th Nebraska Legislature

Parent Advocate

January 2007

Parent Advocate

One of his essential responsibilities

is to administer the

ongoing activities of the Nebraska

Federation of Catholic

School Parents. He will be

working closely with its

governing board, as well as

the diocesan school offices.

Jeremy is an Omaha native

and grew up in Norfolk. He

attended Sacred Heart School

in that community and graduated

from Norfolk Catholic

High School. He graduated

University in Fort Worth,

TX with a Bachelor of Arts

degree in History and Philosophy.

He earned a Juris Doctor

degree from Creighton University

School of Law in 1993.

Since then he has been a solo

practitioner in Lincoln.

He is a member of the Nebraska

State Bar Association

and a past chair of its General

Practice Section.

Jeremy is a parishioner at

St. Peter’s Catholic Church in

Lincoln. He has been active

in the parish’s music ministry

and a member of its parish

council from 2002-2006. He

is a fourth-degree Knight of

Columbus in Council 10510.

He also is a past board member

of the Matt Talbot Kitchen

and Outreach.

Jeremy and his wife, Michele

(Mimi) are the parents of

Cecilia Mei, age three.

Jim Cunningham, Executive

Director of the Nebraska

Catholic Conference, said

Jeremy Murphy will be a valuable

asset for the work of the

Conference, particularly in

monitoring and analyzing public

policy and advocating for

Catholic school interests.

“Our Children, Our Faith, Our Future” Catholic Schools Week January 28—February 3, 2007

What Impact Will It Have on Catholic Schools ?

New Education Associate Will Work Closely with NFCSP

Inside this issue:

Microsoft Settlement

2

Excellence in

Catholic Education

2

How to Contact Your

Legislator

4

Jeremy P. Murphy is the

new Associate Director for

Education Issues for the Nebraska

Catholic Conference.

Volume 14, Number 1

Class action against Microsoft Inc.

Schools Benefit from Amended Lawsuit Settlement

Parent Advocate

Eight honorees were named recently for

excellence in Catholic education by the

Archdiocese of Omaha and received

awards at the Annual Archbishop’s Dinner

for Educational Development.

St. John Neumann

School, Clarkson, and Joyce Gubbels,

St. Pius X/St. Leo School, Omaha.

Karen Baumert, Howells Community

Catholic School, and Sandy Watson,

St. Columbkille, Papillion.

Kassmeier, Norfolk Catholic Jr./Sr.

High School, and Kathleen Slaight,

Roncalli Catholic High School,

Omaha.

City awards: Margaret Galles, St.

Bernard School, Omaha; and JoAnn

Griffel, Madonna School, Omaha.

Fourteen Catholic schools in Nebraska,

along with dozens of public

schools, received product-purchase

vouchers as a result of the settlement of

a class-action lawsuit against the Microsoft

Corporation. For the 14 schools,

these vouchers are facilitating rebates

for computer hardware and software

purchases in an aggregate amount of

more than $175,000.

The redeemable vouchers come

settlement of the lawsuit, which alleged

that Microsoft engaged in overpricing,

including violations of Nebraska’s

Fair Trade Practices Act.

Microsoft denied the allegations, but

opted to settle the suit for $22.6 million

in product-purchase vouchers.

Under terms of the settlement, Nebraska

consumers were entitled to file

claims to receive rebate vouchers.

The deadline for doing so was January

16, 2006. Once that deadline passed,

it was determined that the total of all

claims filed left a balance in the settlement

of a little over $20 million. Microsoft

was allowed to retain half of

that residual, but the other half, was

beneficiaries.

As originally proposed, these beneficiaries

were “eligible schools,” defined

as public elementary and secondary

schools in Nebraska having at

least 50 percent of the attending students

eligible for free or reduced-price

meals through the National School

Lunch Program.

However, the Nebraska Catholic

Conference, as a consumer/claimant in

its own right, filed an objection in the

court in which approval of the proposed

settlement was pending (Dodge

County District Court), petitioning

that the settlement be amended to include

private schools that met the

qualifying criterion as “eligible

schools.”

After a hearing on the objection,

legal counsel for Microsoft and the

claims class agreed to amend the settlement

as NCC petitioned and the

court gave final approval.

The benefits amount to approximately

$157 per every enrolled student

in each of the 14 eligible Catholic

schools.

The vouchers can be redeemed for

refunds on computer hardware and

software purchases made between

March 25, 2005 and January 16, 2010.

The Nebraska Catholic Conference

has advised schools on the redemption

procedures.

Another settlement provision is

likely to mean that the eligible schools

will receive additional vouchers in the

future. Once the deadline passes for

redemption of all direct-claim vouchers,

half of all those issued-butunredeemed

will constitute a second

EDUCATION NEWS-BYTES

Pius X was named one of the top 50 Catholic secondary schools by Catholic

High School Honor Roll, a project of the Acton Institute.

at UNL, winning both the quiz bowl and the written exam.

2

Parent Advocate

Distance education opportunities in Nebraska may increase and become more

coordinated, and an increase of teachers in certain subject shortage areas may occur,

as a result of legislation directing state lottery funds toward those two objectives. It

to private schools are present in both aspects.

LB 1208 requires the state’s Chief Information Officer, in partnership with the

University of Nebraska, to develop and maintain a statewide, multipurpose, highcapacity,

scalable telecommunications network: Network Nebraska. It will consist

of contractual arrangements with providers to meet the demand of state agencies,

local governments, and educational entities—a term defined to include private

schools.

Public schools are eligible for financial incentives to assist them in making distance

education courses available on Network Nebraska, and also will be able to

apply for distance education equipment reimbursement. Private schools will be

able to access the network and also to participate in any bulk discount telecomputing

or distance-education equipment and software purchasing and leasing agreements

negotiated by the state. Rules and regulations for implementing the new distance-

education initiatives are in progress.

The Nebraska Department of Education envisions distance education as enabling

schools of all sizes in all parts of the state to offer a variety of academic courses

required by NDE accreditation rules.

- From Page One

Two bills passed during the 2006 session

of the Nebraska Legislature allow

elementary and secondary-school students

provisions of both bills, which are similar

in nature, apply to both public and

non-governmental schools.

Key elements of both are: the requirement

that a medication management plan

be developed cooperatively by the parents

or guardians of the student, school

personnel and the student’s physician;

specified authority for disciplinary action,

including revocation of the selfmedication

authorization, if the management

plan is violated

or others are endangered; and that the

parents/guardians indemnify and hold

harmless the school and school personnel.

More information about these new

self-medication laws can be obtained by

contacting school administrators, the

diocesan education office or the Nebraska

Catholic Conference.

For 18 years, since it was ruled to be

constitutional in all respects by the Nebraska

Supreme Court, this program has

successfully enabled the loaning of textbooks,

purchased by means of an appropriation

by the Legislature, to parents/

guardians of children enrolled in nongovernmental

schools. It is Nebraska’s

only exclusively state-based program

that provides direct and tangible education

benefits for these students.

The textbook loan program is dependent

upon an appropriation by the Legislature.

School districts are obligated to

purchase and loan textbooks to private

school families only to the extent of this

appropriation. If the appropriation is

insufficient, some textbook loan requests

are not fulfilled.

its 22 new members, will decide the

state budget for the 2007-2009 Biennium,

after receiving recommendations

from the governor. In order to continue,

it is necessary that the textbook

loan program be included in this

budget; historically, this has been the

case and a modest increase is welljustified.

Now is the time for close

watchfulness over this situation. Please

call, e-mail, write and/or visit with your

state senator and the governor. You can

make a difference.

Medication Self-Administration Permitted under New Laws

funded due to budgetary restrictions. The program was created to provide loans of

up to $2,500 per year to matriculating students in teacher education programs, with

priority for students majoring in subject areas determined by NDE to have a teacher

shortage. The student loans are forgiven if the recipient graduates and proceeds to

After the Attracting Excellence to Teaching Program Act was originally passed,

attempts were made by some state senators to eliminate loan-forgiveness eligibility

for teachers employed in non-governmental schools. The NFCSP actively opposed

those efforts, and the opportunity for equitable participation remains a part of the

law.

LB 1208 initially funds the student loan program with $250,000 of lottery funds;

and the amount increases by $250,000 each year until it reaches $1,000,000 each

year from 2009-10 through 2015-16.

Funds Allocated for Teacher Loans;

Employment in Private Schools Qualifies

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NFCSP

Affiliate: Nebraska Catholic Conference

PO Box 94872

Lincoln, NE 68509-4872

Parent Advocate

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NFCSP can now more effectively meet its dedication of providing its members

the latest accurate information in world of ever-changing laws and state policies

that affect our Catholic Schools and Parents.

who choose to join our list serve with regular electronic updates and Action

Alerts. Our listserve will provide information regarding proposed law, changes in

state policies and laws in education that affect Catholic Schools. It will also provide

Catholic School Parents the opportunity to take immediate action as needed

via Action Alerts.

Why join our listserve? “Snail mail” just is not fast enough for grassroots advocacy

issues anymore. Internet-based technology is a smart, speedy, proactive

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To join, please send your preferred e-mail address (or addresses if separate

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