Nebraska Catholic Conference                                    

215 Centennial Mall South, Suite 310,   Lincoln, NE  68508-1813; 402-477-7517; nebrcc@neb.rr.com

Focus on public policy from a Gospel mandate, from the Catholic Church's moral and social teaching and from Her concern for the common good.

Home  

 Nebraska CC: Pro Life: Education:
  James R. Cunningham, Executive Director    Greg Schleppenbach, State Director   Jeremy Murphy, Assc. Director of Education Issues

Nebraska C C: James R. Cunningham    
Executive Director

    

NCC/Publications

  NCC Statements & Current Issues

 

Medical Treatment Decision-making  

 

USCCB

Caritas In Veritate

(Charity In Truth)

 

Bishops' Statements

 Immigration

Spanish

Senate Health Care 09

Prenatal Coverage

 

Capitol Correspondent:

    Columns-2010

    Past Columns

  *********

 

PRO LIFE:

Greg Schleppenbach

State Director

 

2010 Legislation

Current Issues

 

NE Catholics for Life

 NCL Newsletter

 

Life Insight: 

  Columns-2010

  Past Columns

 

Preg. Help Centers

 

Project Rachel

 

Printed Resources

Educational Resources

Program Models
*********

 

Education:

Jeremy Murphy

Associate Director of

Education Issues  

 

The NFCSP

 

Education/Legislation

Action Alerts!!

 

Newsletter: 

 Parent Advocate 2010

Past Newsletters

NEBRASKA FEDERATION OF CATHOLIC SCHOOL PARENTS

                
Msgr. John Perkinton, Superintendent for the Diocese of Lincoln; Jeremy Murphy, Secretary of NFCSP and Associate Director of Education Issues, Nebraska Catholic Conference ; Msgr. James Gilg, Superintendent for the Archdiocese of Omaha

Fr Tom Ryan, Superintendent for the Diocese of Grand Island, Paul Diperina, Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice; Jeremy Murphy, Associate Director

of Education Issues, Nebraska Catholic Conference

The Federation was created in 1993 to increase Nebraska's Catholic School Parents grassroots efforts and visibility of Catholic School Parents representation in Nebraska's Unicameral Legislature.  NFCSP’s by-laws state that individual membership is open to parents of Catholic-School students and to all others who are interested in promoting the purposes of the Federation, including grandparents of Catholic-School students and alumni of Catholic schools.  The purposes of the Federation are set forth in its by-laws: 

  • to Inform the statewide Catholic-School community about public-policy decisions which affect Catholic Schools, Catholic-School students and their parents; 

  • to Advocate for parental choice in education without economic penalty as a just and viable means of assuring well-educated citizens;

  • to Mobilize the statewide Catholic-School community as an effective grassroots constituency, one which communicates with legislators and other public officials regarding education rights and public policy; 

  • to Enhance the advocacy efforts of NFCSP’s parent organization, the Nebraska Catholic (Bishops’) Conference with a well-informed, active Catholic-education constituency.

NFCSP themes include: 

  • Identity as an organization of parents with children enrolled in Catholic schools; 

  • Unity among Catholic-School parents statewide; 

  • Collaboration on the part of Catholic-School parents in interacting with the public-policy process; and 

  • Empowerment for Catholic-School parents in developing greater awareness of, and responding effectively to, public-policy issues which affect their education rights, the schools they choose and their children as students in those schools.

Federation Statement on Parental Choice

NFCSP also is guided by its official position statement on Parental Choice in Education, promulgated in 1996.

NFCSP Position Statement  9-16-96

Nebraska Parents who educate their children in non-government schools for religious or other reasons should be able:

  1. to exercise, without economic penalty, their parental rights and responsibilities to choose the education they deem best for their children;
  2. to obtain economic recognition for the substantial cost savings they provide the State and its governmental subdivisions by educating their children in non-government schools;
  3. to freely exercise their religious preferences in educating their children, regardless of their financial situation;
  4. to exercise choice and promote competition, thereby strengthening the State's government and non-government schools;

Parents are not being treated fairly under the present educational finance system. All parents are subject to the State's mandate to educate their children, but are provided free instruction only in government schools. This creates an economic burden on parents who choose to meet the State's mandate by providing their children with education in non-government schools. The inequitable treatment of parents choosing non-government schools fails to recognize the cost savings they provide the State of Nebraska, and fails to promote their freedom in fulfilling their responsibility to provide the instruction they deem best for their children. Moreover, in those many instances where the parents are financially unable to assume the added financial burden, their choice is effectively denied. Accordingly, the present system needs to be modified in order to meet the above objectives and provide a fair and equitable system for the education of Nebraska children.

Board Members

Archdiocese of Omaha Diocese of Grand Island Diocese of Lincoln

Msgr. James Gilg, Supt. of Schools

Jeff Wilmes, Fremont, President

Nicole Neesen, Omaha, Vice President

Frank Keller, Humphrey

Jim Stolze, Omaha

Rev. Thomas Ryan, Supt. of Schools

Kathleen Hranac, Kearney

Terry Pfeifer, Grand Island

 

Msgr. John Perkinton, Supt. of Schools

Kent Bieker, Falls City

Xann Linhart, York

Connie Munguia, Lincoln

 

Click on underlined items

Bishops' Letter on Educational Choice (October 1998)                           

Membership Information 

Parent Advocate (NFCSP newsletter)    Past Newsletters

NFCSP Legislative Testimony, 2001, 2006

2009 LB 67  the Elementary and Secondary Educational Opportunities Act, would allow Nebraska individuals, married couples, and businesses to receive a state income tax credit  for contributions to School Tuition Organizations (or Scholarship Tuition Organizations) to assist children in enrolling at  private elementary and secondary schools in Nebraska.  An income tax credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in tax liability, as opposed to the treatment of a tax deduction, which only reduces tax liability by a percentage of the amount contributed.

ACTION ALERT   

Back to Top | Contact the NFCSP