Dear NCHEA Members, Support Group Leaders, Nebraska Homeschoolers, and Home Education and Parental Rights Supporters:

Thank you for your continued prayers on our behalf and for God’s wisdom. We urge you not to falter but to stay the course with prayer and action.

We encourage you to pass this information on to fellow homeschoolers and those who support parental rights. We are still receiving calls from families who have just heard about LB 1141.

At this time, we believe the LB 1141 will be voted out of the committee!

Below is an action timeline that we encourage you to implement.

Effective: Immediately!

Begin calling, writing, and e-mailing members of the Education Committee who have not indicated they will vote against LB 1141; respectfully and graciously inform them of your position regarding LB 1141. You may not be able to speak directly with the senator(s) you are calling, in which case, respectfully and graciously make your position know to the senator’s legislative aid or staff. Request that the senator respond to your concern in writing. If a senator responds in writing that he will vote against LB 1141, please send a copy of that letter to the NCHEA at nchea@nchea.net.

The NCHEA’s web site: www.nchea.org has two links, Legislative Alerts, http://www.nchea.org/political/alerts.cfm, and Legislative Day Packet (http://www.nchea.org/events/LegislativeDay/index.cfm) that contain a wealth of information about LB 1141, its threat to home education freedom and parental rights, how to contact your senator, etc.

Please note: Senators Kopplin and Burling have indicated they will vote against the bill; please send them a note of thanks for their position against LB 1141.

The members of the Education Committee and their contact information are listed below:

Chairperson: Senator Ron Raikes - E-Mail: rraikes@leg.ne.gov
Phone: (402) 471-2731- Mail: Room 1110, State Capitol, Lincoln, Nebraska 68509

Vice Chairperson: Senator Gail Kopplin - E-Mail: gkopplin@leg.ne.gov
Phone: (402) 471-2627 –Mail: Room 1008, State Capitol, Lincoln, NE 68509 (Male)

Senator Greg Adams - E-mail: gadams@leg.ne.gov
Phone: (402) 471-2756 – Mail- Room 1403, State Capitol, Lincoln, NE 68509

Senator Brad Ashford - E-mail: bashford@leg.ne.gov
Phone: (402) 471-2622 - Mail: Room 1103, State Capitol, Lincoln, NE 68509

Senator Bill Avery - E-mail: bavery@leg.ne.gov–
Phone: (402) 471-2633 –Mail: Room 1016, State Capitol, Lincoln, NE 68509

Senator Carroll Burling - E-mail: cburling@leg.ne.gov–
Phone: (402) 471-2712 – Mail: Room 2107, State Capitol, Lincoln, NE 68509

Senator Gwen Howard - E-mail: ghoward@leg.ne.gov–
Phone: (402) 471-2723 – Mail: Room 1208, State Capitol, Lincoln, NE 68509

Senator Joel T. Johnson - E-mail: jjohnson@leg.ne.gov–
Phone: (402) 471-2726 – Mail: Room 1402, State Capitol, Lincoln, NE 68509

Effective: February 18, 2008 through the day of the hearing, February 26, 2008

1. Contact your (senator) in the unicameral and as many other senators as possible and request they vote against LB 1141. Visit: http://nebraskalegislature.gov/web/public/senators/find if you don’t know your senator. Again, respectfully and graciously inform them of your position regarding LB 1141. You may not be able to speak directly with the senator(s) you are calling, in which case, respectfully and graciously make your position know to the senator’s legislative aid or staff.

2. At this time, the following senators have indicated they definitely will vote against LB 1141: Tom Carlson, Mark Christensen, Phil Erdman, Mike Friend, Tony Fulton, Tim Gay, Lavon Heidemann, Gail Kopplin, Scott Lautenbaugh, Rich Pahls, and Dwite Petersen. They should be sent a note of thanks for their stated intention to vote against LB 1141.

3. Please keep us informed if a senator indicates he will definitely oppose LB 1141. We will try to keep you informed as we receive that information.

4. Plan to attend the Education Committee’s legislative hearing on LB 1141 on Tuesday February 26, 2008. Even if you don’t testify, your presence will be a statement.

5. If you can’t attend the hearing on February 26, 2008, and you want to present testimony on LB 1141, send one (1) copy of your testimony to each of the senators on the Education Committee. Clearly indicate on your submission that you are submitting it as written testimony against LB 1141 that you wish to be considered by the Education Committee in its deliberations on LB 1141.

6. Typically, there will be a limited amount of time for each side to present its position on the bill. Each individual presenting oral testimony may be limited to 3 – 5 minutes for his/her presentation. As a result, not everyone will be able to present oral testimony at the hearing. However, you can present/turn in written testimony. If you desire to present written testimony, prepare at least 10 copies of your testimony to insure that each senator receives a copy of your testimony.

7. The NCHEA is coordinating testimony against LB 1141 in order to insure that all the reasons to defeat the bill are presented and to insure that experts in a number of fields can make their cases for defeat of the bill, e.g. Dr. Brian Ray of National Home Education Research Institute, Home School Legal Defense Association, the NCHEA, etc.

A Call to Prayer and Fasting – February 19, 2008
In our nation's history it was the tradition of our forefathers to pray for God's provision when they faced certain challenges. We face one of those challenges in Nebraska as we oppose the progress of LB 1141. God has already provided many blessings to us in this opposition: early notice of the bill, advantageous timing of legislative day and the committee hearing, the governor's favor, and many other blessings.

At this time, there are only two senators on the Education Committee who are opposing the bill, and we must rely upon the Lord for our every provision in this fight. Therefore, we are calling upon all Nebraska Home Schoolers to join in a Day of Prayer and Fasting on Tuesday February 19, one week prior to the committee hearing.

Please pray for these and other items, as the Lord leads you:

1. That we would remain humble before God, knowing that our freedoms come from Him, not from ourselves or from government.

2. Thank God for the provision he has already given us and thank Him for the freedom we currently have to home school.

3. That the public would be sympathetic to our cause and that through this opposition we would be a light to those living in darkness.

4. That God would put a clear calling upon the hearts of all individuals He wants to testify in Lincoln, to speak before media, to provide donations, and in general to work behind the scenes.

5. That Senators would be sympathetic to our cause and would let the bill die in committee.

6. That God would provide wisdom to the NCHEA leadership and others as they continue to lead the opposition efforts for us.

7. That when the fight is over we would use the freedom He has entrusted to us for His glory.

We encourage everyone to gather corporately for prayer on the evening of February 19th at various places of worship. Christ Community Church in Omaha will have its chapel available for corporate prayer between 7:00 - 8:00 PM. Homeschoolers from any church or denomination are welcome. Please announce other facilities that you would like to offer for prayer through the e-trees. If you have questions, or need additional information, contact Chris Conrad: cabbanconrad@cox.net May we be His instruments.

Respectfully,

Nick Lenzen, President
Nebraska Christian Home Educators Association (NCHEA)
P. 0. Box 57041
Lincoln, NE 68505-7041
www.nchea.org
nchea@nchea.net