2025 NCHEA Capitol Day
2025 NCHEA Capitol Day
Registration is full for this event. If you haven’t already registered we hope to see you in a future year
Tuesday, February 11, 2025
Nebraska Capitol Room 1525
The Nebraska Christian Home Educators Association (NCHEA) invites you (families and CO-OPs) to join us for our annual Capitol Day (previously Legislative Day) on Tuesday, February 11th, 2025, at the Nebraska State Capitol, Room 1525, from 8:00am – 11:45am.
This family-friendly free event has speakers from the NCHEA, state legislature, state judicial branch, and state executive branch explaining their roles in exercising good government and speaking on issues relevant to home education in Nebraska. Included is an opportunity to sit in the balcony of the senate floor and be recognized by the senate while they are in session. It is also a good day to take a tour of the Capitol, meet your state senator, and attend a legislative hearing!
The NCHEA Capitol Day presentations will be conducted in Room 1525 (the Education Committee Hearing Room) and will begin at 8:30am and will conclude at 11:45am.
Check-in is 8:00-8:30am at the NCHEA table in the Lower Rotunda. Room 1525 opens at 8:30AM. If you arrive after 8:30, you still need to check in at the NCHEA table. Reservations will be required due to limited seating.
Due to limited seating, advanced reservations will be confirmed at check-in to enter the Capitol Day presentations in Room 1525.
Please re-check this page regularly for more details.
Agenda – 2025 NCHEA Legislative Day – February 11, 2025
8:00 – 8:30AM Check-in at NCHEA table, lower rotunda. Room 1525 not available until 8:30AM.
8:30 – 11:45AM Late check-ins after programs start at NCHEA table, lower rotunda.
8:30 – 10:00AM NCHEA Capitol Day Program – Hearing Room 1525
NCHEA
8:30 – 8:45 Dave Lostroh, NCHEA Legislative Coordinator
8:45 – 9:00 David Splonskowski, NCHEA Legislative Liaison
HSLDA
9:00 – 9:20 Will Estrada, Esq., HSLDA Senior Counsel
At HSLDA, Will is Senior Counsel and contact attorney for HSLDA members in nine states; California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wyoming, as well as Washington DC.
Will is a homeschool graduate from Pennsylvania. Will and his wife (also a homeschool graduate) homeschool their two sons in northern Virginia.
Will received his juris doctorate from Oak Brook College of Law and is licensed as an attorney in California and the District of Columbia. He is also licensed to practice law before the U.S. Supreme Court, and the First and Eleventh Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals, California and District of Columbia.
Will has had a rewarding and diverse career, including serving as HSLDA’s federal lobbyist, running a pro bono legal clinic, working as a career civil servant at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights, and serving as the president of ParentalRights.org.
JUDICIAL BRANCH
9:20 – 9:30 Chief Justice Funke, Nebraska Supreme Court
EXECUTIVE BRANCH:
9:30 – 9:40 Robert Evnen, Secretary of State
9:40 – 9:50 Chief Deputy Attorney General, Dave Bydalek
9:50 – 10:00 Tom Briese, NE State Treasurer.
10:00-10:45AM Break – Watch Legislature in Norris Chamber
10:00 – 10:35 Gather in the NW corner of the Upper Rotunda, then to the Norris Chamber balconies to watch debate and be recognized
10:35 – 10:45 Finish up break time before 10:45AM and return to Room 1525
10:45-11:45AM NCHEA Capitol Day Program – Hearing Room 1525
LEGISLATIVE
10:45 – 11:00 How bills become law Q&A
Marcia McClurg, Revisor of Statutes
Loguen Blazek, Revisor
EXECUTIVE BRANCH:
11:00 – 11:15 The Honorable Joe Kelly, Lt. Governor of the State of Nebraska
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH:
11:15 – 11:21 Senator Robert Clements – District 2
11:21 – 11:27 Senator Stan Clouse – District 37
11:27 – 11:33 Senator Loren Lippincott – District 34
11:33 – 11:39 Senator Carolyn Bosn – District 25
11:39-11:45AM Close Presentations & NCHEA Capitol Day Activities
On Your Own Time:
Lunch: On your own. The Capitol Dining Room is open from 7:30 am – 2:30 pm.
12:00 – 5:00PM Available Capitol/Lincoln Activities
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- Attend a Capitol building guided tour on the hour: 1:00PM, 2:00PM, 3:00PM, 4:00PM (starts by the North door, Main floor).
- Attend a Senate Committee Hearing.
Check the Legislative Day hearing schedule at http://www.nebraskalegislature.gov/calendar/hearings.php?day=2025-02-11. The various hearings are displayed by committee with start time, hearing room, and bills to be heard. Be sure to re-check a few days prior to the NCHEA Legislative Day.
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- Visit your Senator or speak to Senator’s office staff if Senator is not available. Introduce your family as a homeschool family and that you would like to meet the senator or a member of his/her staff. If you have any issues to discuss, prepare to present them.
- Visit the University of Nebraska State Museum (Morrill Hall), 645 N 14th St, Lincoln, NE
Museum Hours: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Museum Information: (402) 472-2642;
There is an admission charge, see https://museum.unl.edu/visit/index.html.
For parking, see https://museum.unl.edu/visit/directions-parking.html
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- Visit the Nebraska History Museum,131 Centennial Mall North, Lincoln, Nebraska.
Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 9:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.
There is an admission charge.