Hazing bill likely to be combined with others

McCOOK, Neb. -- Legislation introduced at the state level in response to a hazing incident involving a Cambridge High School student could find success as part of a package deal.

District 44 State Sen. Dan Hughes said this morning LB 710 will likely be bundled with several other juvenile justice bills and receive committee priority to advance to a floor debate.

Sen. Hughes told members of the McCook Area Chamber of Commerce the Judiciary Committee hearing on the bill went well and he was hopeful it would get out of committee. He said he would prefer to avoid designating the bill as his priority bill and indicated he was optimistic given the lack of opposition so far.

The bill was introduced by Sen. Hughes this session and intends to expand state hazing statues to the high school level. The legislation stems from an 2015 incident which occurred during a wrestling camp and resulted in the expulsion of one student from Cambridge Public Schools. The student's parents have since filed a lawsuit in Furnas County claiming their child was denied due process and the incident occurred at an event that wasn't sponsored by the school.