KIMBALL -- Social Studies Teacher Mrs. Jeri Ferguson and two of her students visited the State Capitol Tuesday to testify to the Nebraska Legislature. 

Senior Westen Hottell and junior Parker Fredrick testified at the public hearing for LB1053. 

“There is a law in Nebraska right now that says you cannot suspend a student from Pre-K – second grade, and this bill would reverse that,” Ferguson said. “The bill was introduced by the Chairman of the Education Committee through the governor's request.” 

She said the students chose whether they were proponent, against, or neutral. They educated themselves on the bill, interviewed teachers to gain insight and true stories for their testimonies. Then, they both argued in favor of the bill. 

“I am so proud of these young men and how serious they took it,” Ferguson said. “All the time and effort they put into their testimonies, how they conducted themselves in the hearing – it made me so proud; they did an excellent job.” 

Ferguson coordinated with her son, Michael Ferguson, who is Senator Brian Harden’s Legislative Aid, so that the students could deliver their speeches to him for feedback. They were also able to get passes to sit right on the legislative floor to watch some of the debate and see them vote on a bill. 

“My big goal is I want students to see how easy it is to be involved in the process, how easy it is to contact these elected officials, how you have a right to share your opinion and have an opinion and to be involved in your life and that you can make a difference if you want to see a change,” Ferguson said. 

She expressed her gratitude for Principal Danielle Reader and Superintendent Trevor Anderson for being supportive of the trip and allowing the students to miss a day-and-a-half of school. 

This is the third time Ferguson has taken students on a trip to the Capitol; the first time being four years ago. 

“Because of the distance sometimes it’s hard to have it all fit perfectly, scheduling-wise,” Ferguson said. “We had a lot more students who wanted to go but they had other sports commitments, which is important for them. If there wasn’t so much going on, there would have been even more kids who went, and that excites me that there’s that interest from the students.”