Public school teachers in Nebraska will soon be able to wear habits, hijabs and other religious clothing in their classrooms under a new state law.
Gov. Pete Ricketts signed a measure Monday that ends the state’s 98-year-old ban. The ban was enacted under pressure from the Ku Klux Klan during a time of intense anti-Catholic sentiment. Thirty-six other states had similar bans, but all had been repealed except for those in Nebraska and Pennsylvania.
The passage of LB62 is a significant win for teachers, students, religious rights, and all Nebraskans,” said Speaker Jim Scheer. “It signals the end of a nearly century old discriminatory law that infringes on teachers’ constitutional rights. With this old law repealed, teachers can no longer be discriminated against and forced to leave their sincerely held religious beliefs at the door in order to go to work.”