LINCOLN, Neb. -- One major roadblock to the removal of Native American mascots in Nebraska schools is the cost of doing so.

There are at least 22 Nebraska high schools that use Native American mascots.

“It establishes an unwelcome and often hostile learning environment for American Indian students,” said Jacquelle Lane, NSEA, at the legislature's introduction of the bill.

The NSAA, the state's governing body for school activities, told News Channel Nebraska last year that while Native mascots encourage stereotypes, it's not an easy task to have a school remove logos, change jackets and even repaint gyms.

But State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha is proposing a grant to help schools be able to afford those changes.

"It's about shaping the culture we want to live in," she said. LB-1027 would give each school up to $200,000 to discontinue the use of Native American mascots.

However, this week, Hunt tells News Channel Nebraska the bill has yet to be voted out of the Committee of Education. The bill also faces the challenge of being voted out of the State-Tribal Relations Committee, next, before it can move to the floor. 

Hunt encourages Nebraskans to ask their senators to vote for it to push it along.