The Dispute Resolution Act shall apply only to approved centers and mediators and restorative justice facilitators of such centers.
§ 25-2919.Application of act.
Article 29: Dispute Resolution Act and Uniform Mediation Act · Last amended 2019 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis section keeps the Dispute Resolution Act narrow, applying it only to approved centers and to the mediators and restorative justice facilitators who work through those centers, leaving mediation conducted outside that certified network untouched by the act.
Full Text of § 25-2919
Source
Laws 1991, LB 90, § 19; Laws 2019, LB595, § 20.
Plain-English Summary
Section 25-2919 sets a boundary around the entire Dispute Resolution Act in a single sentence. The act applies only to approved centers, and to the mediators and restorative justice facilitators of those centers. Nothing in the act reaches mediation, negotiation, or restorative justice work happening outside that certified structure.
The distinction matters most when other sections of the act promise something, like the statute-of-limitations tolling in section 25-2917 or the annual reporting duty in section 25-2920. Those protections and requirements travel with approved centers and their mediators and facilitators; a private mediator working outside that system does not carry them, and a party using such a mediator cannot assume the act’s tolling or funding provisions apply to that process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Dispute Resolution Act cover every mediator in Nebraska?
No. It applies only to approved centers and the mediators and restorative justice facilitators who work through them.
If I hire a private mediator who is not part of an approved center, does the statute-of-limitations tolling in section 25-2917 apply?
No. That tolling, like the rest of the act, applies only to disputes handled through an approved center.
What makes a center an approved center under the act?
The act’s other provisions define and set requirements for approval; section 25-2919 addresses only the scope of who the act covers once that approval exists.
Does this section limit restorative justice facilitators the same way it limits mediators?
Yes. Both mediators and restorative justice facilitators fall within the act’s reach only when they work through an approved center.
Why would the Legislature limit the act to approved centers instead of covering all mediation?
Limiting the act’s reach ties its protections, funding, and reporting duties to a defined, accountable network rather than to an open-ended mediation industry.
Source & verification. Section text and the amendment-history citation are
reproduced verbatim from the Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes, enacted by the
Nebraska Legislature. Last verified July 22, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: scope of nebraska dispute resolution actapproved centers only mediation actdoes dispute resolution act cover private mediatorsrestorative justice facilitator approved center requirement