Superintendent Press Release March 1, 2024
Dear Cedar Bluffs Families,
Taken from the Nebraska Examiner: but something that affects all of us and our taxes -
With voters set to decide on LB 753 at the ballot box in November, the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee advanced bill LB 1402 that would direct state funds to pay for students to attend private schools in Nebraska. Unlike LB 753, which provides dollar-for-dollar state tax credits for donations to organizations granting private school scholarships, LB 1402 appropriates state funds to be awarded as grants to the organizations awarding scholarships. LB 1402 would cost $25 million in its first year and could grow by 25% annually until reaching $100 million. Last summer, 117,000 Nebraskans signed petitions to put LB 753 before voters this year. If the new bill passes, LB 753 could be repealed by senators seeking to avoid a campaign leading up to the November general election. State lawmakers have teed up another contentious debate over providing public funds for private, K-12 schooling. On Thursday, in a 6-3 vote, members of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee advanced to floor debate a revised version of the Opportunity Scholarships Act that was passed last year. Sen. Rob Clements, who chairs the Appropriations Committee, said he voted to advance LB 1402 because he’s been a longtime supporter of school choice and because backers of the Opportunity Scholarships Act wanted to avoid a bruising campaign over the ballot initiative. Vote was 6-3
He was joined in voting the bill out by Sens. Christy Armendariz of Omaha, Rob Dover of Norfolk, Steve Erdman of Bayard, Loren Lippincott of Central City and Mike McDonnell of Omaha. Voting against advancing the bill were Sens. Anna Wishart of Lincoln, Myron Dorn of Adams, and Tony Vargas of Omaha. A floor debate will likely repeat many of the arguments advanced last year — that low-income students deserve an option besides public schools, on one side, and on the other, that providing public funds for private and parochial schooling is unconstitutional and a slippery slope that leads eventually to charter schools. At a public hearing on LB 1402, some opponents labeled the bill as “underhanded” because it would nullify the opportunity for voters to decide whether to support private schools with public funds. A constitutional law authority from the University of Nebraska School of Law labeled the newest bill probably unconstitutional, because it devotes public taxpayer funds to private education — a legal opinion that Linehan vehemently disagrees with. Nebraska is one of only two states that do not provide some form of “school choice.” THIS IS NOT TRUE - NEBRASKA HAS OPTION ENROLLMENT
Leaders of the main supporters of repealing the act, the Nebraska State Education Association, indicated Thursday that they are ready to do battle again against diverting public monies from public schools. Jenni Benson, president of the Nebraska State Education Association, leads a public schools rally in 2023. Jenni Benson, NSEA’s president, labeled Thursday’s advancement a “slap in the face to Nebraska voters.” “Nebraskans have made it very clear they want to vote on whether to use public funds to pay for private and religious schools,” Benson said. “More than 117,000 Nebraskans signed a petition to put that vote on this November’s ballot. State lawmakers need to respect the voters’ right to decide this issue.” Rebecca Firestone of the Open Sky Policy Institute, another group seeking repeal of the Opportunity Scholarship Act of 2023, said that voters should have a chance to weigh in on that law “before any changes are made.” If LB 1402 is passed, a legal challenge is likely, and another petition drive to put the issue before voters in November is a possibility. In October, a coalition called “Support Our Schools” qualified to place an initiative on the 2024 ballot to rescind last year’s law. The expensive initiative petition drive was spiced by allegations by both sides of overly aggressive petition circulators and “blockers” to discourage signing. The act passed last year allows taxpayers to devote up to half of their state income tax liability to “scholarship granting organizations” (SGOs) that would provide tuition aid to private schools, with a priority for low-income students. This year’s bill takes a more direct approach: directly appropriating up to $25 million a year to the SGOs. Like last year’s bill, the funding could grow to $100 million if all the money is used. Linehan said she would move to sunset last year’s bill to allow LB 1402, if passed, to replace it. There was no immediate word on when the bill might come up for floor debate. Linehan has made it her priority bill for the 2024 session.
WITH ONLY 14% OF CHILDREN GOING TO PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN NEBRASKA THAT ARE ALREADY AT CAPACITY – WHY CREATE A LAW FOR ONLH 14% OF NEBRASKANS? - GO WILDCATS