The Nebraska State Education Association has been skirmishing with various lawmakers and policymakers for almost a year on the topic of LB753, and the fate of this bill is now on the line as a chance to repeal it will be on the November 2024 ballot.
LB753, also called the Opportunity Scholarships Act, has received major backlash since its introduction, and that backlash was only heightened when the law passed. The bill was introduced by Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn and passed in May 2023. The bill was meant to provide state tax credits for donations to organizations that grant scholarships to students who attend private schools.
After the bill was signed by Gov. Jim Pillen, it was met with immediate pushback and protest. This pushback mainly took on the form of a petition to repeal LB753 on the 2024 ballot. The petition needed 60,000 signatures in its 90-day petition drive, and in August, leaders of Support Our Schools turned in 117,175 signatures.
“The sheer number of signatures this coalition gathered in less than 90 days sends a powerful message to elected officials, and they need to listen,” Support Our Schools leader Jenni Benson said in August.
Supporters of the bill say that this will give low-income families better options for their child’s education. Supporters label bills such as LB753 as “school choice bills,” but those in opposition argue that many school choice bills don’t actually expand opportunity. Opposers of the bill also say that this will neglect public schools, where the majority of kids are taught in Nebraska.
The cause for support of LB753 is backed by Pillen, and Linehan passed with votes from 32 other state senators. The opposition is led by the NSEA and Support Our Schools, a group of public school supporters.
“Our public schools educate nine out of 10 kids in Nebraska,” Benson said.
Under LB753, the tax credit maximum starts at $25 million for the first three years but could grow over time to a maximum of $100 million. The $100 million maximum worries many Nebraskans as that value is approximately one-tenth of the state’s general fund spending. Supporters of public schools claim that these tax credits will hurt public school funding and only worsen the problems of the education system.
The OpenSky Policy Institute concludes these tax credits provide an incentive to donate to private schools over other programs such as cancer research, food banks, churches and public schools. Additionally, they claim these tax credits will benefit the wealthy. According to data from OpenSky, in states such as Ariz., La. and Va. with similar privatization measures, more than 60% of the tax credits are going to families with annual incomes over $200,000. According to a phone survey in July by OpenSky, 55% of Nebraska voters oppose LB753, which includes 47% that “strongly support” a repeal.
Molly Davies, an ESL teacher at Omaha Central High, was a petitioner for the repeal of the bill. She said that it is important to consider the context of how we fund public education on a state and national level.
“Prior to the current legislative session, our state was at the bottom for state funding, for public education. We have consistently underfunded education at the state level,” Davies said.
She went on to say that she comes from a background in private education, and she’s not anti-private education, but she believes this bill will harm public education.
“In Nebraska, we don’t have public charter schools, and this bill is not that. It is funding a school system that discriminates, that competes. And it’s also too loose around the edges for the funding can be used for,” Davies said.
