Petitioners again seek to undo school choice law benefitting students in need

A new school choice law that could benefit thousands of Nebraska students in need took effect Thursday, even as a group attempting to repeal the law said it had collected enough signatures to get a referendum on the November ballot to repeal it.

In April, Governor Jim Pillen signed Legislative Bill 1402 into law, providing $10 million a year for private-school scholarships to disadvantaged students in grades kindergarten through 12. These students come from low-income or military families, are in foster care, or have been bullied.

LB 1402 replaced a law from last year’s legislative session, LB 753, which funded private school scholarships through tax credits for donations to approved scholarship-granting organizations. In the summer of 2023, a group called Support Our Schools collected signatures seeking to undo that law and succeeded in collecting enough signatures to put LB753’s repeal before voters in November 2024.

The new law intended to make the referendum attempt on LB753 moot because, according to state law, direct appropriations from the state can’t be repealed by referendum.

In response, State Senator Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, sponsor of both school choice laws, said in a statement: “No matter how much money opponents of school choice spend or how many signatures they collect, supporters of school choice won’t stop fighting for parents’ rights and for our kids.”

Following news this week that Support Our Schools had turned in petitions to put a referendum on LB1402 on the ballot this fall, Tom Venzor of the Nebraska Catholic Conference (NCC) called the effort frustrating beyond measure.

“It demonstrates a blatant disregard for thousands of students in need of more educational options, and it undermines the fundamental rights of parents as the primary educators of their children,” Venzor, the conference’s executive director, said in a news release. “The good news is school choice opponents gathered 30,000 fewer petition signatures than last year’s effort.”

Venzor added that he looks forward to seeing the joy and excitement of children and families benefiting from more educational freedom in Nebraska.

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