By Fred Knapp 
, Senior Reporter/Producer Nebraska Public Media
Feb. 6, 2025, midnight ·
It was, as Yogi Berra supposedly said, “Déjà vu all over again,” as familiar arguments for and against private school scholarships were aired Thursday before the Legislature’s Revenue Committee.
Sen. Tony Sorrentino is the introducer of the latest version, LB509, of a proposal for tax-credit-funded scholarships for Nebraska students to attend private and religious schools.
The Legislature approved a nearly identical proposal in 2023 and modified it in 2024, but voters repealed it in a referendum last November.
Sorrentino said more than 4,500 students had benefited, but their parents are now worried.
“These are parents who now who are now devastated about the recent election results and are anxious about the future," he said. "They're worried about having to take up those second and third jobs. They're worried about having to choose between groceries and tuition payments. They're worried about choosing which kids get to stay in their school, their choice. They're worried about needing to take out loans to afford a decent education of their choice for their children. This shouldn't have to be the case going forward, and that's why I'm bringing back the scholarship tax credit legislation."
One concerned parent is Katie Zach, who has four children in parochial school in Lincoln. Zach described how the scholarship program had alleviated worries about unexpected expenses like a refrigerator breaking down.
“When I first heard about the Opportunity Scholarship and that we had qualified, I felt like I could breathe a little more freely. Every child's education is essential to his or her development and future success, and what LB509 means is that being able to find a school where each child will thrive is not a luxury reserved for only the few who can afford it,” she said.
Matt Stueber, principal of Messiah Lutheran School in Lincoln, talked about the importance of school choice for parents.
“Parents today are more focused than ever on finding the right fit for their children, through some new lenses," Stueber said. "They're very concerned about safety, a respect-filled classroom, accountability, and that their child is known throughout the school. Some quotes that I've collected from parents who have joined us in the last year: ‘I want my child in a classroom where they feel safe, where they don't need to worry about a chair being thrown across the room on a daily basis.’ I asked her, Are you serious? And, ‘yes.'”
Critics of the scholarships argue that unlike public schools, private schools don’t have to accept all students. Sen. George Dungan asked Stueber about that.
“If somebody wanted to wear, say, a young boy comes in one day wearing a dress, what happens then?” Dungan asked.
“That would be outside of our dress code,” Stueber said.
“So they’d get in trouble for that?” Dungan asked.
“Well, we would ask the family at enrollment to agree with our dress code and that they would abide by that. And so it would be an accountability issue, more so than a discrimination issue,” Stueber replied.
Shavonna Holman, a member of the Omaha Public Schools board of education, opposed the bill. Holman worried about the cost of the tax credits, which starts at up to $25 million a year, but could grow after that.
“We believe that authorizing $25 million to nonprofits for the primary purpose of funding scholarships to private schools in exchange for payment of taxes to the state of Nebraska, as contemplated in LB509, is a diversion of resources for public education. This is one of a number of proposals before the Legislature that will make resources even more scarce for our futures, most important asset the students and children that we serve,” she said.
Melanie Knight of Clay Center, who helped collect signatures for the referendum to repeal the previous scholarship program, said people were eager to sign.
“I didn't have to ask for their signatures,” she said. "They wanted to sign. They love their public schools, and they do not want their tax dollars going in any way, any fashion, to pay for private schools, including tax credits."
And Tim Royers, president of the Nebraska State Education Association – the state teachers union that spearheaded the repeal drive — promised to do so again.
“I know that many of you on this committee don't agree with us on the underlying issue. I'm well aware of that. We have sparred many times on this issue,” he said. “But I will appeal to your sense of duty as elected officials to listen to your constituents. They sent a very clear message across party lines and geographic distance. It wasn't just Douglas and Lancaster (counties). This was true in Dawes, in Harlan, in Lincoln, in Chase — counties all over. And if you choose, like Sen. Sorrentino has, to not listen to your constituents, I want to reiterate something and make it very plain to you: We will get the signatures again, and we will repeal this bill,” Royers added.
The committee must now decide whether to send the bill to the full Legislature for debate.
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