Last fall, teachers and other backers of Support Our Schools wheel out boxes of voter-signed petitions seeking to repeal the Opportunity Scholarships Act on the 2024 ballot. The vote would be cancelled if a new Opportunity Scholarship Act is passed by the 2024 Legislature, a move some have called “underhanded.” (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)
LINCOLN — Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen on Thursday made official what the Legislature already made obvious: that there will be no need to vote this November on the repeal of the original Opportunity Scholarships Act.
A conservative majority in the officially nonpartisan Legislature redesigned and repealed the initial tax credit for donors to scholarships for private K-12 education, State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan’s Legislative Bill 753 from 2023.
Unions representing public school teachers and Nebraskans who want public funds spent only on public schools had petitioned to give voters a chance to repeal that version of the law. Polling indicated they were likely to do so.
Lawmakers seeking to protect the point of the school choice law sidestepped the petition effort this year by repealing LB 753 as part of creating a more direct $10 million annual appropriation for private K-12 scholarships or vouchers in Legislative Bill 1402.
Linehan acknowledged as much during debate. However, she said she was also trying to address many of the most common public criticisms of the scholarship tax credit, including that it seemed to benefit donors with a dollar-for-dollar credit.
She and other voucher advocates have said students and families who aren’t succeeding in the public school system where they live need options that might work better for them.
Opponents of both measures, including Support Our Schools Nebraska and the Nebraska State Education Association, said they would not let senators avoid voters and have launched a second petition drive, this one against LB 1402.
They want voters to weigh in on whether the state should spend tax dollars on private K-12 education. Organizers argue that funding private education poses a long-term risk to state general funds for other services, including public schools.
Support Our Schools has until July 17 to gather signatures for the ballot initiative against LB 1402. They’ll have to gather valid signatures from 5% of Nebraska’s registered voters and gather 5% in at least 38 of Nebraska’s 93 counties.
Evnen, in announcing his decision Thursday, said the adoption of LB 1402 will repeal LB 753 on July 19, rendering any vote on that measure moot. He said he consulted with the Attorney General’s Office before making the decision.
“Since the previous law will no longer be in effect by the time of the general election, I do not intend to place the original referendum on the ballot,” Evnen said.
The newest petition language would repeal the section of LB 1402 creating the new version of the scholarship or voucher program. The section of LB 1402 that repeals LB 753 would remain in state law.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
by Aaron Sanderford, Nebraska Examiner
May 16, 2024
by Aaron Sanderford, Nebraska Examiner
May 16, 2024
LINCOLN — Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen on Thursday made official what the Legislature already made obvious: that there will be no need to vote this November on the repeal of the original Opportunity Scholarships Act.
A conservative majority in the officially nonpartisan Legislature redesigned and repealed the initial tax credit for donors to scholarships for private K-12 education, State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan’s Legislative Bill 753 from 2023.
Unions representing public school teachers and Nebraskans who want public funds spent only on public schools had petitioned to give voters a chance to repeal that version of the law. Polling indicated they were likely to do so.
Lawmakers seeking to protect the point of the school choice law sidestepped the petition effort this year by repealing LB 753 as part of creating a more direct $10 million annual appropriation for private K-12 scholarships or vouchers in Legislative Bill 1402.
Linehan acknowledged as much during debate. However, she said she was also trying to address many of the most common public criticisms of the scholarship tax credit, including that it seemed to benefit donors with a dollar-for-dollar credit.
She and other voucher advocates have said students and families who aren’t succeeding in the public school system where they live need options that might work better for them.
Opponents of both measures, including Support Our Schools Nebraska and the Nebraska State Education Association, said they would not let senators avoid voters and have launched a second petition drive, this one against LB 1402.
They want voters to weigh in on whether the state should spend tax dollars on private K-12 education. Organizers argue that funding private education poses a long-term risk to state general funds for other services, including public schools.
Support Our Schools has until July 17 to gather signatures for the ballot initiative against LB 1402. They’ll have to gather valid signatures from 5% of Nebraska’s registered voters and gather 5% in at least 38 of Nebraska’s 93 counties.
Evnen, in announcing his decision Thursday, said the adoption of LB 1402 will repeal LB 753 on July 19, rendering any vote on that measure moot. He said he consulted with the Attorney General’s Office before making the decision.
“Since the previous law will no longer be in effect by the time of the general election, I do not intend to place the original referendum on the ballot,” Evnen said.
The newest petition language would repeal the section of LB 1402 creating the new version of the scholarship or voucher program. The section of LB 1402 that repeals LB 753 would remain in state law.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Cate Folsom for questions: info@nebraskaexaminer.com. Follow Nebraska Examiner on Facebook and Twitter.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. AP and Getty images may not be republished. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.
Political reporter Aaron Sanderford has tackled various news roles in his 20-plus year career. He has reported on politics, crime, courts, government and business for the Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal-Star. He also worked as an assignment editor and editorial writer. He was an investigative reporter at KMTV.
Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
DEMOCRACY TOOLKIT
© Nebraska Examiner, 2024
v1.17.2
Nebraskans want accountability from their elected officials and government. They want to know whether their tax dollars are being well-spent, whether state agencies and local governments are responsive to the people and whether officials, programs and policies are working for the common good. The Nebraska Examiner is a nonprofit, independent news source committed to providing news, scoops and reports important to our state.
We’re part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website.
© Nebraska Examiner, 2024
