Nebraska voters will decide in November if the controversial Opportunity Scholarship Act involving state money and donations to private schools will stay or go – an issue proving to be confusing, complicated and cantankerous.
In 2023, the legislature approved a bill that would allocate $25 million from state coffers to be donated for private school tuition. It does not provide taxpayer dollars directly toward private school vouchers.
Public school advocates quickly filed a petition to raise the question of using state money for private or parochial K-12 schools − invoking the separation of church and state. At the same time, supporters of the tax credit argued the bill offers children from less affluent families alternative educational opportunities , enflaming passions on both sides of school choice.
Omaha Sen. Lou Ann Linehan (R-Elkhorn) has requested that Secretary of State Bob Evnen declare the ballot initiative unconstitutional and keep it off November’s ballot. She says the state constitution places the power of taxation solely in the legislature’s hands.