Jenni Benson, president of the Support Our Schools committee, leads a news conference for ballot referendum. July 17, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
LINCOLN — The latest effort to repeal Nebraska’s newest “school choice” law that uses state funds to offset the cost of attendance for private K-12 schools has been certified for the November ballot.
Barring legal challenges, including at least one filed earlier in the day Thursday , Nebraskans will vote on the fate of Legislative Bill 1402 this November. The law is a modified version and replacement of its immediate predecessor LB 753 that was structured as a $25 million tax credit to encourage donations for “Opportunity Scholarships.” It passed in May 2023.
LB 1402 appropriated $10 million to the State Treasurer’s Office, led by Treasurer Tom Briese, a former lawmaker who had voted for an earlier approach provided in LB 753 last year. The treasurer, under LB 1402, is given the authority to distribute “education scholarships” to students and their families to attend K-12 private schools.