The big story: Opponents of Nebraska’s first K-12 school choice scholarship program that would allow the state’s neediest families access to the school that best fits their child’s needs say they have collected 117,000 petition signatures, enough to put the measure on the 2024 ballot.

Yes, but: Despite claims of victory from the teachers union-backed Support Our Schools, the petition campaign fell short of reaching the threshold needed to suspend the program. That means the program can get up and running for the 2023-24 school year.

How it works: The law creates a dollar-for-dollar state tax credit for individual and corporate donors to scholarships that state lawmakers prioritized for low-income families, similar to the program that has existed in Florida for more than two decades. The state has capped the program at $25 million a year for three years. For context, the state spends $1 billion per year on district schools.

Heat advisory: Opponents will be trying to repeal the program on the November ballot, just months after the first scholarship families reap the benefits of school choice. The timing could create more intense exchanges as both sides try to sway voters. Last year, Keep Kids First Nebraska, a group formed to support the law, accused SOS of spreading misinformation about the program. In a statement released Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter, the group pledged to keep up its campaign.

They’ll be back: A group of now battle-tested young advocates who benefited from school choice scholarship programs themselves pledged a return to the Cornhusker State next year to help save the new program despite being taunted by opponents and tailed by police while volunteering as signature blockers over the summer.

“I don’t believe we should just give up on Nebraska’s families,” said Jayleesha Cooper, a student at the University of Chicago and a member of the American Federation for Children’s Future Leaders Program.

Originally from Nebraska, Cooper used a privately funded scholarship fund to attend Catholic schools and become the first in her family to attend college. “Many people who signed the petition weren’t fully aware of what they were doing, so I believe it is a matter of continuing to educate people so they can make an informed vote.”

Myles Slade-Bowers and Sherlean Roberts, Black college students who left a jazz concert after noticing a group of police officers standing behind them, said they won’t be silenced despite the harassment they experienced during the petition drive. For them, school choice is a matter of conscience.

“I’ll be willing to do anything and everything because Nebraska needs it,” said Roberts, who attended charter schools in Wisconsin and is now a student at Marquette University. She acknowledged the possibility of “difficult conversations” with SOS supporters, whose paid petitioners were overheard telling voters that the program benefited the wealthy.

“Any time you are involved in social justice, there are going to be those types of situations, and now that I’ve dealt with it, I won’t be too worried about it.”

Editor's note: This commentary from Valeria Gurr, a Senior Fellow for the American Federation for Children and a reimaginED guest blogger, appeared Saturday on Nebraska's townhall.com. 

Just a decade ago, there were only a couple dozen states in the U.S. with school choice programs. This week, Nebraska has made history as the 50th state in the nation to pass a school choice bill — a monumental win for families in the Cornhusker State.

This passage is not only a major victory for the school choice movement in Nebraska; it is also a testament to the advancement of educational freedom and opportunities nationwide for all children, regardless of color, race, or economic status.

Nebraska’s LB753, the Opportunity Scholarship Act, which just passed with a supermajority from the Unicameral Legislature, establishes a tax-credit scholarship that will help more than ten thousand students attend a non-public school of their choice.

Scholarships will average around $9,000 per student, depending on the needs of the family and tuition costs.

The Opportunity Scholarships Act will give first priority to students living in poverty, students with exceptional needs, those who experienced bullying, are in the foster system or are in military families, and children denied enrollment into another public school.

With the goal of empowering families, passing school choice in Nebraska was the right thing to do. As a Hispanic education advocate, I am fighting for my community to overcome inequality in education. A high-quality education is one of the only paths to success for children living in poverty.

A quality K-12 education is a path to economic progress and opportunity, preparing students for college and successful careers, and school choice will always be part of the solution since the traditional system of education will never fit all the individual needs of students and families.

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Editor’s note: This commentary from Katie Linehan, national director of communications and marketing at the American Federation for Children, appeared Wednesday on washingtonexaminer.com. Linehan’s mother, Nebraska state Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, is lead sponsor of the Opportunity Scholarships Act.

This week, the Nebraska Legislature is debating a school choice bill that would benefit all children, but especially those from lower-income families. This debate has been a long time coming and is a testament to the power of parents and advocates who have stood up against some of the wealthiest and most powerful interests in the state.

The fight for education freedom in Nebraska has been hard fought but slow-going for more than a decade. While school choice programs have blossomed in most other parts of the country, two states have held out: Nebraska and North Dakota.

To this day, Nebraska students are limited to their residentially assigned public schools with the hope of enrolling in better public schools with option enrollment — but only if there’s room. For parents from underprivileged communities, who must fight every day to make sure their children have a chance to break the cycle of poverty, those options simply are not enough.

Some students from lower-income families have been fortunate enough to attend private schools thanks to private scholarships and the backbreaking work of their parents. But right now, these stories are anomalies. And until Nebraska breaks the education establishment’s monopoly on the system, they always will be.

It's not a coincidence that Nebraska has resisted school choice even as other states dramatically expand it. Parents and advocates have had to face off against powerful organizations that use their virtually unlimited budgets to convince the public that Nebraska does not need school choice. Two organizations in particular, Nebraska Loves Public Schools and Stand for Schools, exist in large part to quell any effort to expand education options.

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Editor’s note: This commentary from Jayleesha Cooper and Brandon Villanueva Sanchez, members of the American Federation for Children’s 2023 Future Leaders Fellowship cohort, describes the life-changing possibilities of education choice and advocates for Nebraska’s Opportunity Scholarships Act.

Our stories are unique, but we have many things in common. We were born to parents who loved us but could not afford what many take for granted — a good education.

We both grew up surrounded by peers full of potential and big dreams, whose parents also loved them and worked hard, but who had less opportunities and therefore took very different paths. We were zoned to schools that have been underperforming for decades, so our parents worked multiple jobs, struggled, and sacrificed so that we could attend private schools.

That’s an opportunity that is denied to thousands of children each year.

Recently, opponents of giving families more educational options wrote a misleading piece on the Opportunity Scholarships Act (LB 753). The authors represented Westside Community Schools, which many students who are zoned for Omaha Public Schools attend thanks to option enrollment.

While the authors would support that form of parental choice, they oppose an even more equitable form of choice: the Opportunity Scholarships Act.

This bill would provide opportunities for children from lower-income families to attend non-public schools. We were both blessed with that opportunity. But every year, children with similar backgrounds are turned away because existing scholarships cannot meet the need or demand by families.

Except for the lucky few, true options are limited to families who can afford to move or pay tuition. More students in Nebraska deserve the chance we had.

Everything we have today can be attributed to school choice and the sacrifices our parents made for our education. But parents should not have to sacrifice time with their children, working multiple jobs simply to provide them with the education that best fits their needs.

We have been the fortunate ones, but we shouldn’t be anomalies. Any child living in Omaha can be as successful as one in Westside, Millard, or Elkhorn. The Opportunity Scholarship Act means more children, regardless of family income or zip code, can grow up to be neuroscientists, lawyers, or anything else they dream.

Nebraska: it is time that we take a stand for all children and support Opportunity Scholarships.

Jayleesha’s story

Jayleesha attended Omaha Public Schools until second grade. It worked for her — until it didn’t.

Her mother knew Jayleesha was smart but not being challenged, often helping other kids with their homework instead of learning something new herself. Jayleesha’s mother searched for ways to afford private school and finally got the children enrolled in Holy Name in North Omaha.

To afford tuition, Jayleesha’s mother worked multiple jobs, while in school herself, on top of receiving aid from Omaha’s Children Scholarship Fund. It wasn’t easy, but attending private school was life changing. Jayleesha skipped a grade, got involved with sports and extracurricular activities, came out of her shell, and made all As.

She went on to receive another private scholarship to attend Duchesne Academy and is now a sophomore at the University of Chicago on a full-ride scholarship. Despite being born into a low-income family to a teen mom and a dad who was in and out of jail, she has interned for congressmen, testified multiple times at the Nebraska Legislature, and even introduced notable figures like Malala. Her life was changed because of a good education.

Brandon’s story

Brandon’s story is similar. His parents always stressed the importance of a quality education, having grown up in rough conditions that forced them to drop out in middle school to find work to help support their families. They wanted better for Brandon and his siblings.

They worked multiple jobs to afford private schools, a sacrifice they say they “would do all over again.” Because of their hard work and sacrifice, Brandon and his siblings attended private schools in South Omaha and received a quality education, something that changed their lives and the trajectory of the family forever.

In these schools, class sizes were smaller, there were teachers who cared about students outside of the classroom, and students had mentors and tutors who guided them. Most importantly, there was a community of students and faculty who were supportive and pushed each other to be more.

Brandon graduated with honors as the class president and enrolled at the University of Nebraska. He is currently studying neuroscience with minors in chemistry and computer science and has an internship at Johns Hopkins University, exposing him to the highest level of scientific research.

Last spring, he was awarded the Barry Goldwater Scholarship, which has been identified as the most prestigious scholarship for undergraduate students pursuing a career in STEM and has highlighted him as a future leader in scientific research.

Editor’s note: This article appeared Tuesday on Nebraska’s 3newsnow.com. You can listen to a podcast of Step Up For Students president Doug Tuthill interviewing Nebraska Sen. Lou Ann Linehan here.

An issue thought to be dead for the 2022 session — providing state tax credits for donations to private school scholarships — has found a rare path to resurrection.

A so-called “Opportunity Scholarship” proposal from State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, which was blocked by a filibuster after it was introduced last year, failed again to advance in early January because of another filibuster from critics who called it a roundabout way to provide public funds to private schools.

Once a bill fails to overcome a filibuster, it is typically considered dead for the year.

But a week after Legislative Bill 364 stalled, Gordon Sen. Tom Brewer introduced his own Opportunity Scholarship proposal, LB 1237. There is no prohibition on a second bill, on virtually the same subject, being debated in the same legislative session. So, lawmakers may debate the idea for the third time in two years.

LB 1237, the new bill, was amended into another measure last week and voted out of the Legislature’s Revenue Committee on a 6-0 vote. The committee made LB 730, which now includes the Opportunity Scholarship proposal, a committee priority bill, which gives it a better chance of being debated.

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Editor’s note: This commentary from Tim Benson, a policy analyst at the Heartland Institute, appeared earlier this week on the Institute’s website.

Nebraska legislators are considering a proposal that would establish Opportunity Scholarships, a tax-credit scholarship program for low-income students in the Cornhusker State.

Tax-credit scholarship programs allow qualifying families to pay for tuition and fees at private and parochial schools, as well as at a public school located outside of the student’s school district, using scholarships provided by donors, who, in return, receive tax credits.

Under the proposed program, nonprofit organizations, after receiving approval from the state, would be eligible to grant scholarships to children from families who qualified for benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Beginning in 2022, individuals, married joint-filers, partnerships, limited liability companies, estates, and trusts would donate to these nonprofits in exchange for a 50% tax credit for their income tax liability for that year. Also, “any amount of the tax credit that is unused may be carried forward and applied against the taxpayer’s income tax liability for the next five years immediately following the tax year in which the credit is first allowed.” The total cap on donations would be $10 million.

Currently, with 26 different programs in 21 states and more than 1.2 million scholarships granted, TCS programs are the most popular form of private school choice in the country.

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Editor’s note: This powerful opinion piece from Ashley Elliott, a member of the 2019 cohort of the American Federation For Children’s Future Leadership Fellowship, appeared today on the Omaha World Herald. Elliott attended Victory Christian Academy in Lakeland on a Florida Tax Credit Scholarship.

Nebraska State Sen. Michaela Cavanaugh of Omaha is a force to be reckoned with. She is the first woman to breastfeed her child on the floor of the Legislature and she introduced LB 709, which would create a safe nursing station in the Capitol. She is also spearheading LB 187 to expand the definition of sexual assault.

As a woman, I am in awe of Cavanaugh’s resilience and willingness to fight for social justice, especially in a male-dominated workplace. However, her recent vote in opposition to LB 364, a bill that would allow low-income students to attend a private school of their family’s choice via a tax credit scholarship, is an affront to poor kids.

During floor debate on April 28, Cavanaugh said, “The opportunity gap isn’t where you show up to school, it’s all the things that happen in your life before you even enter the school. It’s did you get to eat? Did you get breakfast? Did you get to brush your teeth? Did you get to go see your doctor, your pediatrician? Did you get your vaccinations? Did you have shoes? It’s raining out. Do your shoes have holes in them? Is your parent’s car working? Is the bus on time? Do you have heat? Do you have a home?”

I was born to drug addicts and adopted by my grandmother. She has been poor her whole life and so was I. If you want to hear about the opportunity gap, I can tell you.

It is wearing your bathing suit as underwear because you have no way to wash your clothes. It is physically fighting your siblings over the last bit of food. It is showering at your neighbors’ house because the electricity is off.

It is taking the city bus every weekend since you were 9 years old to go sell bracelets so you can pay the electricity bill. It is stealing toilet paper from school and tampons from Walmart because you have no money.

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Arizona: A former school teacher criticizes the state superintendent of public instruction for his support of Common Core and school choice (East Valley Tribune). The Sierra Vista Herald editorial board says the state superintendent's support of ESAs hurts public schools. Applications for Empowerment Scholarship Accounts doubles (Heartlander). The Arizona Republic editorial board opposes allowing public funding to go to private schools, especially now that the state support for ESAs exceeds the state support for public schools (note: the editorial board's calculation excludes local support for public schools). A consultant at a scholarship organization is indicted for stealing $529,000 in scholarship money (Arizona Republic).

California: Vanila Singh, a professor and physician at Stanford University and congressional candidate, says school choice is the key to student success (Mercury News). The California Charter Schools Association has sued the West Contra Costa School District for withholding tax revenue intended to fund charter schools (Contra Costa Times). Charter schools struggle with online assessments (FSRN Radio).

D.C.: Two charter schools allegedly under federal investigation for possible discrimination say they have never received a complaint from a student or parent (Washington Post). President Obama sends his daughters to Sidwell Friends, an elite private school that refuses to release information on student course completion and graduation rates (Washington Post).

Florida: The tax-credit scholarship expansion will allow the program to serve higher-income families (Education Week, Tampa Tribune, WJHG TV). More low-income families will benefit from the tax-credit scholarship program if the Governor signs the bill into law (Florida Times-Union). The state  passes the nation's second education savings account program (Foundation for Excellence in Education). Daphne Cambell (D-Miami-Dade) says she voted to expand the program because giving poor kids more options is the right thing to do (Miami Herald). The Tampa Tribune editorial board says the scholarship expansion is justified because every student deserves to find a school that works well for them. Brian Tilson, owner of a communications firm in Boca Raton, says the scholarships are unpopular and are hurting public schools (Gainesville Sun). Ron Matus, the editor of redefinED, says more progressive Democrats support parental choice (Gainesville Sun). The scholarship program helps families afford Jewish day schools (Chabad News). State Impact talks with Sen. John Legg about the legislative session including the passage of the scholarship bill. Marc Yacht, a retired physician, say charter schools should be more regulated and held to the same standards and rules as traditional public schools (Sun Sentinel).

Georgia: The Southern Education Foundation helps file a suit to overturn the state's tax-credit scholarship program (Watchdog). A former reporter sends her daughter to a charter school and says each school is so different it is difficult to compare them to each other let alone public schools, and that is a good thing (Atlanta Journal Constitution). (more…)