The push for school choice in Nebraska is pitting lawmakers against their constituents

OMAHA, Neb. – Nebraska lawmakers are expected to approve for the first time a bill that would prevent the public from voting on a ballot measure initiated by the state’s citizens, setting off what could be a long battle over whether to fund private school tuition with public dollars. .

On Thursday, lawmakers will take a final vote on a bill that would repeal a law passed last year to divert millions in income tax revenue to pay for private school scholarships. The bill would replace it with a measure that would directly finance private school tuition from state coffers. If passed, it would effectively block voters from repealing the private school funding law that is expected to appear on the November ballot after a successful petition.

Retired Lincoln high school teacher Rita Bennett described lawmakers’ plan to bypass the people’s vote in one word.

“Outrage,” Bennett said.

The use of ballot initiatives has been a source of pride not only for residents, but also for Nebraska’s unique unicameral, nonpartisan legislature. Legislators often refer to state residents as “the second house of the Nebraska Legislature.”

That’s why the move to “usurp the will of the voters” is so audacious, said Bennett, a volunteer who collected petition signatures last summer to put the repeal issue on the ballot.

“It’s very scary,” she said.

For Gretna resident Angie Lauritsen — who collected signatures last summer at county fairs, on sidewalks and by knocking on doors — the issue is personal. Her son was rejected from a private preschool because he was born with a condition that left him nonverbal until almost age 4, but through public school, he received a specialist at age 2 and is now a talkative, thriving teenager. , she said.

“This is about taking away people’s right to vote,” Lauritsen said, noting that many people who signed mentioned being related to a public school teacher. “This is personal for a lot of people, not just me.”

The new bill is a “final solution” around the ballot initiative, state Sen. Lou Ann Linehan, author of last year’s law, said during a public hearing. But it also gives a choice to families whose public school doesn’t serve them well. A large portion of private school scholarships would go to students who are bullied, foster children and students whose parents were on active military duty or had a parent killed in the line of duty, she said.

“This is not an anti-public schools bill,” she said recently during debate. “This is to give parents a choice. Why would we be against this?

Anthony Schutz, a law professor at the University of Nebraska College of Law, testified against Linehan’s new bill to directly fund private school tuition, saying he believes it violates the Nebraska Constitution’s prohibition on appropriating public funds for schools. non-public.

Opponents could try to launch another petition to ask voters to repeal the new bill in November, although they would only have weeks to gather enough signatures to meet the July deadline. Or they could sue, Schutz said.

“One line of argument is that this is a grab for students and their parents, not a direct grab for private schools,” Schutz said.

But since the money can only be used to pay private school fees, it could be difficult to convince a court, he said.

Linehan made another argument earlier this year to try to convince Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen to take the repeal measure off the November ballot. Linehan ruled that the ballot initiative was unconstitutional because the state constitution places the power of taxation solely in the hands of the legislature.

Ultimately, Evnen considered the ballot initiative legal, but acknowledged that the issue would likely be decided in court.

Asked whether the ballot initiative to repeal last year’s private school scholarship law would remain on the November ballot or be withdrawn if Linehan’s new bill passes, Evnen’s office said it is consulting with the Nebraska Attorney General to make that decision.

If the measure remains on the ballot, it could be a humiliating rebuke if voters decide against public money going to private schools. Lauritsen said a good portion of the signatures he collected came from those who said they supported Linehan’s bill but wanted to give “everyone a chance to vote for it.”

“Ultimately, this is an unprecedented use of legislation to prevent a referendum,” Schutz said. “It’s a politically difficult move to defend.”

Opponents of the project say they are ready for another fight.

“I’m ready to do whatever it takes,” Bennett said. “If that means I’m going to be collecting signatures all summer, that’s where I’ll be.”