With voters set to weigh in this November on legislation creating tax credits for donations to private school scholarships, new proposals in the Legislature seek to further divert public funds to private schools.
LB 1402, which will be heard before the Appropriations Committee today, is a school privatization measure with similarities to last year’s LB 753, the Opportunity Scholarships Act that is set for a repeal vote in November.
LB 1402 would add a $25 million appropriation from the state’s budget for grants to organizations that award scholarships to private schools. The state’s appropriation from the General Fund could grow by 25% annually until reaching $100 million.
This most recent proposal to invest public funds in private schools comes as lawmakers are considering large-scale tax policy changes that would shift some of what property owners currently pay in property taxes to sales taxes, raising the cost of what everyone pays for goods and services, and at a time when state budget writers have said they need to be careful about making new funding commitments due to last year’s income tax cuts.
In LB 1402, the state would send funds to an untested scholarship program that launched in January, taking from revenues available to invest in efforts to strengthen education, such as reducing the state’s teacher shortage, along with other state priorities.
Through an initiative referendum, more than 117,000 Nebraskans said voters should decide on the future of LB 753, which provides dollar-for-dollar tax credits to individuals and businesses who donate to scholarship granting organizations. LB 753 reduces state revenues by up to $25 million in the first year but can grow to $100 million.
Another school privatization bill proposed this year would create state-funded vouchers for private school students (LB 1386). Yet another would establish individual accounts funded by the state to cover costs to educate students at public and private schools (LB 939).
The Appropriations Committee meets at 1:30 p.m. OpenSky will provide updates on X.