School choice should remain in Nebraska

In 2023, Nebraska finally joined the 48 other states that empower parents to choose the best education for their children despite their income or ZIP code. I was proud to cosponsor and support LB 753, the Opportunity Scholarships Act, joining with colleagues from across the state to pass a bill that was long overdue. Many of us may disagree on many other issues, but we came together on this.

I am very disappointed to see efforts to stop parents from putting their children in a better school. It is very important citizens from Western Nebraska stand behind families and let school choice finally become a reality in our state.

In their attempts to roll back the law, the Nebraska State Education Association (NSEA) is distributing myths and false information. They claim that this program would take money away from public schools, despite the legislature passing historic levels of funding for public education this past session. They are not telling the truth. There is clear evidence that similar programs in other states have not cut funding for public education. Perhaps more disturbing to me are the suggestions that school choice is not helpful in rural communities like mine.

In fact, experience in states that have led the way on this issue shows that all types of communities, rural and urban, benefit from this. Half of the six Florida counties with the highest private school enrollment are rural. It is in those communities that school choice can be especially crucial. In 2021, 8,500 students in Florida’s 30 rural counties used school choice scholarships. In rural communities, school choice can be used to help children attend schools that already exist, or help entrepreneurs create new schools. For example, every student enrolled in the Gold Star Private Academy in Bristol Florida uses a school choice scholarship to attend. I anticipate many untold opportunities arising for students in LD 43 once school choice becomes a reality.

School choice is coming to Nebraska. Support for empowering parents is higher than ever as confidence in the one-size-fits-all government education system reaches historic lows. When a child cannot get what is needed and there are no other educational options, parents should have the opportunity to make a different choice. I hear it from my constituents, and I know I’m not alone. Even NSEA allies who ran a recent poll full of biased questions could only find split opinions. The support for this policy is far wider than they would like to admit. And that’s why their allies continue to desperately mislead the public, hoping that special interest money and a statewide campaign of false information will block opportunity for Nebraska families.

We won’t fall for it in Western Nebraska. Under our constitution, 5% of the signatures collected must come from thirty-eight of our ninety-three counties. This ensures the population centers in Lincoln and Omaha cannot pass a referendum idea like this without significant support from the rural part of Nebraska. For the sake of our children and their future, every Nebraskan of all backgrounds should decline to sign the petition being circulated that would repeal this law.