Clearing up misconceptions of LB 1402

Recently, the Nebraska Legislature passed LB 1402, an appropriation bill that would allow low-income, special needs, and other students denied option enrollment the opportunity to attend a private school of their family’s choosing. LB 1402 is a slimmed-down measure compared to last year’s school choice legislation, LB 753.

Almost immediately, falsehoods and misrepresentations spread across the State about what this bill meant for Nebraska. Those who oppose school choice have stooped to the levels to claim that this bill subverts democracy, defunds public schools, and is even unconstitutional. None of these claims are true.

Some have argued that because there was a petition to repeal last year’s LB 753, the Opportunity Scholarships Act, LB 1402’s replacement of 753 denies the option to vote on school choice. In reality, to say LB 1402 was nothing more than a replacement of LB 753 is inaccurate. LB 753 was a $25 million scholarship program that received dollar-for-dollar tax credit donations. LB 1402 was a $10 million state appropriation with no tax credit system. In short, not only is LB 1402 significantly smaller, it does not even use the same funding mechanism. If LB 1402 was nothing more than a way to get around voting on LB 753, then it would not have needed to make any significant changes. Instead, the old system has been entirely thrown out for a new, simpler, and smaller one.

Others have argued LB 1402 defunds public schools. Those who make this claim either haven’t done the math or simply know they are lying. In the 2022-23 year, K-12 schools received about $4.7 billion in taxpayer funds. Since my time as chair of the Education Committee, we have additionally appropriated over $1.6 billion for our public schools. Compare this spending with the $10 million cost of LB 1402, and we see that it is only about 0.2 percent, or two one-thousandths, of our total education funding. Compared to most school choice programs across the country, LB 1402 is amongst the humblest and most meager in the nation.

Finally, some have called LB 1402 unconstitutional. Their explanation is based on Article VII, section 11 of the Nebraska Constitution, which states that “No appropriation or grant of public funds or property shall be made to any educational institution which is not owned and controlled by the state or a governmental subdivision thereof”. Article VII section 11 is also known as the Blaine amendment based on Congressman James G. Blaine who opposed the increase of Catholic immigrants in the country and wanted to keep the United States protestant.

In other words, the Blaine amendment was based entirely on discriminatory views and it’s a shame it’s still part of our State Constitution today. Even if we were to ignore the anti-Catholic bigotry of the Blaine amendment, LB 1402 is still completely Constitutional. Why? Because LB 1402 is not an appropriation of public funds to private education institutions, but instead an appropriation of public funds to students themselves through scholarships. This function is no different than when our low-income students receive taxpayer-based Pell Grants to attend Creighton University, or when our veterans and service members receive the GI Bill to attend Hastings College. Both of these examples are ultimately public dollars being used by students to attend private schools. No one seems to dare say that we should deny our low-income students or our veterans these opportunities, so why is K-12 different?

Ultimately, opposing LB 1402 was never really about these things. LB 1402 didn’t overrule any vote of LB 753 because LB 753 was replaced by a far humbler piece of law, it won’t bankrupt our public schools when the cost is minuscule compared to our total education spending. And finally, LB 1402 is perfectly constitutional because it funds students, not systems. To many, opposing school choice was never about these arguments. Instead, the teachers union and education lobbyists have taken a “my way or the highway” approach. They tell struggling families that the one-size-fits-all solution of government schools is their only choice. I understand that every family has different needs, different values, and different goals. Because of that, my goal is to support an education system that gives parents, not government an option to choose the education that works best for them.