NE Passes Private Education Funding Bill

Nebraska lawmakers have passed a bill that will channel public money to scholarships for private school tuition, despite opponents promising to try to repeal it at the ballot box in 2024. The bill by Omaha Sen. Lou Ann Linehan does not appropriate taxpayer dollars directly toward private school vouchers. Instead, it allows businesses, individuals, estates and trusts to donate a portion of owed state income tax to be used for scholarships covering private school tuition. Businesses and individuals could donate up to $100,000 per year; estates and trusts could offer up to $1 million a year. Critics say the measure gives public money to parochial schools allowed to discriminate against LGBTQ+ students.