Nebraska teachers’ union working to undo newly signed school choice law

A teachers’ union in Nebraska has launched an effort to officially end school choice across all school districts in the Cornhusker State, despite the fact that the program was established by a state law that passed the unicameral legislature by a 33-11 bipartisan vote.

The Nebraska State Education Association (NSEA) is gathering signatures for a petition that would divert public tax dollars from funding private schools. This comes after Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, R, signed LB753 into law, officially implementing school choice statewide. The law, otherwise known as the Opportunity Scholarship Act, establishes $50 million in tax credits for scholarships to children who want to attend private schools and received bipartisan support from Nebraska legislators.

Support Our Schools Nebraska, a coalition launched by the NSEA, has begun distributing signature sheets to Nebraskans this week in hopes of overturning this law. The petition will need 60,000 signatures by August 30 in order to appear on the ballot in the November 2024 general election.

“Our goal is to give Nebraskans the opportunity to vote to repeal this harmful bill,” said Jenni Benson, a sponsor of the Support Our Schools Nebraska petition. “Our public schools educate 9 out of 10 kids in Nebraska. Strong public schools support a strong Nebraska and a strong economy. Diverting millions of tax dollars to private schools will hurt our public schools as well as other essential public services and infrastructure.”

In response to NSEA’s petition, Pillen argued that the law ensures that Nebraska “funds students, not systems.” He further explained:

“Every kid in Nebraska deserves a high-quality education and the opportunity to pursue their dreams. The NSEA’s attempt to overturn the Opportunity Scholarships Act is an attack on our kids and their educational opportunities. I am confident Nebraska voters will reject any attempt to limit school choice for our families.”

It shouldn’t be a surprise that government loyalists would demonize efforts to give students the option for a good education. Unfortunately, too many parents over recent generations have abdicated their biblically commanded responsibility to put their children’s spiritual and academic education at the top of the priority list. For the most part, careers and convenience mattered more than making the sacrifices necessary to nurture a child’s heart, mind, and soul. Beginning at daycare age, parents too often passed their children off to total strangers to be their primary caregivers and educators for 8+ hours of the day.

Now, some parents are realizing what a failure this is. They’re realizing that the fruit produced by allowing the state to educate their children is actually really rotten. They’re realizing that the state actually doesn’t have jurisdiction over their children, and they want to be able to do something about it. Legislators and governors like Gov. Pillen recognize this, too, which is why they ran for office with a plan to prioritize a policy of funding students rather than institutions.

For the first time, parents are saying, “Wait a minute, these kids belong to me. You don’t get to put a shot in them; you don’t get to teach them racist Critical Theory and work ideology; you don’t get to convince them that they were born in the wrong body; and you don’t get to prey upon their innocence. We’re taking our kids back. We’re taking them somewhere where they can get the kind of high-quality education that they won’t receive in the government classroom.”

Once upon a time, the government didn’t have to convince parents that their children needed to be indoctrinated by the state. It had become such the norm that it never crossed parents’ minds that there might be a much more nefarious motivation for stigmatizing the idea of homeschooling in an effort to keep kids in government classrooms.

Today, teachers’ unions and big government fanatics are enraged that parents would even dare homeschool their kids or give them a private, Christian education. They’re losing control, and it scares them. Hence, this petition by the Nebraska State Education Association.

In a state where school districts have “rebranded Critical Race Theory” in order to deceive parents, parents of all economic backgrounds should have every right to pull their kids out of a school that is not serving their children. We do this with businesses — why not schools? If a restaurant has bad service, we take our business elsewhere. Why should schools be any different?

Parents — specifically Christian parents — have been instructed by God to steward their children well, as they will one day give an account. Psalm 127:3 says that children are a gift from the Lord. What do you do with a gift? You take care of it. You steward it, nurture it, grow it, and provide everything it needs to thrive. Our children are no different.

It’s long past time for parents decide to take the reins back from the government and take their children’s education seriously. If they haven’t already, Nebraskan parents will soon realize what a detriment this will be to their children’s overall education if the NSEA’s desires come to fruition.

Ready to dive deeper into the intersection of faith and policy? Head over to our Theology of Politics series page where we’ve published several long-form pieces that will help Christians navigate where their faith should direct them on political issues.