Offering tax credits for scholarships to private schools has been a controversial issue in Nebraska.

After tax-credit bills failed to pass in 2020 and 2021, this year the Opportunity Scholarships Act was signed into law. Legislative Bill 753 provides donors to scholarship-granting organizations a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for up to 50% of their income tax liability.

Carlie Jonas, policy associate at the Center for Rural Affairs, said public schools are a big part of rural Nebraska. She predicts communities will be affected by any loss of funding this bill creates, regardless of whether they have any private schools.

"In 48 of Nebraska's 93 counties, there are not any private schools and, as you move from the central to the western parts of the state, that's even more true," Jonas pointed out. "Only seven counties west of Kearney County have a private school," which is seven of the 38 counties in the region.

Jonas said the Center's analysis found a huge disparity between the Opportunity Scholarships Act tax credit and the standard tax credit for donations. Someone owing $100,000 in income taxes could reduce their tax liability by $50,000 by donating $50,000 to a scholarship-granting organization. But donating that $50,000 to a charitable group would reduce their tax liability by only around $3,300.

Supporters of the bill maintain it gives Nebraska families more freedom to pick the school that best fits their child's needs.

Dave Welsch, a retired Nebraska organic farmer and longtime school board member from Milford, said he worries about the losses other Nebraska charities may experience if the law stands.

"With LB-753, it takes one brand-new charitable organization, the scholarship-granting organizations and elevates them," Welsch noted. "And it actually incentivizes people to give to them because they're offering a dollar-for-dollar income tax credit."

Welsch also anticipates lost tax revenue from the measure, combined with the 2023 income tax breaks, will lead to a revenue shortage. His decades on a school board have shown him that usually means cuts in public school funding.

He also believes providing public dollars for private schools goes against the state Constitution.

"That's why they had to create this scheme to create scholarship-granting organizations," Welsch contended. "So that when individuals and corporations donate to them, then they can offer up this dollar-for-dollar income tax credit."

Jonas emphasized that the experience of other states, such as Arizona, where its scholarship fund has grown to an annual $250 million, should be a warning to Nebraska.

"It leads them to rely more heavily on local taxes, like property taxes, to fund the budget deficit," Jonas explained. "In Nebraska this is an issue, with the amount of property taxes used for public schools."

A petition drive is underway to get the measure on the ballot in the 2024 election, as is an opposing drive aimed at keeping people from signing.

A new bill in Sacramento would dramatically raise K-12 school funding targets by 50% over ten years. Assembly Bill 477 is intended to help districts raise educators' pay, to attract more people to the profession and keep them there.

Grace Consentino is a middle-school science teacher in Novato.

"My commute every day is a total of one hour and 30 minutes. I would love to be able to live in the town that I work in, but I live in a separate county because the cost of living is so high," she said. "This is why teachers leave."

A recent study on the state of education in California found one in three new educators is seriously thinking about leaving, mostly because of low pay. The bill would hike the local control funding formula.

Opponents say they are concerned about cost. The Assembly Appropriations Committee has not yet completed a fiscal analysis.

Dannel Montesano is a longtime attendance clerk in the Galt Joint Union School District.

"Starting paraprofessional pay in my district is $18.63 an hour, while down the street at McDonald's, the starting pay is over $20 an hour. So, our schools are suffering from constant turnover and staffing issues," Montesano said.

California is bracing for a big hit to the state budget, as tax receipts are expected to be lower. In addition, Congress has proposed billions in cuts to Medi-Cal. And the administration has threatened to pull federal funding from schools that promote diversity, equity and inclusion.

Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance, sponsored the bill, which went before the Assembly Education Committee on Wednesday.

"The Trump administration is attempting to dismantle public education and defund our schools. California must fight back to defend public education," he said.


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After several weeks of public comment, bills addressing school finance in Texas will be presented to the House of Representatives.

House Bill 2 is the public school funding bill and Senate Bill 2 is the voucher proposal, along with its companion bill, House Bill 3.

Chandra Villanueva, director of policy and advocacy for the group Every Texan, said the proposed voucher initiative, which would provide students $10,000 to help pay for private school, would hurt public schools and low-income families.

"Our schools are funded based on attendance, so when kids leave the system, the schools will get less money," Villanueva explained. "Until you can actually close a campus, you still have all of your same fixed costs around utilities, teachers. You'll see more overcrowded classrooms."

Backers of school vouchers, including Gov. Greg Abbott, have said public schools will not be negatively affected. This is the second legislative session where Abbott has made a voucher program his top priority.

Teachers, advocacy groups and even members of the Republican Party have spoken out against vouchers. Many Texas teachers spent their spring break testifying before the legislative committee. Villanueva emphasized although the proposal is out of committee, they are not giving up.

"Members need to hear from their constituents," Villanueva stressed. "The public education committee has been targeted the most -- but even now, if your member is not on that committee, they're going to be the ones who are hearing this bill. And a lot of amendments are going to be offered up on the House floor. So that's an opportunity to try to limit the voucher, try to put more guardrails on it."

Both bills are expected to be brought to the House floor at the same time, but a date has not been set.


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Nearly 22,000 Florida college students could lose critical tuition help under a state House budget proposal.

The plan would cut $3,500 annual grants for students at 15 private schools throughout the state, including three historically Black universities and Embry-Riddle, the nation's top civilian flight school.

House lawmakers tied eligibility for Florida's Effective Access to Student Education (EASE) program to five performance metrics, including a 54% graduation rate and affordability benchmarks.

Bob Boyd, president of Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida, warned of fallout.

"It's going to really devastate our sector," he said. "These are students pursuing nursing degrees, becoming pilots, teachers, and they are going to - a lot of them will drop out of their high-demand degree fields because they're not getting this voucher."

House leaders have said their new performance metrics ensure accountability - affecting just 1.2% of Florida's higher-ed students. But Boyd noted that his schools produce 30% of Florida's nurses while getting just 2% of state funding.

Keiser University Vice Chancellor Belinda Keiser said the cuts would hit non-traditional students hardest - working adults, single parents and first-generation college-goers who rely on these grants.

"Thirty-five hundred dollars a year over the next four years will be taken away," she said. "That might cause some of those students pursuing nursing, pursuing Homeland Security, pursuing cyber - and we offer all those degrees - to drop out. And to me, talent should always be one of your best investments."

The Senate's budget fully funds EASE without new metrics, setting up a clash in the conference committee. Lawmakers must reach a deal by April 29 to allow the constitutionally required 72-hour budget review before the May legislative deadline.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


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