Public school advocates in Nebraska have successfully gathered enough signatures to put a new law, which uses taxpayer money for private school tuition, to a public vote. According to Nebraska’s top election official, the group Support Our Schools collected over 86,000 signatures, surpassing the required 62,000. They also met the requirement of having signatures from 5% of registered voters in at least 38 out of 93 counties.
Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen confirmed that more than 62,000 signatures were verified and the 5% threshold was reached in 57 counties.
This is the second time public school advocates have had to gather signatures to challenge the use of public funds for private school tuition. Last year, Nebraska’s Republican-led Legislature passed a bill allowing tax money to be diverted to nonprofit organizations that then provide private school scholarships. Despite a successful petition effort last summer, the law was replaced earlier this year with a new one that directly funds private school scholarships from state funds, making the previous petition effort void.
Nebraska’s new law is part of a broader trend among conservative states, like Arkansas, Iowa, and South Carolina, adopting various forms of private school choice.
Both supporters and opponents of the law anticipate legal challenges. County election officials are still verifying signatures, and the repeal measure has not yet been officially certified for the ballot. The deadline to finalize the November ballot is September 13. If the number of verified signatures reaches 110% of the required total, the process will be concluded.