The Nebraska Supreme Court is currently considering whether voters will have the opportunity to decide whether to reject a new law that provides taxpayer money for private school tuition, which was pushed through by Republican lawmakers. The court heard arguments in a lawsuit brought by a Nebraska woman whose child was one of the first to receive a private school tuition scholarship under the new law. The woman’s lawyer argued that the referendum initiative to repeal the funding violates the state constitution’s prohibition on voter initiatives to revoke legislative appropriations. However, the attorney for the referendum effort argued that the ballot question appropriately targets the creation of the tuition program, not the appropriations bill that accompanied it.
The issue has gained attention due to the possible action of Republican Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen, who initially certified the repeal measure last week after organizers of the petition effort gathered more valid signatures than required. However, the Attorney General’s office stated in a brief that Evnen has since changed his mind and believes the referendum is not legally sufficient. There is concern that Evnen may decertify the ballot measure unless specifically ordered by the high court to keep it on the ballot. This has raised questions about whether the secretary of state has the authority to decertify an already certified ballot measure and the potential impact on the credibility of the certification process.
In a similar situation in Missouri, the Republican Secretary of State initially certified a ballot measure to undo the state’s near-total abortion ban but later reversed course and decertified the measure. The Missouri Supreme Court ordered the ballot measure to be placed back on the ballot. In Nebraska, public school advocates successfully gathered signatures to ask voters to reverse the use of public money for private school tuition after lawmakers repealed the original law and replaced it with another funding law. This move rendered the previous petition effort moot and required organizers to collect signatures again to stop the funding scheme.
Nebraska’s new law allowing taxpayer money for private school tuition follows similar initiatives in other conservative Republican states such as Arkansas, Iowa, and South Carolina. It is part of a broader trend among some states to implement private school choice programs, ranging from vouchers to education savings account programs. The outcome of the Nebraska Supreme Court’s decision and the actions of Secretary of State Evnen will have significant implications for the future of the private school funding law in the state. Supporters and opponents of the law are closely watching the developments as the November ballot deadline approaches, with concerns about the potential impact on voter choice and the integrity of the ballot certification process.
