LINCOLN- LB487, introduced by Sen. Megan Hunt, would block any school from receiving public funds if they discriminate students on the basis of "race, color religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or special education status." At a committee hearing on Tuesday, Sen. Hunt said she hoped to eventually add her bill to LB753, a bill introduced by Sen. Lou Ann Linehan that seeks to create income tax credits for donations to organizations that provide scholarships to attend private and parochial schools.

Sen. Linehan's bill has already advanced out of the Revenue Committee for further consideration, but Hunt's bill is still currently in limbo. Sen. Linehan has tried to pass similar pieces of legislation in the past, and time and time again Sen. Hunt has attempted to add language similar to her LB487. In an attempt to ensure that the language is added, Sen. Hunt has already filed an amendment to Sen. Linehan's LB753 that would establish the same rules as LB487.

Linehan argued that LB753 will help give Nebraska students the freedom to seek different education options, but many critics have argued that private and parochial schools don't reside under the same oversight as public schools, and are free to discriminate against any beliefs they don't agree with. "Supporters of these bills say that they're motivated by helping underprivileged students and students with special needs," said Sen. Hunt of Linehan's bill, "This is a lot of feel-good, do-good spin on what these proposals really do."

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