LINCOLN- The union representing Nebraska's K-12 public school teachers can now begin collecting signatures to stop a new state law that would provide for school choice after Secretary of State Bob Evnen released the language that petition gatherers can use to target LB1402. The petition seeks to "repeal section 1 of LB1402...which directs $10 million dollars annually for financial grants-in-aid eligible students to attend a qualifying privately operated elementary or secondary school in Nebraska."

Support Our Schools, the group operating the petition drive, will have until mid-July to gather roughly 61,000 signatures from about 5% of registered voters statewide, plus 5% from voters in at least 38 counties. The leaders of Support Our Schools have argued that lawmakers and proponents of school choice revamped last year's Opportunity Scholarships Act to deny voters the chance to vote on this issue.

Last year's scholarship program started as a privately funded effort backed by a dollar-for-dollar tax credit of up to $25 million a year for donors. This year, however, the revamped proposal simply appropriates $10 million to the State Treasurer's Office for distribution. Some have questioned the constitutionality of that appropriation, while others have questioned whether a ballot initiative can even repeal a legislative appropriation.

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